The recent leadership change in the U.S. Senate has triggered speculation
about what the Defense Department and industry can expect from the
Democratic majority on the Armed Services Committee. There are many
unanswered questions about the new chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.,
whose views on some defense issues stand in sharp contrast to his
predecessor, Sen. John Warner, R-Va.
Defense observers and Beltway insiders are scrambling to learn
more, not just about Levin, but about all the Democrats of the committee.
Though some of the senators have been in office more than 30 years,
the defense community is seeking to reacquaint itself with the views
of these senators, who have not led the committee since the Republicans
took over in 1994. The positions of several freshmen senators on
defense issues are almost entirely unknown.
Many wonder what the Democrats’ priorities really are, and
whether there will be any significant changes made in the committee’s
structure and practices, as a result of the switch in party control.
The change in leadership took place in June, after Vermont Sen.
James Jeffords defected from the Republican party to become an Independent.
The precarious 50-50 Republican majority in the U.S. Senate suddenly
shifted to the Democrats. The new ratio, 49-50-1, caused all chairmanships
of Senate committees to change hands from Republican to Democrat.
Staff ratios and funding allotments in each party were flip-flopped.
The stellar office spaces, previously reserved for the Republicans
as the majority party, were given to the Democrats. Republican staffers
were asked to move to the smaller, less convenient offices traditionally
held by the minority party.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., has been a member of Armed Services since
he took office in 1979. He is known as a “principled politician,”
who has focused much of his career on making government more effective
and more ethical. A Harvard-educated lawyer, he authored the “Competition
in Contracting Act,” which has led to significant reform in
federal procurement regulations.
“He will pay a great deal of attention to the human side
of the military—personnel, benefits and such,” said
a longtime defense observer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Indeed, upon assuming the chairmanship, Levin said, “My priorities
as chairman will be first to continue to strive to improve the quality
of life for our men and women in uniform and their families.”
Other priorities will be “to ensure that our military remains
the best trained, best equipped, most capable military in the world,”
he said.
Levin said he plans to support the transformation of the armed
forces so that “we can meet the new threats: terrorism and
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.” Levin also
continues to be an advocate of the Base Realignment and Closure
(BRAC) process, and improving the management of defense programs.
“If we’re going to have adequate resources to do what
we need to meet emerging threats, we have to be more efficient in
the Defense Department and eliminate wasteful spending, including
reducing the number of bases that are no longer needed,” Levin
said. Levin has stated that he will support a round of military
base closings in 2003.
Levin has spoken extensively against the Bush administration’s
plans to seek the abrogation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
Instead, he has supported the treaty as a necessary diplomatic tool
to prevent future conflicts and a possible arms race in the world.
Many observers expect that he will work to oppose the deployment
of a missile defense shield, which is a top priority for the Bush
administration.
More recently, Levin was critical of Defense Secretary Donald H.
Rumsfeld’s budget proposal, which included the downsizing
of the B-1 bomber force. Levin was unhappy about Rumsfeld’s
choice not to involve Congress in the decision-making process. The
Pentagon, Levin told Rumsfeld, “has got to do a far better
job of consulting.’’ The decision to retire 33 Air Force
B-1 bombers—about one-third of the fleet—was, according
to Levin, “very inadequate.”
Reacting to concern that partisan bickering would hold up the committee’s
work, Levin said, “The Senate Armed Services Committee has
a long standing tradition of bipartisanship, which I am going to
maintain and honor. I intend to work closely with (ranking minority
member) Sen. Warner (R-Va.), as he has always worked with me.”
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the patriarch of one of America’s
most famous political dynasties, has represented Massachusetts as
a Democrat since 1962. He was elected to finish the term of his
brother, John F. Kennedy, who had just been elected president. In
an interview with National Defense, Kennedy discussed his priorities
concerning defense matters, which mainly are oriented toward service
to his constituents. “Massachusetts has strong ties to the
defense industry. Our talented and educated workforce produces many
of the high-tech components used in modern weapons and support systems.
Our state provides many critical and unique services to the Department
of Defense. Our outstanding universities and research laboratories
make significant contributions, as well,” he said.
Kennedy also highlighted other priorities. “Obviously, the
committee will have a major role in the debate on national missile
defense. Many of us have serious reservations about the president’s
proposal. As chairman of the seapower subcommittee, I have a special
responsibility to deal with issues important to the Navy and Marine
Corps. Current topics (being considered in that subcommittee) include
counter-mine technologies, fire support capabilities, strategic
lift, the V-22 Osprey and the shipbuilding budget.”
On the subject of bipartisanship, Kennedy noted, “The committee
has always been bipartisan, and I don’t see that changing.
The committee under Democratic control will continue to do all it
can to keep our armed forces strong to deal with any challenge this
nation faces.” He also praised the work of the past chairman
of the committee. “Sen. Warner brought solid experience and
ability to the committee as its chairman. In recent years, we’ve
made significant bipartisan progress in improving the pay and the
quality of life for our armed forces,” Kennedy said.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd, from West Virginia, is the only senator in
history to have been elected to eight consecutive terms. Byrd, the
third most senior Democratic member of the Armed Services Committee,
is also the most senior Democrat on the powerful Appropriations
Committee.
