Mica to chair new oversight panel on government operations

Rep. John Mica (R-Fla) will chair the new Subcommittee on Government Operations under the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, full committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) announced on Jan. 2. The move comes as part of a larger reorganization of the committee that reduces the number of subcommittees from seven to five.

Federal News Radio reports that the new panel will oversee major agency functions, and “combines most of the jurisdictions of the Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency, and Financial Management and the Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform.”

In his new role, Mica "will continue his oversight of the General Services Administration, one of his responsibilities as the former chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee," the Federal Times reports. House GOP term limits prevented Mica from chairing that committee again in the 113th Congress.

The new chairmanship "will allow me to continue my work in pursuing government waste and inefficiency with very broad jurisdiction," Mica said in a Jan. 3 statement.

Rep. Blake Farhenthold (R-Texas), meanwhile, is the new chairman of the subcommittee that oversees the federal workforce. Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) will chair the other Oversight subcommittees.

"The American people have a right to expect that their tax dollars are being used responsibly and judiciously," Issa said in announcing the changes. "This team is dedicated to working tirelessly on behalf of the American people to create a more efficient federal government that better serves taxpayers."