WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has announced Senate committee chairmanships that will continue to be controlled by the Democrats in the new Congress.
Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii becomes chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee., with the decision of 91-year-old Robert Byrd of West Virginia to step aside. The committee crafts annual spending bills.
Hawaii junior Sen. Daniel Akaka remains at the helm of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. He might have been in line for Homeland Security, but Reid decided Independent Joe Lieberman would keep that post.
Other appointments announced by Reid on Monday include former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry to take over from Vice President-elect Joe Biden as head of foreign affairs and Sen. John D. Rockefeller to head Commerce, Science and Transportation, which will help write the economic recovery package.
ORIGINAL STORY: http://www.kpua.net/news.php?id=16693
-END-