Democrats Saved Senate Committee Seats for Franken

[babylonsister]

Democrats Saved Senate Committee Seats for Franken
By Bart Jansen, CQ Staff


Democrats in the Senate are more than ready for Al Franken to join their ranks.

In anticipation of the Minnesota Supreme Court ruling in Franken’s favor, his party’s leaders reserved spots for him on four committees, including those taking up the health care overhaul and the Supreme Court nomination.

snip//

Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island has been temporarily filling the seat the Democrats reserved for Franken on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which has spent two weeks working on a complicated health-care overhaul that is expected to be completed July 10. The work on that bill has taken so long that Franken might still be able to participate.

Franken had argued for the urgency of resolving the court case because of his interest in participating in the health debate, which Democrats call their top domestic priority.

In addition, Ron Wyden of Oregon has been serving temporarily in Franken’s place on the Judiciary Committee, which has a hearing scheduled July 13 on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor. Democrats hope to confirm her before the August recess.

Two other committee vacancies have been held open for Franken on the Special Aging and Indian Affairs panels.


http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000003157088

[csziggy]

1. Good - he can hit the ground running!

[Bucky]

2. Franken's on Judiciary? I didn't think he was a lawyer.

Not that there's any reason not to have a non-esquire sitting there to translate the bullshit into plain English.

[babylonsister]

4. He's not a lawyer...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Franken

Franken was born in New York City, the son of Phoebe G. Kunst, a homemaker and real estate agent, and Joseph P. Franken, a printing salesman.<3><4> Franken had a Jewish upbringing<5> and grew up in St. Louis Park, a suburb near Minneapolis. He is a cousin of MSNBC's Bob Franken,<6> and his older brother, Owen Franken, is a photojournalist. Franken attended St. Louis Park High School until the tenth grade. He graduated in 1969 from The Blake School, where he was on the wrestling team. He attended Harvard College and graduated cum laude in 1973 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science.<7> At Harvard, Franken washed dishes as a participant in the work-study program with Richard Honaker, who was nominated by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2007 as one of three U.S. District Judges from Wyoming.<8>

[Inuca]

7. Feinstein who sits on that committee

(and who, whether you agree with her or not, sounds very knowledgeable on the issues) says she is not a lawyer either.

[GreenTea]

3. And a absolute vote for public option on health care! YES!

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

5. Strange I don't see anything about him sitting committee set up to identify

LIARS!!!

[Cha]

6. Rec'd~ Franken will hit

the ground running and my friend in Minnesota won't be seeing him at his local Kowalski's too much after today!