Rep. Young gets waiver to remain Defense Appropriations chairman

Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.) will remain chairman of the
House Appropriations Defense subcommittee next year after being granted a
waiver to keep his post, the committee announced Monday.

{mosads}Young is one of only two House Republicans to receive a
waiver bypassing GOP term limits for chairmen, joining 2012 vice presidential
nominee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who is staying on as Budget Committee chairman.

Other chairmen who are leaving their positions in the 113th
Congress, such as Homeland Security Chairman Pete King (R-N.Y.) and Transportation
Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.), were not given waivers to go beyond the six-year
limit.

Young, who has served in Congress since 1971, has now
received a waiver to stay on as defense subcommittee chairman for two
consecutive terms.

{mosads}As chairman, Young oversees spending for a defense budget that
tops $600 billion, and he will continue to be a key decision maker in Congress
for major weapons programs like the F-35 fighter, KC-46 tanker and littoral combat
ship.

In a statement, Young said that he appreciated “the confidence the Speaker and
Chairman [Hal] Rogers (R-Ky.) have shown in me to bring before the House good appropriations bills.”

On the Democratic side, ranking member Rep. Norm Dicks
(D-Wash.) is retiring, which opens his post as top Democrat on the Defense
subcommittee. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) is
replacing Dicks as the full committee’s ranking member.

Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.) is expected to take over for
Dicks on the Defense panel, industry and congressional sources say. However, that position has not yet been finalized.

Rogers announced
the full slate of Appropriations subcommittee chairmen Wednesday, which includes several changes from the 112th Congress.

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) is the new Labor subcommittee chair,
replacing outgoing Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.).

Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) is taking over for Kingston on
the Agriculture panel, and Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) replaces Aderholt as Homeland Security chair.

— This post was updated at 3:19 p.m.