Rep. Steven Horsford is likely to fill the open seat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, following the death earlier this month of Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., according to sources familiar with the situation.
Horsford, D-Nev., who will need to be formally nominated by his party’s Steering and Policy Committee and approved by the caucus, is next in line to rejoin the tax-writing panel, where he held a seat from 2019 until last year. He was forced off the committee after two terms when Republicans took back the majority and realigned panel ratios to give their side more seats and Democrats fewer.
Horsford is considered likely to win reelection in his Democratic-leaning district this November, though his recent races haven’t been blowouts. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee included Horsford in its Frontline program to deliver extra help to incumbents considered vulnerable.
He won by about 5 points over GOP opponents in each of the last two cycles, including 2022 after redistricting packed more Democrats into the 4th District. Horsford first arrived to the House in 2013 as the first Black lawmaker to represent Nevada in Congress, but lost his reelection bid in 2014 amid low turnout. He regained his seat in the 2018 midterms.
His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Securing a spot on Ways and Means would give him a seat at the table as Congress deals with expiring individual and business tax breaks next year. Horsford has prioritized the clean energy, hospitality and health care sectors, along with the unemployment insurance system, in his previous legislative work related to the committee.
On energy, Horsford has pushed for tax credits for investments in projects to improve the electrical grid. The public utility company NV Energy, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy, is a large employer in his district.
He also introduced legislation to allow homeowners who install geothermal energy technology to qualify for the 30 percent residential clean energy credit. The provision made it into the 2022 clean energy and health care budget package, along with another tax credit championed by Horsford to offset the cost of installing “dynamic glass” windows that adjust tint to block sunlight and lower cooling costs.
[Related: Boon for ‘dynamic glass’ offers window into budget bill lobbying]
The hospitality industry, a major employer in Horsford’s home state, and unemployment insurance were also top concerns during his time on Ways and Means, which largely overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic. Horsford introduced legislation in 2020 and 2021 that would increase tax credits available to restaurants and entertainment facilities to offset the cost of reopening, as well as establish a new tax credit for individuals making entertainment purchases.
On unemployment insurance, Horsford introduced bills during the pandemic to increase and extend unemployment benefits, as well as improve the system’s technology, update standards and reward states that met or exceeded them.
He has also been active on health care legislation, which falls under the committee’s purview. Much of his work has focused on lowering drug prices and boosting the health care workforce.
Horsford was one of a handful of Democrats who lost seats on the committee after Republicans won control of the House in the 2022 midterms. As vacancies arise, Democrats have prioritized returning colleagues to the committee who previously served on it while the party was in the majority.
Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., rejoined the committee after Rep. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y., left Congress earlier this year. Others in line behind Horsford include Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., and Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., who left the House to run for governor in 2022 and won back his old seat in a special election earlier this year. Rep. Brendan F. Boyle, D-Pa., ranking member on the Budget Committee, also left Ways and Means after the midterms.
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