Raja Krishnamoorthi Becomes First South-Asian American To Head Congressional Panel

Raja Krishnamoorthi, a prominent Indian-American Congressman, has been named as the chairman of a panel on economic and consumer policy, making him the first ever member of South Asian descent to chair a congressional committee or subcommittee.

Krishnamoorthi, 45, was on Thursday (24) named as chairman of the House Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy which will give him jurisdiction over important pocketbook issues such as education, workforce development, income inequality, health care, consumer protection and data privacy.

"I am honoured and privileged to become the first ever South Asian-American to serve as a chair in Congress," Krishnamoorthi said.

"As a child, I had the opportunity to see my parents work hard to achieve the American dream of a middle-class life. As the chairman, I will use my role on this subcommittee to grow and strengthen the middle class so that all Americans can have the same opportunities my family did," he said.

The two-term Democratic Congressman from Illinois, Krishnamoorthi previously served as the president of small businesses focused on research and development in the renewable energy and national security industries. He also served as the founding special assistant attorney general in Illinois' anti-corruption unit.

The subcommittee will have jurisdiction over income inequality and policies that affect the growth and prosperity of the middle class (including education, housing, labour, trade, small business, and agriculture), securities regulation, consumer protection, private sector information technology security, policy, and management, intellectual property, and telecommunications, a media release said.

Announcing the new subcommittee chairs for the 116^th Congress, Congressman Elijah E Cummings said that he is confident each of these exemplary leaders will tackle the issues that matter the most to the American people while also conducting independent, rigorous oversight of the executive branch, as the constitution demands.