WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton will serve as the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Airland, committee staff members announced Thursday.
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Cotton, a Republican from Dardanelle, is the only freshman member of the committee to hold a subcommittee chairmanship. He is a former Army captain who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The committee, led by John McCain, R-Ariz., has six subcommittees.
The Airland Subcommittee oversees equipment and related research for the Air Force and Army, as well as Navy and Marine Corps tactical aviation programs. It also has jurisdiction over equipment for the National Guard and Reserve.
"The Air Land Subcommittee plays a critical role in ensuring our military is the best equipped and trained in the world. As chairman, I will ensure our men and women in uniform -- like those in the Arkansas National Guard or those at Little Rock Air Force base -- have the tools they need to defend our national interests," Cotton said in a statement.
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is the committee's ranking Democrat member.
Cotton also serves on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, which oversees financial institutions, foreign trade and housing.
In addition, he sits on the Joint Economic Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Special Committee on Aging.
In the Joint Economic Committee, House and Senate members meet together to study economic problems and budget programs, but traditionally cannot refer legislation to either chamber. Select committees are narrowly focused on a single topic. While most do not refer legislation to the Senate floor, the Intelligence Select Committee does.
Metro on 01/09/2015