Chairmanship Changes & Potential Impact - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Elphaba · 11-10-2006, 06:36 PM

I didn't realize that these changes are so quickly made, but the Washington Post has identified the new Chairs in the House and Senate due to the new Democratic majority. There are numerous possibilities for a change of focus and direction and I offer this topic as a jumping off point for that discussion. I have linked the WAPO background for each new chair.

I encourage anyone to take one of these Chair changes and make it a topic of it's own. There are several that are of particular interest to me, and I intend to take them to a new thread.

NEW COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN IN THE HOUSE

Judiciary: John Conyers Jr. (Michigan)
Conyers

Financial Services: Barney Frank (Massachusetts)
Frank

Education and the Workforce: George Miller (California)
Miller

Homeland Security: Bennie Thompson (Mississippi)
Thompson

Energy and Commerce: John D. Dingell (Michigan)
Dingell

Transportation and Infrastructure: James L. Oberstar (Minnesota)
Oberstar

Armed Services: Ike Skelton (Missouri)
Skelton

Ways and Means: Charles B. Rangel (New York)
Rangel

Agriculture: Collin C. Peterson (Minnesota)
Peterson

International Relations: Tom Lantos (California)
Lantos

Intelligence: Alcee L. Hastings (Florida)
Hastings

Government Reform: Henry A. Waxman (California)
Waxman

Budget: John M. Spratt Jr. (South Carolina)
Spratt

Appropriations: David R. Obey (Wisconsin)
Obey

NEW COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN IN THE SENATE

Finance: Max Baucus (Montana)
Baucus

Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs: Christopher J. Dodd (Connecticut)
Dodd

Foreign Relations: Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Delaware)
Biden

Appropriations: Robert C. Byrd (West Virginia)
Byrd

Agriculture: Tom Harkin (Iowa)
Harkin

Energy and Natural Resources: Jeff Bingaman (New Mexico)
Bingaman

Judiciary: Patrick J. Leahy (Vermont)
Leahy

Commerce, Science and Transportation: Daniel K. Inouye (Hawaii)
Inouye

Intelligence: John D. Rockefeller IV (West Virginia)
Rockefeller

Environment and Public Works: Barbara Boxer (California)
Boxer

Armed Services: Carl M. Levin (Michigan)
Levin

Homeland Security and Government Affairs: Joseph I. Lieberman (Connecticut)
Lieberman

Health, Education, Labor and Pensions: Edward M. Kennedy (Massachusetts)
Kennedy

OTHER COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN (No background given by WAPO)

Aging: Herb Kohl (Wis.)

Indian Affairs: Byron L. Dorgan (N.D.)

Rules and Administration: Dianne Feinstein (Calif.)

Small Business and Entrepreneurship: John F. Kerry (Mass.)

Veterans' Affairs: Daniel K. Akaka (Hawaii)

dc_dux · 11-11-2006, 08:38 AM

I'll offer my comments on a few of them:

Homeland Security - both Thompson in the House and Lieberman in the Senate will push for implementation of many of the 9/11 Commission recommendations that have been stalled by the Repubs - nuclear/chemical facility security, port and rail safety, improving first responder capabilities. Thompson may also push to kill the new border fence bill and push for more funding for a "virtual fence" in the form of greater application of technology as opposed to a steel fence. They both also support broader immigration reform.

Both Armed Services chairs, Skelton and Levin, will be tough and aggresive on the Pentagon and demand much greater accountability on Iraq policies/stategies then we have seen from the Repubs.

Energy - Dingell is too close to the both the automakers and auto unions in Detroit for my taste. He has consistently opposed increasing mileage standards and funding alternative energy programs.

Budget - Spratt is a fiscal conservative and will push for "pay as you go" ...any tax cuts will have to be offset by spending cuts.

