Rep. Jane Harman

ep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., might never have had the chance to serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, as she left Congress in 1998 to run for governor. But after losing in the gubernatorial primary, Harman won back her congressional seat in 2000. And in 2003, she became the committee's ranking member after its former top Democrat, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., took over as House minority leader.

Born in New York City, Harman grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from Smith College and Harvard Law School. Originally elected in 1992, she gained valuable experience as a member of the National Commission on Terrorism, chaired by L. Paul Bremer, and she is currently a member of the Select Committee on Homeland Security. While serving as ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Harman has built a reputation as a thoughtful, strong leader. She's applied scrutiny to all intelligence matters and is willing to ask sharp, tough questions.

Harman, however, has avoided some of the bickering that has characterized the Senate Intelligence Committee, and she has garnered respect from Republicans. She also appears to have a solid working relationship with committee Chairman Porter Goss, R-Fla. Like its Senate counterpart, the committee has had few open hearings. But it has been more bipartisan, which was evident when Harman and Goss sent a letter to CIA Director George Tenet in September. The letter outlined their preliminary views on flawed intelligence relating to Iraq's WMD capability, as well as its ties to terrorism.

Harman, 58, says of her role on the committee, "I approach my job with two key ideas in mind: one, that safeguarding the nation's security is the committee's ultimate goal; and two, that [this] goal is best achieved on a bipartisan basis."