John Myers Takes Over House Appropriations Energy & Water Subcommittee

As Republicans take the reins of the 104th Congress, John T. Myers of Indiana becomes chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. As subcommittee chairman, Myers and his Senate counterpart, Pete Domenici (R-NM) become the key players in developing much of the fiscal year 1996 budget of the Department of Energy, including the High Energy and Nuclear Physics programs.

Myers replaces Democrat Tom Bevil of Alabama, who now becomes the ranking minority member. The new subcommittee roster follows:

*New Member of subcommittee **New Member of Congress

Myers has represented the 7th district of Indiana since 1967. The district contains the major cities of Lafayette and Terre Haute, and the following academic institutions: DePauw University, Indiana State University, Purdue University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, Wabash College, and the Indiana State Vocational Tech Colleges at Wabash Valley and Lafayette.

According to Congressional Quarterly, Myers is a moderate Republican, who won his 1994 election with 65 percent of the vote. An analysis of his 1993 voting record shows that Myers voted with his party on 74 percent of votes, and voted with President Clinton on 39 percent of votes. He has earned a 93 percent ranking by the Conservative Coalition.

Although Myers had been a consistent supporter of the Superconducting Super Collider, he has questioned several times the fiscal reality of DOE’s construction plans. In particular, he has expressed concern about the projected costs of the Advanced Nuclear Source (ANS), calling it “a tremendous expense” and warning that such an expensive and long-term project would likely “get into trouble.” Myers has been a consistent supporter of NASA’s space station as well.

The following zip codes are fully or partially within Myers’ district:

* Zip code shared by more than one congressional district

The address of the Energy and Water Development subcommittee is:

2362 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-3421