Government Reform - Waxman is a bulldog. I think he will focus on the excessive use of presidental signing statements and executive orders to circumvent current law as well as regulatory abuse (ie how the current EPA, FDA ignore current law and regulations to the benefit of the industries affected)

Biden on Foreign Affairs will grandstand more than usual since he is running for Pres in '08

With Rockefeller on Intelligence, we will finally see the full investigation of how Bush used or misused pre-war intelligence.

And with Byrd on Appropriations, there will be as much pork barrel spending as usual, if he has his way.

host · 11-20-2006, 11:42 AM

Here's a "beaut":
Duncan Hunter, in all probability will end up going to jail, implicated in the same bribery crimes that brought down Randy Cunningham.

Hunter has blocked the FBI investigation into his illegal activities, but now he is losing his committee chairmanship. To shore himself up, he has voiced an interest in running for the office of POTUS, and he has now used his waning days in power to increase his visibility.

It will be interesting to watch what the current congressional committee chairmen say and do, before the end of this congressional session.

Quote:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/...ca/US_Iraq.php
Republican lawmaker wants U.S. to push for improvements in Iraqi forces to stabilize Iraq

The Associated Press

The United States should push for available and trained Iraqi security forces to be sent to the front lines of the fight to stabilize the embattled country, a top Republican lawmaker on military matters said Monday.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter said Monday.

"We need to saddle those up and deploy them to the fight" in dangerous areas, primarily in Baghdad, said Rep. Duncan Hunter, chairman of the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives.

In an interview, Hunter told The Associated Press that He took a different tack from Sen. John McCain, a front-running 2008 presidential hopeful who has urged that additional U.S. troops be sent there. Hunter has been considering whether to campaign for the Republicans' 2008 nomination.

Monday's statements continued an Iraq war policy debate that has been intensifying before and since this month's congressional elections that saw Democrats retake from the Republicans control of both the House and Senate.

Also on Monday, Rep. Charles Rangel, a Democrat who will head one of the most powerful House committees when the Democrats take over on Jan. 4, pushed again his argument that the military draft should be reinstated.

Rangel, incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, had said Sunday, "There's no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft."

In a speech Monday at Baruch College, he said he wants to hold hearings into current troop levels and future plans for Iraq and other potential conflict regions......

Quote:

http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/expo...reditcard.html
March 10, 2005
A Hill of credit-card debt
By Josephine Hearn

In general, members of Congress were much less likely to have credit-card debt than the average American. About 51 million households carry credit-card debt at an average balance of nearly $12,000, according to cardweb.com. Only 10 percent of House members had similar debt.

The lawmaker reporting the highest credit-card debt was Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), who noted that in 2003 he had between $80,000 and $175,000 spread across seven credit cards. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, listed five accounts with a total of $75,000 to $250,000 in debt......

I wonder if Duncan Hunter sold his share of "the cabin"? Or......??

Quite a "pay down" of his debt....on his salary, in less than two years.....

Quote:

http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/expo...me/080206.html
August 2, 2006
Abramoff out for the season

......Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) used to owe $75,000-$250,000 but now is down to $20,000-$30,000. .....

It is "our business".....when it comes to the personal financial dealings of the chair of a powerful congressional committee....especially when one prominent congressman associated with Hunter has already pleaded guilty to bribe taking in exchange for influencing DOD procurement.

I suspect that some committee chairmen will behave like drowing rats on a sinking ship.....all at our expense....as they attempt to cover the evidence of their corruption before it can be examined by the incoming congress, in open hearings, via the public testimony of subpoenaed witnesses. That is the change that many of us voted for.

magictoy · 11-21-2006, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by host

I suspect that some committee chairmen will behave like drowing rats on a sinking ship.....all at our expense....as they attempt to cover the evidence of their corruption before it can be examined by the incoming congress, in open hearings, via the public testimony of subpoenaed witnesses. That is the change that many of us voted for.

Aided, if the past is any indication, by the corrupt Democrats who wish to cover their own tracks. Harry Reid, for example, whose ties to Abramoff are finally out in the open.

dc_dux · 11-21-2006, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by magictoy

Aided, if the past is any indication, by the corrupt Democrats who wish to cover their own tracks. Harry Reid, for example, whose ties to Abramoff are finally out in the open.

