Ohio’s Three Women in Congress Assume New Leadership Roles

January 28, 2019

Of the 18 members Ohio has in the United States Congress, only three are women. But they are taking on new roles this year that will give them considerable influence. And now that the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is over, they can set their goals in motion.

Rep. Kaptur is chair of the House Appropriations Subcommitte on Energy and Water Development
Rep. Fudge is chair of the House Subcommittee on Elections
Rep. Beatty is vice chair of the Congressional Black Caucus

Combined, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-09), Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-11) and Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-03) have served for over 50 years in the halls of Congress.

Kaptur is the longest serving woman in the history of the House, and she's making history again after being elected the first woman to chair the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.

She spoke at a recent energy innovation event on Capitol Hill and told Spectrum Washington reporter Taylor Popielarz that she wants to better connect Ohio's energy sector with Washington, while pursuing the subcommittee's overall mission.

"Priority number one is gaining an understanding that our committee's responsibility is sustaining life on earth," Kaptur said. "That, in fact, the work we do in energy and the work that we do in water are the two essential elements that matter, besides food."

Fudge has been named chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Elections, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi brought back and specifically chose Fudge to lead. Fudge said she plans to use Ohio as an example of why the voting process needs to be improved, and she wants to reform the Voting Rights Act.

"Voter suppression is as real in Ohio as it is in the south," Fudge said. "And so I want to expose that as well. It doesn't just exist in places like Georgia and Florida and North Dakota and Alabama and Texas. It exists in Ohio, too."

Congressional committees are just one area where lawmakers can have an impact on Capitol Hill. Members also join caucuses, where lawmakers from both the House and Senate come together to work on causes they're passionate about.

Beatty has been elected vice chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. The group now has 55 members — the largest its ever been.

Beatty said the caucus is known as the ‘conscience of Congress' and she'll use her new leadership role to try to make the federal government more reflective of the communities it serves.

"I think you're going to see a lot more legislation," Beatty said. "I think you're going to see tours and national programs that are really about being for the people, and many of those people might just happen to be minorities."

Now that the partial government shutdown is over, it means the committees and caucuses now have some time to actually meet and get some work done, but that could be stalled again if a border deal isn't figured out by February 15.

This article was originally published by Spectrum News on January 28, 2019.