Texas Rep. Randy Neugebauer, vice-chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, announced that he will retire from Congress at the end of 2016. He is the third member – all Republicans – of the Agriculture Committee to announce his departure. Chris Gibson, who represents a district in southeastern New York state, and Dave Benishek, who represents the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the northern end of the Lower Peninsula, also will leave the House in 2016.
A land developer from Lubbock, Neugebauer, 65, is serving his seventh term in the House. Besides the post on the Agriculture Committee, Neugebauer is a senior member of the Financial Services Committee and chairs the subcommittee on financial institutions and consumer credit. In a statement, Neugebauer said, “The bottom line is that I really think this is the right time for my family and me to have more time together.”