Magictoy....there is plenty of corruption (or lesser unethical behavior) to go around. If you have evidence of Reids "ties to Abramoff" that have been found to be illegal, perhaps you can post it.

For the record, Harry Reid's only ties to Abramoff are from campaign contributions from an Abramoff client, the Corshotta Campaign, which also contributed to 11 Repubs, including the current Speaker of the House Hastert, the current majority whip Roy Blunt, Tom Delay, Senators Burns, Ensign, Grassly, Cochran and Lott and 3 Repub House committee chairs. The last I heard, the only ones still under active FBI or Justice Dept investigations are Sen Burns (who just lost his relection) and Congr. Doolittle. The others, while maybe unethical, have been cleared of any criminal violations of campaign finance or other laws.

The new Dem leaders are planning major ethics reform AND spending reform early in the next session:

Quote:

Despite divisions among Democrats over how far to go in revising ethics rules, House leaders plan a major rollout of an ethics reform bill early next year to demonstrate concern about an issue that helped defeat the Republicans in the midterm elections.

But they will do it with a twist: Instead of forwarding one big bill, Democrats will put together an ethics package on the House floor piece by piece, allowing incoming freshmen to take charge of high-profile issues and lengthening the time spent on the debate. The approach will ensure that each proposal -- including banning gifts, meals and travel from lobbyists as well as imposing new controls on the budget deficit -- is debated on its own and receives its own vote. That should garner far more media attention for the bill's components before a final vote on the entire package.
...
New rules mandating the disclosure of all contacts with lobbyists would be another vote, as would a rule requiring that the sponsors of funding for home-state pet projects be identified. The House would also vote on whether to reinstate budget rules, known as pay-as-you-go, or "paygo," requiring that any new spending or tax cuts be offset by equal spending cuts or tax increases.

While there is broad support for reform, Democrats face divisions on how far to go on some issues, such as whether to establish an independent board to enforce ethics rules. But leaders are eager to show that they are serious about tackling the corrosive influence of lobbyists and money, so much so that they are willing to spend days working on the issue. They may even let the divisions play out in public, with amendments allowed that may or may not pass, on issues from campaign finance to independent oversight.

full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...112001233.html

While none of this excuses past actions, and some Dems will oppose, it is a step in the right direction. We shall see if the Repubs join in or fight it.

host · 11-22-2006, 12:48 AM

Quote:

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007646.php
(February 09, 2006 -- 03:20 PM EDT)

AP to try to pull Sen. Reid into Abramoff story? Here's the piece just out on the AP wire. Pretty weak stuff, but John Solomon, the reporter, gives it the old college try. Give it a look, judge for yourself.

-- Josh Marshall

http://web.archive.org/web/200602211...es_apstoryview
Reid Aided Abramoff Clients, Records Show

By JOHN SOLOMON and SHARON THEIMER
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON —

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid wrote at least four letters helpful to Indian tribes represented by Jack Abramoff, and the senator's staff regularly had contact with the disgraced lobbyist's team about legislation affecting other clients.

The activities _ detailed in billing records and correspondence obtained by The Associated Press _ are far more extensive than previously disclosed. They occurred over three years as Reid collected nearly $68,000 in donations from Abramoff's firm, lobbying partners and clients.

Reid's office acknowledged Thursday having "routine contacts" with Abramoff's lobbying partners and intervening on some government matters _ such as blocking some tribal casinos _ in ways Abramoff's clients might have deemed helpful. But it said none of his actions were affected by donations or done for Abramoff.

"All the actions that Senator Reid took were consistent with his long-held beliefs, such as not letting tribal casinos expand beyond reservations, and were taken to defend the interests of Nevada constituents," spokesman Jim Manley said.

Reid, D-Nev., has led the Democratic Party's attacks portraying Abramoff's lobbying and fundraising as a Republican scandal.

