Higgins reappointed to serve on House Ways & Means Committee, Budget Committee

Assignments include subcommittees on social security, health & trade

Congressman Brian Higgins, D-NY-26, has been reappointed to serve on the House Budget Committee and the House Committee on Ways and Means, including its subcommittees on social security, health, and trade.

Higgins said, “Membership on these committees puts us at the table for discussions on many of the issues important to Western New York. The work ahead will be particularly critical this year as we address needed relief to communities and help families and businesses recover from hardships associated with COVID-19.”

A press release stated, “The Ways and Means Committee, Congress’ oldest committee, serves as the chief economic development committee and is widely considered to be among the most influential in the House of Representatives. In his role as a member of the committee, Higgins has worked to reduce Social Security backlogs, protect pensions, preserve and expand federal Historic and New Markets Tax Credits, support the improvement and expansion of Medicare, reduce prescription drug prices, protect people with preexisting conditions and advance trade policies that are important to the U.S.-Canada relationship.

“The Budget Committee analyzes the president’s annual budget proposal and drafts a concurrent resolution that provides a framework for the budget advanced by Congress. Through his role on the Budget Committee, Higgins has advocated for substantial federal investments in infrastructure, fought against cuts to medical research and demonstrated how investments in local communities through federal programs such as the Community Development Block Grant program and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative can contribute to the growth of the American economy.

“Throughout the pandemic, Higgins’ committees have been actively engaged in addressing the urgent needs of Americans. Higgins and his colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee were successful in their fight to provide seniors on Social Security with their direct stimulus payments automatically, reversing previous directives which would have required additional onerous steps. Higgins fought for and won an extension of historic tax credit deadlines, protecting rehabilitation projects in Western New York. The Ways and Means Committee is also leading an important discussion on racial health disparities in the COVID era.”

Higgins will play a role in shaping the new COVID relief plan proposed by President Joe Biden, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Budget and Ways and Means committees.