Committee on Environment & Public Works

United States Government / Legislative Branch / Senate /
Make changes to this page

Key Offices

The Committee on Environment & Public Works is led by the following people
Barbara Boxer - (D)
Chairman
The first female Jewish Senator, Boxer is considered a liberal who is vocal on issues such as the environment, abortion, gun control and medical research. Serving as California Junior Senator since 1992, she is now the Chief Deputy Whip in Majority.
Jim Mountain Inhofe - (R)
Ranking Member
Representing Oklahoma's 1st (1987-1994) and elected to the Senate in 1994, Inhofe's ranked 8th most conservative senator. Lining his political ideology with his religious belief, he's taken a hard line against abortion and is a chief climate change skeptic

Members of Committee on Environment & Public Works

Name Served Since
Lamar Alexander - (R)

Andrew Lamar Alexander is the senior United States Senator from Tennessee and a member of the Republican Party. He was previously the 45th Governor of Tennessee from 1979 to 1987, U.S. Secretary of Education from 1991 to 1993 under President George H.W. Bu
John Barrasso - (R)

In 2007, the conservative Barrasso was appointed to fill the Senate seat of Wyoming left vacant after Sen. Thomas' death. In the November '08 special election, he'll either choose to end his term or run for the remainder of Thomas' term until 2012.
Max Baucus - (D)

The 10th longest serving Senator, Baucus has been representing Montana since 1978. He has been a voice of the moderate wing of the Democratic Party and is currently seeking re-election for 2008.
Kit Bond - (R)

Once trying his hand at law, Bond later became Governor of Missouri for two separate terms (1973-7 & 1981-5) before becoming a Missouri Senator in 1987. He is currently in his 4th term and up for re-election in 2011.
Ben Cardin - (D)

In 1986 Cardin was elected to the House representing Maryland's 3rd District. Re-elected nine times to the House, he later won his Senate bid in 2006. He is pro-India and, unlike most Democrats, is against net neutrality.
Tom Carper - (D)

A Vietnam vet, Carper served in the House for Delaware (1983-93) and as Governor (1993-2001) before being elected to the Senate in 2001. As Vice-Chairmen of the moderate Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), he has garnered much bipartisan respect.
Hillary Clinton - (D)

Hillary Clinton is a junior Democratic Senator from New York. Married to former President Bill Clinton, she was First Lady from 1993 to 2001. She is currently seeking the Democratic nomination for President in 2008 and is considered the front-runner.
Larry Craig - (R)

A Representative for Idaho's 1st from 1981-91, Craig was elected to the Senate in 1991. He's the leading advocate for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, has been on the NRA's Board since 1983 and is part of the quartet, The Singing Senators.
Johnny Isakson - (R)

Prior to public office Isakson was president of Northside Realty (1979-2001), a time when it became the biggest independent real estate company in Georgia. Elected to the House for Georgia's 6th (1999-2005), he won a Senate bid in 2005.
Amy Klobuchar - (D)

Since being elected to the Junior Senate seat for Minnesota in 2006, Klobuchar has taken a typical Democratic approach to social and fiscal issues. Following the collapse of the Mississippi River Bridge in 2007, she pushed through a $250 million relief.
Frank Lautenberg - (D)

The only senator to leave the Senate and later return, Lautenberg had stints from 1982-2001, after not seeking re-election in 2000, and from 2003-present. Ranked high as a liberal in the Senate, he is seeking re-election in 2008.
Joseph Lieberman

Lierbman, after losing the Democratic nomination for Senate in 2006, the first time since his entrance in 1989, became an Independent with close links to the Dems and Republicans. He ran aside Gore in 2000 in the failed presidential bid.
Bernie Sanders - (I)

The first self-described socialist to be elected to the Senate, Sanders began in Vermont's At Large District in the House (1991-2007) before winning election to the Senate in 2006. Though an Independent (Democratic Socialist), he caucuses with the Dems.
David Vitter - (R)

Representing Louisiana's 1st from 1999-2005, Vitter was elected as Junior Senator in 2005. In a 2001 Amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Vitter required all federally funded schools to allow US military recruiting on campus.
George Voinovich - (R)

A rich career in politics, Voinovich served as Mayor of Cleveland (1980-89) and Governor of Ohio (1991-98) before entering the Senate for Ohio in 1999. Known to be overcome with emotion during important speeches, he has been cricized as disloyal to the GOP
John Warner - (R)

A WWII veteran and one time husband of Elizabeth Taylor, Warner served as Secretary of the Navy (1972-4) before being elected Senator from Virginia in 1979. He is pro-choice and pro-stem cell research, often puttting him at odds with the GOP.
Sheldon Whitehouse - (D)

Whitehouse is the Junior Senator from the state of Rhode Island. A Democrat, he previously served as United States Attorney (19941998) and state Attorney General for Rhode Island.