But Abramoff's records show his lobbying partners billed for nearly two dozen phone contacts or meetings with Reid's office in 2001 alone.

Most were to discuss Democratic legislation that would have applied the U.S. minimum wage to the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory and Abramoff client, but would have given the islands a temporary break on the wage rate, the billing records show.

Reid also intervened on government matters at least five times in ways helpful to Abramoff's tribal clients, once opposing legislation on the Senate floor and four times sending letters pressing the Bush administration on tribal issues. Reid collected donations around the time of each action.

Ethics rules require senators to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest in collecting contributions around the times they take official acts benefiting donors.

Abramoff's firm also hired one of Reid's top legislative aides as a lobbyist. The aide later helped throw a fundraiser for Reid at Abramoff's firm that raised donations from several of his lobbying partners.

And Reid's longtime chief of staff accepted a free trip to Malaysia arranged by a consulting firm connected to Abramoff that recently has gained attention in the influence-peddling investigation that has gripped the Capitol.

Abramoff has pleaded guilty in a fraud and bribery case and is now helping prosecutors investigate the conduct of lawmakers, congressional aides and administration officials his team used to lobby.

Abramoff spokesman Andrew Blum declined to comment on the Reid contacts.

Reid has assailed Republicans' ties to Abramoff while refusing to return any of his own donations. He argues there's no need to return the money.

"Senator Reid never met Jack Abramoff and never has taken contributions from him, and efforts to drag him into this are going to fail," Manley said. "Abramoff is a convicted felon and no one has suggested the other partners we might have dealt with have done anything impermissible."

While Abramoff never directly donated to Reid, the lobbyist did instruct one tribe, the Coushattas, to send $5,000 to Reid's tax-exempt political group, the Searchlight Leadership Fund, in 2002. About the same time, Reid sent a letter to the Interior Department helpful to the tribe, records show.

Abramoff sent a list to the tribe entitled "Coushatta Requests" recommending donations to campaigns or groups for 50 lawmakers he claimed were helpful to the tribe. Alongside Reid's name, Abramoff wrote, "5,000 (Searchlight Leadership Fund) Senate Majority Whip."

Following a pattern seen with Abramoff and Republicans, Abramoff's Democratic team members often delivered donations to Reid close to key events.

Reid himself, along his Senate counsel Jim Ryan, met with Abramoff deputy Ronald Platt on June 5, 2001, "to discuss timing on minimum wage bill" that affected the Marianas, according to a bill that Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff's firm, sent the Marianas.

Three weeks before the meeting, Greenberg Traurig's political action committee donated $1,000 to Reid's Senate re-election committee. Three weeks after the meeting, Platt himself donated $1,000 to Reid.

Manley said Reid's official calendar doesn't list a meeting on June 5, 2001, with Platt, but he also said he couldn't say for sure the contact didn't occur. Manley confirmed Platt had regular contacts with Reid's office, calling them part of the "routine checking in" by lobbyists who work Capitol Hill.

As for the timing of donations, Manley said, "There is no connection. This is just a typical part of lawful fundraising."

The Marianas, U.S. territorial islands in the Pacific Ocean, were one of Abramoff's highest-paying clients and were trying to keep their textile industry exempt from most U.S. laws on immigration, labor and pay, including the minimum wage. Many Democrats have long accused the islands of running garment sweatshops.

The islands in 2001 had their own minimum wage of $3.05 an hour, and were exempt from the U.S. minimum of $5.15.

Republicans were intent on protecting the Marianas' exemption. Democrats, led by Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Rep. George Miller of California, wanted the Marianas to be covered by the U.S. minimum and crafted a compromise.

In February 2001, Kennedy introduced a bill that would have raised the U.S. hourly minimum to $6.65 and would have covered the Marianas. The legislation, which eventually failed, would have given the islands an initial break by setting its minimum at just $3.55 _ nearly $3 lower than any other territory or state _ and then gradually increasing it.

