Appropriations
ROBERT BYRD, D-W.Va.
Byrd, the longest’serving member of the U.S. Senate, has held more Senate party leadership positions- including two terms as majority leader - than anyone. Now 88, he has grown increasingly liberal since his first statewide race in 1946. Byrd joined the Appropriations committee in 1959 and chaired it from 1989 to 1994 and again in 2001. His control of the panel and its role in federal spending prompted critics to label him “the king of pork-barrel politics.”

MSNBC has a great guide to the new house and senate committee chairs. You can find the House guide here and the Senate guide here. Let’s hope they can bring about some very productive investigations and brighten the future path our country will take.