Below are brief policy profiles of the Democratic chairs of key congressional committees in the new Congress. Members took their seats on January 4.
SENATE
John Kerry (MA)
Small Business and Entrepreneurship
- Wants to focus on reforming the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) Disaster Loan Program
- Intends to promote tax incentives to encourage investment in innovation and small businesses
- Has vowed to improve the effectiveness of SBA's loan and counseling programs for entrepreneurs
Max Baucus (MT)
Finance
- Advocates including labor and environmental provisions in trade agreements
- Voted in 2005 against making the death tax repeal permanent
- Supported the president's $1.35 trillion tax cut in 2001 as chair of the committee
Ted Kennedy (MA)
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
- Supports an increase in the federal minimum wage
- Supports mandated paid sick leave
- Has been critical of the implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation
Christopher Dodd (CT)
Banking
- Opposes efforts to revisit the Family and Medical Leave Act, which he authored
- Said that Sarbanes-Oxley compliance is not too costly or burdensome
o Voted against a temporary windfall profit tax on crude oil
Jeff Bingaman (NM)
Energy and Natural Resources
- Voted for comprehensive energy legislation but against exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
- Criticized House legislation to expand offshore oil drilling
- Expected to push for mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions
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HOUSE
Nydia Velazquez (NY)
Small Business
- Wants to increase access to affordable capital for small businesses
- Intends to work with the business community and the IRS to simplify the tax code
- Expected to increase oversight on the administration's awarding of small business contracts
Charles Rangel (NY)
Ways and Means
- Has signaled he will not roll back existing Bush tax cuts but may favor allowing them to expire in 2010
- Voted against the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA)
- Says alternative minimum tax relief will be a top priority
George Miller (CA)
Education and Workforce
- Has said his first priority is increasing the federal minimum wage
- Will seek to reauthorize and increase funding for NCLB
- Supports legislation to make it easier for unions to organize employees
Barney Frank (MA)
Financial Services
- Supports more shareholder input in corporate board membership
- Favors easing compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley without amending the law
- Has suggested easing government regulations in exchange for mandated worker pay and benefit increases
John Dingell (MI)
Energy and Commerce
- Wrote the Clean Air Act of 1990, allowing the Environmental Protection Agency to establish and oversee air quality standards
- Opposes emissions and fuel efficiency mandates
- Plans to investigate oil subsidies and the vice president's energy task force
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