Senate Chairs

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Though the Democrats lost six of their 59 Senate seats in the November election, they still enter the 112th Congress in control of the upper chamber and its 16 committees. Fourteen sitting chairs from the 111th Congress will continue to lead their panels, while vacancies resulting from the retirement of Sen. Chris Dodd and the defeat of Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas will leave two panels — Banking and Agriculture — with new chairs.

In early November, the Center for Public Integrity released The Chairmen: New House Leaders Have Familiar Ties to Business, Revolving Door, examining the likely leaders of the 11 committees with the most clout in the new Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Now the Center examines the Democratic counterparts who will lead the comparable committees in the Senate.

The Senate chairs, though mostly white males, do include more diversity than the House chairmen-elect. Two major standing committees are led by women, Sens. Barbara Boxer and Debbie Stabenow, and a third is chaired by Sen. Daniel Inouye, son of Japanese immigrants. Two other standing committees not examined in this report are chaired by a man of Native Hawaiian decent (Daniel Akaka) and a woman (Mary Landrieu) respectively.

Chairs range from some of the most liberal members of the Senate to some of the most conservative Democrats in the body. All have received significant contributions from special interest political action committees, including those whose fortunes depend on the committee’s activities.

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Senate Chairs

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Raised on a Montana ranch, Sen. Max Baucus now wrangles tax policy as head of the powerful Finance Committee. The Big Sky State Democrat, 69, was elected to the U.S. House in 1974, and made the jump to senator four years later. He is currently the fifth-longest-tenured senator and the third among Democrats.

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Senate Chairs

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As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq march toward a second decade, Democrat Carl Levin chairs the Senate committee overseeing the Defense Department. Levin, now 76, is in his sixth term and has represented Michigan in the Senate since 1979 — the longest tenure of any Michigan senator in history.

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Senate Chairs

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As Washington struggles to cope with unprecedented deficits and an influx of Tea Party conservatives, perhaps no one will be under the microscope more than Senate Budget Committee chairman Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat. Referred to by The Bismarck Tribune as “the most influential senator North Dakota has ever produced,” Conrad helped write the 2002 and 2008 farm bills, played an active role in comprehensive energy legislation, and helped craft the 2008 financial bailout package. But those accomplishments may pale in comparison to the challenges ahead.

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Senate Chairs

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Debbie Stabenow accepts the gavel for the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry just as preparations begin for what is sure to be a controversial new farm bill in 2012. Stabenow, the junior senator from Michigan, is currently in her tenth year in the Senate, following a four-year stint in the U.S. House and 16 years as a state legislator. A former social worker and part-time folk singer, Stabenow, now 60, was first elected to public office at age 24.

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Senate Chairs

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Since becoming the first female chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in 2007, California Democrat Barbara Boxer has focused on combating climate change — calling on former Vice President Al Gore to testify, for instance, and advancing a cap-and-trade bill on carbon emissions. In November 2009, Boxer’s committee approved an energy and climate change bill despite a Republican-led boycott. Ultimately, the comprehensive legislation never made it to the Senate floor for a vote. Even Boxer concedes that Republican gains this past November will make it virtually impossible to pass climate legislation in the upcoming congressional session. But Boxer has made clear she’s in the fight for the long haul.

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Senate Chairs

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As chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, New Mexico Democrat Jeff Bingaman has been in the middle of the contentious debate over climate regulation and legislation. Bingaman has long been the Democrats’ leading voice on issues concerning energy production and consumption. The 67-year-old has been the top Democrat on the committee since 1999, serving as chairman from 2001-2003 and again since 2007.

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Senate Chairs

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If the results of the closely contested 2000 election had gone slightly differently, Joseph I. Lieberman might have spent at least four years helping to run the executive branch of government. But, instead of becoming the 46th Vice President of the United States, the junior senator from Connecticut has been overseeing the operations of the executive branch as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

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