Who's Who After the Midterm Elections

As a result of the November 7 midterm elections in which the Democratic Party captured a majority in both houses of Congress, January will bring change to control of legislative committees with jurisdiction over conservation and wildlife funding issues on Capitol Hill.

The 110th Congress will convene in January 2007, and the majority's agenda is not entirely established as of yet. In fact, a couple of the leadership positions in Committees of interest to the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies have not been decided. However, there are a few changes we do know about.

Agriculture

In the House of Representatives, Representative Colin Peterson (D-MN) will chair the Agriculture Committee, concentrating on the upcoming Farm Bill reauthorization. Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) will be the ranking Republican.

Due to its upcoming reauthorization, the Agriculture Committee will be focused on the Farm Bill. The Committee also has a particular interest in the Conservation Title, and the development of an Energy Title focused on renewables and bio-fuels.

On the Senate side, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) will be the chair. They too will focus on the 2007 Farm Bill reauthorization. This Committee also supports robust Farm Bill funding particularly for programs in the Conservation Title, and has a strong interest in the development of an Energy Title to address renewables and bio-fuels. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) will be the ranking Republican.

Appropriations

Representative David Obey (D-WI) will chair the full House Appropriations Committee and Representative Jerry Lewis (R-CA) will be the ranking Republican. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) will chair the Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee, while the Interior Appropriations subcommittee chair will be Representatives Norm Dicks (WA).

Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) will chair the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) will be the ranking Republican of the full Committee. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) will likely be chair of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee and Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT) will likely be the ranking Republican. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) will likely be chair of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee but it is unclear who will be the ranking Republican at this point.

Energy and Commerce Committee

In the House, Representative John Dingell (D-MI) will return as chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, with Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) as ranking Republican.

The Energy and Commerce Committee will work on issues that pertain directly to energy policy, climate change and oversight of federal environmental programs.

Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) will chair the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee chair and he will focus on a national energy policy that shifts to efficiency, conservation, bio-fuels and other renewables, and long-term, climate change impacts. Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) will be the ranking Republican.

Resource

Representative Nick Rahall (D-WV) will chair the House Resources Committee, and has preliminarily indicated that he wants to focus on an energy policy based on all domestic sources. The ranking Republican could be Representatives Jim Saxton (R-NJ), Don Young (R-AK) or one of a handful of other members with seniority. Meanwhile, the House Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee will likely be chaired by Representative Frank Pallone (NJ).

Environment and Public Works

Representative Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will chair the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

This Committee will focus on environmental issues that affect the health and safety of American people. The Committee will attend to issues such as climate change and any legislative response to the recent Clean Water Act Supreme Court decision (Rapanos) that called into question the extent of federal authority (Section 404).

Meanwhile, Senator John Warner (R-VA) has said that he will challenge Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) for the ranking Republican position of the Environment and Public Works Committee, a decision that will not be made until next month.

Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) will chair the subcommittee of jurisdiction over fish and wildlife.