WHO'S IN POWER?

   New Leadership
   Senate Majority Leader: Senator Trent Lott (MS)
   Senate Minority Leader: Senator Tom Daschle (SD)
   House Majority Leader: Speaker Newt Gingrich (GA), 6th District,
   Marietta
   House Minority Leader: Rep. Dick Gephardt (MO), 3rd District, St.
   Louis

   Balance Of Power In The Two Houses:

   U.S. Senate: 55 Republicans And 45 Democrats. The Republicans gained 2
   seats in the last national election (Nov. 96)

   U.S. House Of Representatives: 227 Republicans, 207 Democrats And 1
   Independent. The House has fewer Republicans and more Democrats as a
   result of the Nov. 96 election.

   Key House And Senate Committee Chairmanships For The 105th Congress
   Include:
   Listed below are congressional committees that very important for
   persons with disabilities and their family members and advocates. If
   your Senator or Representative is on this committee with jurisdiction
   over an issue you care about, make sure you write to them. If your
   members are not on the committee, address your letter to the chairman
   but send a carbon copy to your representative as well so he knows how
   your feel about an issue.

   A Ranking Member is the minority party "chairman." As the Republican
   Party now controls both houses of Congress, all Chairman of all
   Committees and Subcommittees are Republicans in the U.S. Senate and in
   the U.S. House of Representatives. Ranking Members are all Democrats
   in the 105th Congress. Note that much of the work of Congress is done
   in committees or in subcommittees. E.g., the full Senate Labor and
   Human Resources Committee drafts the IDEA reauthorization legislation
   before it goes to the Senate floor for a vote.

   SENATE:

   Committee on Appropriations
   Chairman: Sen. Ted Stevens, (AK); Ranking Member: Sen. Robert Byrd
   (WV).
   Jurisdiction over fiscal year appropriation, rescission, supplementals
   bills (directly affects how much money spent on a program). Note:
   Stevens takes over the chairmanship from retired Sen. Mark Hatfield
   (OR).

   Subcommittee on Labor, HHS Education and Related Agencies
   Appropriations
   Chairman: Sen. Arlen Specter (PA); Ranking member: Sen. Tom Harkin
   (IA).

   Budget Committee

   Chairman: Sen. Pete Domenici (NM); