INDReporter

Boustany likely to chair powerful Ways and Means Subcommittee

by Nathan Stubbs

Louisiana's largely Republican congressional delegation is delighting in Tuesday's election results in which their party picked up 60+ seats to take majority control of the House of Representatives.

Louisiana's largely Republican congressional delegation is delighting in Tuesday's election results in which their party picked up 60+ seats to take a firm majority in the House of Representatives. The Republican takeover also means Louisiana reps stand to move up to more influential leadership positions and committee assignments.

The most well-positioned Louisiana congressman is Lafayette's own Charles Boustany. Along with Rodney Alexander (who switched to the Republican Party the same year Boustany was elected to the House), Boustany is the state's senior Republican in Congress. Boustany was also an early supporter of current House minority leader and now soon to be Speaker of the House John Boehner. Last year, Boehner rewarded Boustany with a seat on the influential House Ways and Means Committee. As the ranking Republican on the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, Boustany is now poised to chair the subcommittee, which manages taxation, trade and health care issues.

As a member of Boehner's inner circle, expect to see Boustany front and center on major Republican initiatives, first and foremost: taking on Obama's Affordable Care Act. Following Tuesday's election, Boustany told Dow Jones that Republicans are already planning to bring a vote to repeal Obama's signature health care reform bill once the new Congress is installed early next year. A repeal has little chance of getting past the Democrat-controlled Senate or the President's veto, but Boustany said the effort is significant nonetheless. "I believe we'll see a vote very quickly," Boustany said. "Whether or not there's a willingness of the Senate to move in that direction, it's important to have the vote. The American public supports" repeal.