Within a month, Platt began billing for routine contacts and meetings with Reid's staff, starting with a March 26, 2001, contact with Reid chief of staff Susan McCue to "discuss timing and status of minimum wage legislation," the billing records say.

In all, Platt and a fellow lobbyist reported 21 contacts in 2001 with Reid's office, mostly with McCue and Ryan.

One of the Marianas contacts, listed for May 30, 2001, was with Edward Ayoob, Reid's legislative counsel. Within a year, Ayoob had left Reid's office to work for Abramoff's firm, registering specifically to lobby for the islands as well as several tribes. Manley confirmed Ayoob had subsequent lobbying contacts with Reid's office.

Manley cast doubt on some of the contacts recorded in the billing records, saying McCue was out of Washington for a couple of the dates. But he acknowledged the contacts could have occurred by cell phone.

In January 2002, McCue took a free trip, valued at $7,000, to Malaysia with several other congressional aides. The trip, cleared by Senate ethics officials, was underwritten by the U.S. Malaysia Exchange Association, a group trying to foster better relations between the United States and Malaysia.

The trips were part of a broader lobbying strategy by Malaysia, which consulted with Abramoff and paid $300,000 to a company connected to him, according to documents released by Senate investigators. The arrangements included a trip by then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and his wife to Malaysia in October 2001.

While Abramoff worked behind the scenes, the Alexander Strategy Group run by two former DeLay aides, Ed Buckham and Tony Rudy, publicly registered to lobby for the U.S. Malaysia Exchange Association.

Rudy, who was cited in Abramoff's court case, had worked temporarily for Abramoff before joining Buckham at Alexander Strategy, and the three men were friendly. In January 2002, Alexander Strategy arranged two congressional trips to Malaysia underwritten by the association.

One trip took a delegation of Republican congressmen. A Democratic consultant hired by Alexander Strategy, former Clinton White House aide Joel Johnson, invited McCue and went on the second trip with congressional staffers.

Johnson said he invited McCue on behalf of Alexander Strategy and went on the trip with her but said he knew of no connections to Abramoff. "My interest was in getting Democrats to travel to the country and to learn more about Malaysia," Johnson said.

Reid intervened on other matters.

On March 5, 2002, he sent a letter to the Interior Department pressing the agency to reject a proposed casino by the Jena band of Choctaw Indians in Louisiana. Fellow Nevada Sen. John Ensign, a Republican, also signed.

The Jena's proposed casino would have rivaled one already in operation in Louisiana run by the Coushattas, and Abramoff was lobbying to block the Jena. The day after Reid's letter, the Coushattas wrote a $5,000 check to Reid's Searchlight group at Abramoff's suggestion.

Reid and Ensign recently wrote the Senate Ethics Committee to say their letter had nothing to do with Abramoff or the donation and instead reflected their interest in protecting Las Vegas' gambling establishments.

"As senators for the state with the largest nontribal gaming industry in the nation, we have long opposed the growth of off-reservation tribal gaming throughout the United States," Ensign and Reid wrote. Reid authored the law legalizing casinos on reservations, and has long argued it does not allow tribal gambling off reservations.

On Nov. 8, 2002, the Nevada Democrat signed a letter with California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein urging Interior Secretary Gale Norton to reject a proposal by the Cuyapaipe Band of Mission Indians to convert land for a health clinic into a casino in southern California.

The casino would have competed with the Palm Springs gambling establishment run by the Agua Caliente, one of Abramoff's tribes.

Two weeks later, Reid went to the Senate floor to oppose fellow Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow's effort to win congressional approval for a Michigan casino for the Bay Mills Indians, which would have rivaled one already operating by the Saginaw Chippewa represented by Abramoff.

"The legislation is fundamentally flawed," Reid argued, successfully leading the opposition to Stabenow's proposal.

The next month, Reid joined six other Democratic senators in asking President Bush in mid-December 2002 to spend an additional $30 million for Indian school construction. Several Abramoff tribes, including the Saginaw and the Mississippi Choctaw, were seeking federal money for school building.

