The newly elected ranking member on the House Education and Labor Committee filled two subcommittee leadership positions with fellow House leaders Tuesday. Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), tapped as the Education panel’s top Republican earlier this month, appointed Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) as ranking member on the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) as ranking member on the Workforce Protections Subcommittee. Kline vacated the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions subpanel position when he became ranking member of the full committee. Price, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, had previously served as the ranking member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee.“With Americans deeply concerned about their financial, retirement, and health security, there are few subcommittees more relevant to today’s central issues,— Price said in a statement. “And as health care reform comes to the forefront of public debate, I am eager to contribute my experience as a physician to a robust discussion.—McMorris Rodgers, who serves as the vice chairwoman of the House Republican Conference and who had vied against Kline for the full committee ranking member position, had not previously served as a ranking member on a subpanel. “As a working mother, I understand the challenge of balancing work and family,— McMorris Rodgers said in a statement. “As Ranking Member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, I look forward to advancing policies that enable employees and their families, as well as employers, to prosper.—The shake-up in the committee occurred after President Barack Obama nominated John McHugh (R-N.Y.), formerly the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, to be the secretary of the Army. Rep. Howard McKeon (R-Calif.), the former ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, succeeded McHugh on Armed Services, leaving his Education and Labor Committee job open. The House Republican Steering Committee elected Kline to replace McKeon.