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8A FEDERAL UPDATE from page 10 . .. . . . .. .... . . .. . . ... . . . . ... . . .. .. . . . .~age 11 Prior to November 7, Democrats were optimis- tic that they would be able to regain control of the Senate, even though they had to win six currently controlled Republican seats. With a controversial war in Iraq and concerns over the corruption in Congress, Senate Demo- crats were able to gain the six seats needed to control the Senate as well as win all other demo- cratically controlled incumbent seats. In two of those states, Virginia and Montana, the races were decided by less than a few thousand votes. There were six Republican incurnbent senators who lost their election campaign on November 7. Claire McCaskill (O-Mo.), a longtime state auditor and prosecutor, defeated Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.). Jon Tester (O-Mont.), a small business owner and farmer, defeated Conrad Bums (R-Mont.). Seven-term Congressman Sherrod Brown (0- Ohio), defeated Mike DeWine (R-Ohio). Bob Casey Jr. (O-Penn.), a former state treasurer, defeated Republican Conference Chair, Rick Santorum (R-Penn.), the third ranking Republican in the Senate. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), a former attorney general defeated Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.). Former Navy Secretary Jim Webb (D- Va.) defeated GeorgeAllen (R-Va.). In total, 10 new senators will join the 110th Congress including, Ben Cardin (D-Md.), replacing retiring Sen. Paul Sarbanes (O-Md.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), replacing retiring Sen. Mark Dayton (O-Minn.), Bob Corker (R- Tenn.), replacing retiring Senate Majority Leader BiD Frist (R- Tenn.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) replacing retiring Sen. James Jeffords (I-Vt.). Senate Leadership_ With Democrats gaining control of the Senate, current Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (O-Nev.) will become the Sen- ate Majority Leader in the 110th Congress and Sen. Richard Durbin (0-11I.) will ascend to the position of Majority Whip. The Senate Democratic leadership team will also include West Virginia's Robert Byrd, who will serve as the chamber's President Pro Tempore, and New York's Charles Schumer, who will serve as Vice Chair of the Democratic Conference as well as Chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC). California Sen. Barbara Boxer will serve as the party's Chief Deputy Whip. Senate Republicans will look to new leader- ship in the 110th Congress from current Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), as current Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R- Tenn.) is retiring at the close of the current session. On November 15, Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott defeated Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) in his bid to become the Senate Minority Whip in the coming session. Senate Committees. The November 7 Senate election results will enable Democrats to regain the chairmanships of all of chamber's committees. However, because Democrats will only have a two-seat advantage over Republi- cans, the ratio of Democrats to Republican committee members will be slim, most likely a oneH&98tadvantage. Currently, Republicans hold a two-seat advantage over Democrats on most Committees. However, party ratios on committees Bre subject to negotiation between the majority and minority, so it could be weeks before Committee rosters are finalized. Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Cur- rent Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Ranking Member Tom Harkin (D-lowa) is ex- pected to become chairman of the committee in January, where he will oversee the reauthorization of the farm bill. Sen. Harkin has expressed an interest in working to strike a balance between competing demands from commodity groups that want continued government subsidies and envi- ronmentalists who will seek additional funding for conservation and renewable energy incentives. The senator's home state of Iowa is a chief producer of com and soy, and he is expected to Continued on Page 12 Visit the League's Official Wtbstte-www.cadtIes.org PRIORITY FOCUS. PAGE 11 Dec:ember 1, 2006 . Issue t46