Six weeks after that letter, three Abramoff partners _ including Platt and Ayoob _ donated a total of $4,000 to Reid's Senate re-election campaign. Later in 2003, the Agua Caliente contributed $13,500 to Reid's political groups while the Saginaw chipped in $9,000.

Reid sent a fourth letter on April 30, 2003, joining Ensign a second time to urge Interior to reject the Jena casino.

Two months later, Abramoff's firm threw a fundraiser for Reid at its Washington office that netted the Nevada senator several more donations from Greenberg Traurig lobbyists and their spouses. Ayoob was instrumental in staging the event, Reid's office said.

....and here is earlier history and analysis of John Solomon's reporting:

Quote:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/2/13/142046/896

......Forgetting for a moment the fact that his sack-job on Torricelli occurred at the exact moment the Clinton team was transitioning to the Bush team, we see all the markings of wingnut dementia:

1. Conspiracy theories (Clinton appointies working against the story)
2. Convinced the entire government is out to stop "the truth" of one democratic senator's investment story.
3. Reference to the honorable recusal of John Ashcroft contrasted with dishonorable dealings by Clinton appointees.

After Solomon's oh so groundbreaking reporting on a $2,000 loan, the Robert Torricelli "scandal" was championed by National Review for the next three years as their great shining example of the democratic party's "corruption."

Now as Kos fellow readers, you don't need me to tell you that compared to the Jack Abramoff scandals, Robert Torricelli now looks like a choir boy.

Which brings us back to John Solomon at the Associated Press.

Here is a "reporter" who digs and digs into one democratic senator who may or may not have taken a personal loan for a few thousand dollars. Now whether or not the Torricelli scandal is legit is not the question here (there are serious questions to be asked about Torricelli's conduct).

What we need to look at are the motivations and practices of the "reporting" of John Solomon. Robert Torricelli was one of the more powerful democrats in the Senate. In 2000 he helped run one of the more successful democratic party senatorial campaigns of recent years with a 5 seat gain.

Getting rid of Robert Torricelli and putting a seat in New Jersey in play was the wet dream of the neo-right GWB takeover of Washington. In 2001 one reporter was on the case -- John Solomon.

Digging through the archives, John Solomon mostly stayed quiet the past five years. Reporting straightfoward articles as his job requires. But digging deeper, we find the telltale signs.

In this hit-job from July of 2001, Solomon helps repeat the meme that the democratic party is owned by corrupt unions citing a series of the shoddiest "sources" this side of a Matt Drudge "scoop", including quoting GOP shill Laurence Noble as a "source." Note there is no democrat quoted to respond to the charges. .......

John Solomon was the first reporter to <a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1174448/posts">"break" the Sandy Berger</a> "stealing documents" from the national archive accusations. This was a "scoop" that turned into the prosecutor, Noel Hillman, in the case, telling the federal judge in charge of the Berger case that, [Berger]"did not have an intent to hide any of the content of the documents" or conceal facts from the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."</a>
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...-2005Apr1.html

dc_dux · 11-22-2006, 06:50 AM

Host...its a neverending process to debunk the rightwing distortions and mischaracteriziations about Dems, but I will keep at if if you will.

FYI, to those who are interested in government reform:

Quote:

The GAO released a report last week that identifies three sets of recommendations for consideration of the agenda of the 110th Congress. The first suggests targets for near-term oversight; the second proposes policies and programs that are in need of fundamental reform and re-engineering; and the third lists governance issues that should be addressed to help ensure an economical, efficient, effective, ethical, and equitable federal government capable of responding to the various challenges and capitalizing on related opportunities in the 21st century.

http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/abstrac...no=GAO-07-235R