Previously a welder, who worked during World War II to build the
Liberty and Victory ships for the U.S. Navy, Byrd is well known
for his eloquent speeches on the Senate floor and his loyal support
for veterans. “One of my highest honors as a U.S. Senator
is to work to improve the quality of life for those West Virginians
who served in our armed forces,” Byrd said.
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, of Connecticut, was an advocate of defense
spending when he was in the minority of the Armed Services Committee.
Though this is only his third term in the Senate, his visibility
was raised last year to a national level when Vice President and
presidential candidate Al Gore chose him as his running mate for
the 2000 election.
Lieberman used his platform in 2000 to talk and write prolifically
about defense and foreign policy. He cited among his accomplishments
his work to strengthen national security by supporting funding to
modernize U.S. military forces, co-authoring the Gulf War resolution
and rallying support in Congress to send troops to Bosnia and Kosovo.
He also offered an amendment to the budget resolution earlier this
year that would increase defense spending by $100 billion during
the next 10 years. “We will surely not be able to meet our
critical defense needs without compromising our ability to live
within our fiscal needs,” he said.
Lieberman, in recent weeks, was critical of Rumsfeld’s strategic
review of the armed forces, which has remained somewhat secretive.
“I must confess that I’m a bit troubled by the suggestion
that decisions will be revealed sequentially rather than as a coherent
strategy, and that the effort over the past five months will have
little immediate impact on the military,” he said.
“Which leads me to my next concern—how the White House
intends to pay for critical defense programs,” Lieberman said.
A critic of the Bush tax cut, Lieberman said the president’s
decision to cut taxes undermines the welfare of U.S. service members,
because it will take money away from the Pentagon.
Sen. Max Cleland, of Georgia, is a recipient of the Bronze Star
and the Silver Star for his service in the Army during the Vietnam
War. Known by colleagues, journalists and defense observers as gritty,
energetic, courageous and self-deprecating, Cleland lost both his
legs and one arm during a grenade explosion in 1968. He has been
a member of the Senate since 1997.
A Carter appointee who headed the U.S. Veterans Administration,
Cleland often places himself at the forefront of policy debates,
mostly in favor of granting more attention and funding to the military.
Recently, Cleland introduced a bill to amend the War Powers Act,
aimed at improving communications between the White House and Congress
when troops are deployed abroad. The bill would require a report
from the president to Congress before deployment of forces. “Since
the end of the Cold War, our military resources have been cut by
one third, yet our deployments have increased 300 percent. Congress
has very little input into these decisions,” Cleland said.
Like Levin, Cleland is unhappy with Rumsfeld for not advising Congress
that the Pentagon plans to retire 33 B-1 bombers. Several of those
aircraft are based in Georgia.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, of Louisiana, elected in 1997, is the first
Democratic woman to serve on the Armed Services Committee. Landrieu
started her political career at age 23, when she was elected to
the Louisiana House of Representatives. Landrieu takes pride in
having helped broker a compromise in the Armed Services Committee
that broke a “five-year partisan deadlock, allowing the Senate
to move forward with a policy for developing a national missile
defense system,” a spokesman said. “During the Cold
War, the United States and the Soviet Union held to the standard
of mutually assured destruction. Now, we need to move toward the
post Cold War axiom of mutually assured security,” she said.
Sen. Bill Nelson, of Florida, a freshman, is a former astronaut
who flew on the 24th flight of the Space Shuttle. Nelson served
two years on active duty in the Army, retiring at the rank of captain.
Nelson’s priorities for his work on the Armed Services Committee
include “getting the fundamentals right,” he said in
an interview. “I campaigned on improving quality of life of
members of the armed forces, military retirees and their families.
I strongly support pay raises, and improved health care and housing,”
he said. “We should have more to show for our investment.”
Nelson also is concerned about force readiness, specifically, “the
chronic underfunding of aviation maintenance and the apparent poor
quality of maintenance management. We spend a lot of money to keep
our equipment safe and ready. We should have more to show for our
investment,” he said. Other matters that interest Nelson include
the threat of terrorism and the consequences of an attack involving
weapons of mass destruction. “I support continued research
and development efforts in national missile defense, and will support
deployment when the technology is capable of keeping us truly secure,”
Nelson said.
Sen. Jean Carnahan, a Democrat from Missouri, is the widow of Gov.
Mel Carnahan, D-Mo., who died along with his oldest son and a longtime
aide, in a plane crash during the 2000 campaign for the Senate.
Gov. Carnahan won the election posthumously, and his wife was asked
to take his place. Carnahan, an author and public speaker, considers
herself a centrist. In an interview, she said that “we need
a new national commitment to our armed forces.
“We must reassess who the enemy is by increasing our intelligence
capabilities and creating a plan for homeland security,” she
said. Carnahan supports expanding the fleets of Navy F/A-18 fighters,
Air Force C-17 transport airplanes and B-2 bombers. Carnahan also
said that improving medical and pension benefits for National Guard
and reserve members, providing tax incentives for reservists and
their families, and ensuring veterans’ education and heath
care, are priorities, “not an afterthought,” she said.
Rounding out the Democratic membership of the Armed Services Committee
are Sens. Jack Reed, R.I., Daniel Akaka, Hawaii, Ben Nelson, Neb.,
and Mark Dayton, Minn.