Jo Ann Emerson to be top Republican on U.S. House panel overseeing Treasury, SEC

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson reaped the rewards of the seniority system Wednesday by landing a job as the top Republican on a Congressional subcommittee that directs spending for the U.S. Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the White House.

Emerson, who has been in Congress since 1996, will be the ranking minority member of the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Appropriations. In addition to setting spending amounts for the agencies, the subcommittee has watchdog responsibilities that will cover agencies that are deeply involved in bailing out and watching over the financial services industry.

The Treasury, for example, has spent $350 billion to aid banks in recent months, made loans to car makers General Motors and Chrysler to help them survive the recession and joined with the Federal Reserve to provide billions of dollars to prevent the failure of major financial firms such as AIG. Emerson voted for the bank bailout bill that passed Congress in October. She also voted for the measure to aid automakers that was defeated in December in the Senate.

"There will be a lot of heavy-duty oversight on where that money has been spent," Emerson said.

In the previous Congress, Emerson was a member of the subcommittees on Agriculture and Energy, Water and the Interior. She did not have a leadership position on those panels.

The way Republicans apportion jobs, members in line for leadership jobs on committees declare their preferences and the jobs are awarded based on the preferences of members who served the longest. Emerson said she asked for the ranking member post on the Agriculture subcommittee but knew that a longer-serving member would be in line for the post.

While Democrats control Congress and hold committee chairmen posts, ranking members are in line to take over committees and subcommittees if party control changes hands.

"We have a great responsibility to the American people to assure that their tax dollars are being spent wisely and well," Emerson said in a news release announcing her new job. "The Financial Services subcommittee conducts a great deal of oversight to make sure the administration is accountable to the American people. During tough economic times and the recent expansion of the U.S. Treasury's authority, the obligation of the Financial Services subcommittee has never been more important."

Other agencies under the financial services subcommittee's jurisdiction include the Federal Communications Commission, the Small Business Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The subcommittee conducted inquiries into all three of those agencies, as well as the operations of the Department of the Treasury, during 2008.

In an interview, Emerson said she was happy to be "at the center of the action. I am quite honored. It is a really important assignment and I am learning as fast and as much as I can."

Emerson expects to gain other subcommittee assignments but those won't be announced until more work organizing the Congress is complete next week, she said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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