110th Congress Overview

New Chairs Take Reins of Key Congressional Committees
The 110th Congress convened with Democrats assuming leadership posts. Here’s a look at the names, faces and agendas of the new chairs of key House and Senate committees.

House Committee Leadership


Financial Services Committee Chairman, Rep. Barney Frank
Rep. Frank has served the 4th District of Massachusetts since 1981. Known as the “funniest” and “most eloquent” member of the House, this former ranking member of the Financial Services Committee has data security near the top of his agenda. He has also recently stated that he will pursue a five-year extension of TRIA and an expansion of the program.


Financial Services Committee Ranking Member, Rep. Spencer Bachus
Rep. Bachus has represented Alabama's 6th District since 1993. Aided by his reputation as an effective, low-key leader, Bachus won a hard-fought contest to serve as the ranking member of the Financial Services Committee. A recent article in National Journal’s Congress Daily noted Bachus has not expressed support for optional federal charter legislation; however, he does believe state-based regulation is an obstacle for the insurance industry.


Ways and Means Committee Chairman, Rep. Charles“Charlie” Rangel
Rep. Rangel is serving his 19th term representing New York’s 15th District. He was chair of the Ways and Means Committee prior to 1994 and served as Ranking Member from 1994-2006. The fourth longest-serving member of the House, Rangel is a founding member and former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. Increasing the minimum wage tops his list of priorities and he has repeatedly stated his desire to work cooperatively with the business community on other tax issues.


Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member, Rep. Jim McCrery
Rep. McCrery has represented the 4th District of Louisiana since 1988. He is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership (a group of moderate Republicans). Rep. McCrery sponsored or co-sponsored six bills in the 109th Congress that were signed into law by the president, all of which involved disaster mitigation and assistance in response to 2005 hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.


Energy and Commerce Chairman, Rep. John Dingell
After a 12-year hiatus, Rep. Dingell will once again chair the House Energy and Commerce Committee. As dean of the House, Dingell has served what is now Michigan’s 15th District since 1955. Insurance was once in his purview, and he will likely fight to get it back.


Energy and Commerce Ranking Member, Rep. Joe Barton
Rep. Barton has represented the 6th District of Texas since 1985. Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee until 2007, Barton was the primary House author of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.


Senate Committee Leadership


Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman, Sen. Chris Dodd
Sen. Dodd has represented Connecticut in the Senate since 1981. A former three-term member of the House from Connecticut’s 2nd District, Dodd has been a long-time supporter of a terrorism risk insurance backstop. He recently announced his intention to make terrorism insurance reform a priority.


Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Ranking Member, Sen. Richard Shelby
Former Democratic Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican since 1994, has represented Alabama in the Senate since 1987. Shelby was the chairman of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee until 2007.


Finance Committee Chairman, Sen. Max Baucus
Sen. Baucus has been a member of the Senate since his first election to represent the state of Montana in 1978. A former two-term Congressman, Baucus returns to his former role of chairman of the Senate Finance Committee after a brief stint as its ranking member. Trade initiatives and negotiating authority will be some of the biggest fights in the Finance Committee in the next Congress. Baucus is up for re-election in 2008.


Finance Committee Ranking Member, Sen. Charles “Chuck” Grassley
After defeating his incumbent opponent in 1980, Sen. Grassley began his 25 years representing the state of Iowa in the Senate in January 1981. For the first half of 2001, and then again from 2003-2006, Grassley served as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Grassley and Baucus have a good working relationship.


Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman, Sen. Daniel Inouye
Having served in the House from 1959-1962 and the Senate from 1963 to the present, Sen. Inouye has continuously represented Hawaii since it became a state in 1959. A senator for 43 years, he is the third most senior member of the Senate.


Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Ranking Member, Sen. Ted Stevens
The longest serving Republican in the Senate, Stevens has been Alaska’s U.S. Senator since 1968. Former president pro-tempore, Stevens served as chairman of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee from 2005-2007.