*EPF416 01/16/2003
Senate Democrats Select Their Committee Members and Leadership
(Sen. Res. 20 sets lineup, gives Republicans one vote edge on committees) (360)

By Stephen LaRocque
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington - The Senate approved Senate Resolution 20 January 15, which sets out the Democratic lineup for Senate committees in the 108th Congress.

For the key foreign policy committees of Armed Services, Foreign Relations; and the Select Committee on Intelligence, Republicans will hold one-vote majorities over the Democrats (13-12 for Armed Services; 10-9 for Foreign Relations; and 9-8 for the Select Committee on Intelligence).

On the Armed Services Committee, Senator Carl Levin (Democrat of Michigan) will be the ranking minority member. Joining him on that panel in descending order of seniority are Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts; Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia; Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, a declared candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 2004; Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island; Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii; Senator Bill Nelson of Florida; and Senator E. Benjamin Nelson of Nebraska; Senator Mark Dayton of Minnesota; Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana; Senator Hillary Clinton of New York; and first term Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas.

On the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Joseph Biden (Democrat of Delaware) will be the ranking minority member. With him on the panel in descending order of seniority are fellow Democrats Senator Paul Sarbanes of Maryland; Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut; Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, another potential Democratic candidate for President; Senator Russell Feingold of Wisconsin; Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, who also serves on the Armed Services panel; Senator John Rockefeller of West Virginia; and Senator Jon Corzine of New Jersey.

On the Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Rockefeller will be the ranking Democrat on the committee. He will be joined on the panel in descending order of seniority by Senator Levin, the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services panel; Senator Dianne Feinstein of California; Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon; Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois; Senator Bayh who also sit on the Armed Services panel; Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, who has declared himself a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 2004; and Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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