November 2006 | Legislative Status

The November 7th elections shifted the balance of power in Congress both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives – with both chambers now being controlled by the Democrats. As a result, several committees will have new members, there are new members in leadership positions and some committee ratios could change.

In the Senate, the Democrats have announced that there will be 3 new Democrats sitting on the prestigious Senate Finance Committee with jurisdiction over tax-exempt entities. These new members include: Senator Debbie Stabenow (MI), Senator Maria Cantwell (WA) and Senator Ken Salazar (CO). Republicans lost two members of the Senate Finance Committee, with Senator Frist’s retirement and Senator Santorum losing his re-election bid. They are expected to replace just one of those spots in the coming weeks. Though there is no definitive word on who that will be, the odds-on favorite is Senator John Ensign (NV).

Harry Reid, the new Senate Majority Leader, has announced the new leadership team in the Senate that will include the following:

• Assistant Majority Leader: Senator Dick Durbin (IL);
• Chairman of Democratic Policy Committee: Senator Byron Dorgan (ND);
• Chairman of Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: Senator Charles Schumer (NY);

On the Republican side, Senator Mitch McConnell (KY) will be the new Minority leader and Senator Trent Lott (MS) was elected Minority Whip. Senator Lott is also on the Senate Finance Committee and has been very supportive of our community during the debate on charitable reform.

In the House, the Ways and Means Committee (with jurisdiction over tax-exempt entities) will look significantly different in the 110th Congress. Nine Republican members of Ways and Means will no longer be on the Committee (including the soon-to-be retired Chairman Bill Thomas). Democrats will have to fill several (perhaps as many as nine) newly opened spots on this committee. It is unlikely that we will know the new make-up of the Ways and Means Committee until January 2007.

On Thursday, November 16th, the Democratic Caucus elected Nancy Pelosi to be the new Speaker of the House. Other results from leadership elections include:

• Majority Leader: Representative Steny Hoyer (MD)
• Majority Whip: Representative James Clyburn (SC)
• House Democratic Caucus Chairman: Representative Rahm Emanuel (IL)
• House Democratic Vice Caucus Chairman: Representative John Larson (CT)

The Republican leadership team in the House of Representatives will look very similar to the leadership from the 109th Congress. Representative John Boehner (OH) will be the Minority Leader and Representative Roy Blunt (MO) will be the Minority Whip.

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