Rogers to assume chairmanship of committee

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Republican Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers has been named to chair the U.S. House intelligence committee, officials said.

Rogers, a former special agent with the FBI, will become the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence when the GOP takes control of the House in January, the Detroit Free Press reported.

"It will be an incredible responsibility to serve as chairman as we work to get the oversight, policy and funding right to provide our nation's intelligence professionals with the tools and support they need," Rogers said.

Rogers said one of his first priorities is to make sure the provisions of the Patriot Act, set to expire in February, are extended.

"The committee in the last couple of years hasn't functioned very well and that does a disservice to the intelligence community," Rogers said.

He will be the third Michigan congressman to assume leadership off a major House committee in Washington.

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., will become chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and

Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., takes control of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Those posts won't have a tangible benefit for Michigan.

"But it speaks well of the Michigan delegation as a whole that we have folks in senior leadership positions," Rogers said.