Freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures of Alabama was named to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and the Agriculture Committee for the 119th Congress on Tuesday.

The appointments represented the first two congressional committees Figures, D-Mobile, will serve on since he was elected to serve in Alabama’s 2nd congressional district seat.

“These committees will allow us to have a direct role in delivering resources to address many critical needs in Alabama’s Second Congressional District,” Figures said in a statement. “From the I-10 Bayway Bridge to ensuring our port has the resources it needs to thrive to supporting our famers and rural communities, these committee assignments are vital to moving our district and our state forward.”

Figures is the only member of the Alabama congressional delegation to be named to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. He told AL.com on Tuesday that one priority for him will be to ensure that the Gulf Coast Amtrak service – offering twice-daily service from New Orleans to Mobile – moves forward. The project requires infrastructure work to be completed in Mobile before the trains can get started sometime during the summer of 2025.

The House Transportation & Infrastructure committee oversees all modes of transportation including railroads, mass transit, bridges, highways, aviation and maritime. It also has jurisdiction over other aspects of infrastructure, such as clean water and wastewater management, the transport of resources by pipeline, flood damage reduction, the management of federally owned real estate and public buildings, the development of depressed rural and urban areas, disaster preparedness and response, and hazardous materials.

Figures is also joining the Agriculture Committee. Also on that committee is Republican U.S. Rep. Barry Moore of Enterprise, who was elected last year to represent Alabama’s 1st congressional district in the deep southern part of the state.

Said Figures, “Being appointed to the Agriculture committee this year is crucial for our rural communities, with the upcoming reauthorization of the Farm Bill, which will provide needed resources for our farmers, allocate SNAP benefits, and protect and preserve our rural healthcare and hospital systems, and support our land grant schools across the State of Alabama.”

Moore, according to a spokesperson, will also serve on the House Judiciary Committee. He will be on the committee’s Immigration, Oversight and Crime subcommittees. The House Agriculture Committee has yet to finalize its subcommittee assignments.

Other committee highlights among the Alabama congressional delegation:

• U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, will remain as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
• U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, is expected to remain on the House Appropriations Committee, where he will continue to serve as chairman of the Labor, Health & Human Services and Education Subcommittee, according to a spokesperson. The Appropriations Committee has not released its committee assignments yet.
• U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Hoover, will serve on both the Energy and Commerce Committee as well as the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. A spokesperson for Palmer said that once subcommittees are confirmed, they will release more details.
• U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Huntsville, was appointed last month to the House Appropriations Committee. Future committee and subcommittee assignments will be announced in the coming days.