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8A FEDERAL UPDATE from page 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .~age 14 able to replace only one when the Democrats assume control of the panel in January. Senate Democrats will add newly elected Sen. John Tester (D-Mont.) to the Committee. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein is expected to retain her assignments on the panel's Energy, Public Lands and Forests, and Water and Power subcommit- tees. Environment and Public Works. There are few panels in Congress that will see a greater impact from the Democratic victory at the polls than the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. With the retirement of Sen. James Jeffords (I-Vl) and Sen. Joe Lieberman's (1- Conn.) likely ascension to the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee chairman- ship, Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) will assume the position of ranking member and relinquish his chairmanship to California Sen. Barbara Boxer. The two have clashed on nearly every issue that has come before the committee. with the most heated debate arising from the issue of global warming. Serving as committee chairman, Sen. Inhofe blocked bills seeking to cut the green- house gases contributing to global warming, caHing the issue "the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people," Sen. Inhofe also attempted to overhaul the Endangered Species Act and supported the Administration's 2002 rules to roll back provisions in the Clean Air Act. Sen. Boxer has already pledged to introduce legislation to curb green- house gases, strengthen environmental laws regarding public health and hold oversight hear- ings on Federal plans to clean up Superfund sites across the country. On global warming, Sen. Boxer said she would model federal legislation after a Califomia law signed this summer by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. That law imposes the first statewide cap on greenhouse gases and seeks to cut California's emissions by 25 percent, dropping them to 1990 levels by 2020. The president has opposed a federal mandate to limit greenhouse gas emissions from industry and automobiles, asserting that such steps should be voluntary, His administration also has ruled that greenhouse emissions are not a pollutant. To better shape the committee's agenda, Sen. Boxer has recently announced a reorganization of the panel's subcommittees, including a new Public Sector Solutions to Global warming, Oversight, Children's Health Protection and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee. The newly created panel is to be chaired by the Sen. Boxer and maintain jurisdiction over Global Warming, Oversight, Children's Health Protection, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Other subcommittees will include the Subcom- mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to be chaired by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.); the Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protec- tion, to be chaired by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (lID- Conn.); the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Nuclear Plant Security and Community Development, to be chaired by Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.); the Sub- committee on Superfund and Environmental Health, to be chaired by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.); and the Subcommittee on Trans- portation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality, to be chaired by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.). The committee will also welcome newly elected $ens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) to its ranks. Despite Sen. Boxer's aggressive agenda, the Democrats' narrOW control of the chamber may force the senator to settle for high-profile oversight activity rather than passage of complex, controver- sial environmental legislation. Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is expected to regain the chairmanship of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee in the 110th Congress. while current Committee Chairman Continued on Page 15 PAGE 14 . PRIORITY FOCUS Oec;ember 1, 2006 . Issue t46 Visit the League's Official Webslte-www.cacitles.org