Senate Democrats make committee assignments

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., rewarded a number of party loyalists in his distribution of plum committee assignments to Democrats Tuesday, while padding the resumes of some Democrats who are up for re-election next year.

Democrats were given one additional seat on each committee, except the Senate Ethics Committee, to reflect their new majority status, thanks to the party switch of Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt.

Freshman Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., will serve on the Commerce Committee, while Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., a party loyalist who is close to Daschle, will serve on the Rules Committee. Sen. John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va., will serve on the prestigious Foreign Relations panel, while Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.--who may have presidential ambitions and who impressed party leaders with his work on campaign finance and managed care--will serve on the high-profile Judiciary Committee. Governmental Affairs Chairman Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., said he expected the new Democratic senator from Minnesota to be appointed to his committee, a reference to Sen. Mark Dayton. Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo., said she was asked to serve on the Small Business Committee. Carnahan, Durbin, and Rockefeller are all up for re-election.

Daschle quietly determined the panel assignments along with Democratic Steering Committee Chairman John Kerry of Massachusetts. The Steering Committee did not meet, but all assignments were approved by the Democratic Caucus this afternoon.

Jeffords will maintain his seats on all four committees where he accumulated seniority as a Republican--the Finance, Environment and Public Works, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and Veterans' Affairs panels. Democrats will not get to name new members to those panels, and Republicans will get to replace Jeffords with new members. Jeffords also publicly acknowledged that he will now become chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee--a position sources have said Democrats offered in negotiations with Jeffords over his decision to leave the GOP. Majority Whip Harry Reid, D-Nev., has chaired the panel since the Democrats took control.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., indicated that he would accept the Democratic seat on the Appropriations Committee. "Sen. Daschle and [Appropriations] Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. have difficult, demanding jobs," he said. "If you respect that and try to help out, I think that ultimately is appreciated."

Republicans also filled in their committee vacancies by choosing Sen. Craig Thomas of Wyoming to sit on the Finance Comittee, Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio to sit on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Sen. Michael Enzi of Wyoming to sit on the Foreign Relations panel and Sen. Peter Fitzgerald of Illinois to join the Governmental Affairs Committee.

Following are the new Democratic committee assignments: Agriculture: Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota; Appropriations: Reed; Armed Services: Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico; Banking: Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii; Budget: Sen. Jon Corzine of New Jersey; Commerce: Nelson; Energy and Natural Resources: Sen. Thomas Carper of Delaware; Foreign Relations: Rockefeller; Governmental Affairs: Dayton; Judiciary: Edwards; Rules: Durbin; Small Business: Carnahan; Indian Affairs: Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington; Select Intelligence: Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.