Committee Assignments (Post #4)

From the beginning of his congressional career in 1984, Senator Jay Rockefeller has served on the Senate Intelligence Committee where he resided as Chairman from 2004 until his retirement in January of 2009. During his stint as Chairman, Senator Rockefeller had a reputation of being highly condemning of the War on Terror especially the campaign in Iraq. His personal senate website reflects this stating that he is “critical of the nation's mismanagement of the Iraq war, and continues to press the United States to refocus its mission and resources on al Qaida and global terrorism.” 

With a name like Rockefeller, it seems ironic that he is critical of a war that is dripping in oil, but perhaps he redeemed himself in great grandpa’s eyes as he actually voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in October of 2002 (From Washington Post database). However, his opinion seems to have changed after a number of trips to the Middle East. In an interview with Fox News upon his return he states, “We are called the Senate Intelligence Committee. We get a lot more than the rest of the Senate, but it was incomplete as to what the president gets, and it was obviously entirely wrong, which raises the question of why was it wrong… I took a trip by myself in January of 2002 to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria, and I told each of the heads of state that it was my view that George Bush had already made up his mind to go to war against Iraq, that that was a predetermined set course which had taken shape shortly after 9/11” (source).

Though he makes his point, I can’t help but find satirical musings in the fact that the current head of a family who made their fortune in oil (and ruthless business deals) would be campaigning for friendship/confidence with the leaders from some of the world’s largest oil producing countries using an “America was in it for business reasons” platform. 

In the end, Rockefeller was successful in implementing a two phase investigation into the series of events that led up to the Iraq War and was subsequently instrumental in the intelligence reforms of 2007 and 2008 (read more here). 

After his retirement a Chairman of the Intelligence Committee in 2009, Senator Rockefeller accepted the position as Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (where South Dakota’s Senator Thune is a ranking member and often serves as the Republican voice). As the Senior Senator from West Virginia and given the state’s mining/industry based economy, Rockefeller’s role here is in line with his constituent interests. According to the committee website, he is currently working to pass the American Infrastructure Investment Fund Act which would allocate funds for “rails, roads, bridges, ports, transit systems, and other infrastructure in order to meet the needs of our country” (source) and continues to call for increased cyber security and education for the 21st century (see video).

“Just as harnessing technological innovation is crucial to our economic future, addressing the dangers of a completely interconnected world is just as critical.  Cyber security is one of the great national security challenges we face – it is a challenge that the government and the private sector must work collaboratively to solve.  I am confident we will.” (quotes from committee press release).

In addition, Senator Rockefeller is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health Care. In this position he was a primary supporter of the Health Care legislation proposed by President Clinton in 1994. He was also instrumental in the passage of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Today, his proposed legislation focuses on reducing prescription drug addiction which happens to be unusually high in his state of West Virginia (An estimated 150,000 West Virginians need treatment for addiction each year which is much higher than the national average).

Other positions Senator Rockefeller holds in Congress: he serves on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Joint Committee on Taxation, is Co-chairman of the Senate Steel Caucus, and is a United States Trade Advisor. He favors tax credits and incentives as well as progressive tax reform, and has recently proposed legislation to protect both miners’ and veterans’ retirement benefits (see his website homepage for more information).

A full listing of his committee assignments and links to the committees’ pages can be found on his senate website here. 

Sources:
http://www.rockefeller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/about-jay
http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/press/record.cfm?id=298775
http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=2c48227e-9b09-4e9d-a5fc-79f5b205ebe2 
http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=ea21aaca-84b4-425c-9b14-206c08c822ac
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,175433,00.html
http://www.rockefeller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/committee-assignments
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/R000361/votes/