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Politics

Sen.-elect Chris Van Hollen announces committee assignments

By John Fritze
Baltimore Sun
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WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 18: Ranking committee member Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) speaks during a U.S. House Budget Committee markup on the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for FY 2016 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Top military officials testified on March 17th, warning the committee that the budget cutting measure called 'sequestration' will continue to adversely affect military readiness and put American lives at risk at home and abroad. (Photo by Allison Shelley/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 543479593

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 18: Ranking committee member Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) speaks during a U.S. House Budget Committee markup on the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for FY 2016 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Top military officials testified on March 17th, warning the committee that the budget cutting measure called 'sequestration' will continue to adversely affect military readiness and put American lives at risk at home and abroad. (Photo by Allison Shelley/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 543479593 (Allison Shelley / Getty Images)

Sen.-elect Chris Van Hollen, who will succeed Maryland Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski next year, will sit on the Senate Banking, Agriculture and Budget committees, his office said Monday, in addition to his previously announced assignment to the Appropriations Committee.

Van Hollen, a Montgomery County congressman who cruised to victory last week in deeply blue Maryland, will also head the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for the next election cycle.

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Mikulski is the top-ranking Democrat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, and has managed to use that perch to direct federal spending. The federal spending package approved Dec. 9 included $255 million for the proposed new headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which may be located in Maryland.

"By taking up Senator Mikulski's mantle on the Appropriations Committee, I will be able to fight for important investments for Maryland," Van Hollen said in a statement.

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