The Republican congressman from one of the nation's poorest and most rural districts said yesterday that he has the votes to become chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee if his party takes control of the chamber as a result of Tuesday's elections, as expected.

Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers of Kentucky's 5th District told The Rural Blog that he has 19 of the 33 votes on the Republican Steering Committee, which determines chairmanships. Rogers, an Appropriations subcommittee chairman in his 30th year in Congress, is a member of the committee.