4 Indian-Americans appointed to US House panels

Washington, February 2

Four prominent Indian-American lawmakers — Pramila Jayapal, Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Ro Khanna— have been appointed members of three key House panels, reflecting the growing influence of the community in US politics.

Congresswoman Jayapal has been named Ranking Member of the powerful House Judiciary Committee’s panel on Immigration, making her the first immigrant to serve in a leadership role for the

subcommittee.

Jayapal (57) representing the 7th Congressional District of Washington State succeeds Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren to serve on the

Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, a media release said.

Bera (57) has been appointed as a member of the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which is charged with providing oversight of the country’s intelligence activities.

Krishnamoorthi has been made Ranking Member of a newly created House committee on China that will look into various aspects of Chinese behaviour.

Another Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna has also been made a member of this new committee. Krishnamoorthi, 49, is the four-term Congressman representing the eight Congressional districts of Illinois, while Khanna, 46, is the four-term lawmaker representing the 17th Congressional district of California.