The House Republican Conference on Nov. 28 selected Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) and Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) to continue their present roles as House Armed Services Committee chairman and House Appropriations Committee chairman, respectively, in the 113th Congress that starts in January. “I am honored that my colleagues have chosen me to continue to lead one of the most productive and bipartisan committees in the House,” said McKeon in a release. “We have talented and energetic members on both sides of the aisle who lead their parties and the nation in defending our freedom,” he added, noting that he looks forward to working with Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.). “Over the past two years, I’ve been proud to oversee the committee’s responsible shepherding of federal tax dollars under an open and transparent process—saving the American tax payer almost $100 billion,” said Rogers in a separate release. There have been no formal announcements yet who will chair the HASC subcommittees or the HAC’s defense-related panels.
The Pentagon agency charged with building and operating U.S. spy satellites recently declassified some details about a Cold War-era surveillance program called Jumpseat—a revelation it says sheds light on the importance of satellite imaging technology and how it has advanced in the decades since.