11-10-2006, 06:36 PM	#1 (permalink)
Elphaba Deja Moo Location: Olympic Peninsula, WA	Chairmanship Changes & Potential Impact I didn't realize that these changes are so quickly made, but the Washington Post has identified the new Chairs in the House and Senate due to the new Democratic majority. There are numerous possibilities for a change of focus and direction and I offer this topic as a jumping off point for that discussion. I have linked the WAPO background for each new chair. I encourage anyone to take one of these Chair changes and make it a topic of it's own. There are several that are of particular interest to me, and I intend to take them to a new thread. NEW COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN IN THE HOUSE Judiciary: John Conyers Jr. (Michigan) Conyers Financial Services: Barney Frank (Massachusetts) Frank Education and the Workforce: George Miller (California) Miller Homeland Security: Bennie Thompson (Mississippi) Thompson Energy and Commerce: John D. Dingell (Michigan) Dingell Transportation and Infrastructure: James L. Oberstar (Minnesota) Oberstar Armed Services: Ike Skelton (Missouri) Skelton Ways and Means: Charles B. Rangel (New York) Rangel Agriculture: Collin C. Peterson (Minnesota) Peterson International Relations: Tom Lantos (California) Lantos Intelligence: Alcee L. Hastings (Florida) Hastings Government Reform: Henry A. Waxman (California) Waxman Budget: John M. Spratt Jr. (South Carolina) Spratt Appropriations: David R. Obey (Wisconsin) Obey NEW COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN IN THE SENATE Finance: Max Baucus (Montana) Baucus Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs: Christopher J. Dodd (Connecticut) Dodd Foreign Relations: Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Delaware) Biden Appropriations: Robert C. Byrd (West Virginia) Byrd Agriculture: Tom Harkin (Iowa) Harkin Energy and Natural Resources: Jeff Bingaman (New Mexico) Bingaman Judiciary: Patrick J. Leahy (Vermont) Leahy Commerce, Science and Transportation: Daniel K. Inouye (Hawaii) Inouye Intelligence: John D. Rockefeller IV (West Virginia) Rockefeller Environment and Public Works: Barbara Boxer (California) Boxer Armed Services: Carl M. Levin (Michigan) Levin Homeland Security and Government Affairs: Joseph I. Lieberman (Connecticut) Lieberman Health, Education, Labor and Pensions: Edward M. Kennedy (Massachusetts) Kennedy OTHER COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN (No background given by WAPO) Aging: Herb Kohl (Wis.) Indian Affairs: Byron L. Dorgan (N.D.) Rules and Administration: Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) Small Business and Entrepreneurship: John F. Kerry (Mass.) Veterans' Affairs: Daniel K. Akaka (Hawaii)

11-11-2006, 08:38 AM	#2 (permalink)
dc_dux Location: Washington DC	I'll offer my comments on a few of them: Homeland Security - both Thompson in the House and Lieberman in the Senate will push for implementation of many of the 9/11 Commission recommendations that have been stalled by the Repubs - nuclear/chemical facility security, port and rail safety, improving first responder capabilities. Thompson may also push to kill the new border fence bill and push for more funding for a "virtual fence" in the form of greater application of technology as opposed to a steel fence. They both also support broader immigration reform. Both Armed Services chairs, Skelton and Levin, will be tough and aggresive on the Pentagon and demand much greater accountability on Iraq policies/stategies then we have seen from the Repubs. Energy - Dingell is too close to the both the automakers and auto unions in Detroit for my taste. He has consistently opposed increasing mileage standards and funding alternative energy programs. Budget - Spratt is a fiscal conservative and will push for "pay as you go" ...any tax cuts will have to be offset by spending cuts. Government Reform - Waxman is a bulldog. I think he will focus on the excessive use of presidental signing statements and executive orders to circumvent current law as well as regulatory abuse (ie how the current EPA, FDA ignore current law and regulations to the benefit of the industries affected) Biden on Foreign Affairs will grandstand more than usual since he is running for Pres in '08 With Rockefeller on Intelligence, we will finally see the full investigation of how Bush used or misused pre-war intelligence. And with Byrd on Appropriations, there will be as much pork barrel spending as usual, if he has his way. __________________ "The perfect is the enemy of the good." ~ Voltaire