It is vital to ensure Alabama “has a seat at the table” and is represented on various committees in the upper chamber of Congress, according to Republican U.S. Senate nominee Katie Britt.
With the retirement of six-term U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa), Alabama will lose a master tactician on the Senate Appropriations Committee — a critical committee of which he formerly served as chairman.
When asked about the committee roles Britt was eyeing during a recent appearance on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal,” the Senate hopeful said she wanted to work alongside U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) “to make sure Alabama is covered.”
The Yellowhammer State would benefit from representation on the Senate Armed Services, Appropriations, and Agriculture Committees, according to Britt.
“It doesn’t matter to me which one of us is on which one of those, but I want to make sure Alabama has a seat at the table on each one of them,” she said, before noting that Tuberville sat on the Senate Agriculture and Armed Services Committees.
“Additionally, when you look at it across the board, I think Commerce is really interesting,” she said. “It has a window and responsibility for authorization for several things that touch our state — everything from NASA to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), then obviously transportation issues. Broadband, which we know this state continues to need desperately as we continue to move in the right direction making sure we have connectivity all over the state no matter your ZIP code.”
As Alabama is a vital player in national security and is home to the nation’s premier defense industrial base hub in Huntsville, Britt pointed to membership on the Senate Intelligence Committee as a critical role which would benefit the state.
“(I) also believe Intelligence would give me incredible insight as we look at what we’re dealing with across the world right now,” said Britt. “I believe our leaders need to exhibit peace through strength. And so knowing the ins and outs of what we’re facing, making sure our military therefore can be the best equipped and ready and prepared to keep our warfighters safe and our country strong.
“So all of those are things I’m interested in and I’m sure there are several more that have a nexus to Alabama where I can really be a voice and a champion for the people of Alabama.”
Britt will face Democrat Will Boyd in the Nov. 8 general election. The winner will be sworn in as Alabama’s junior senator on Jan. 3.
Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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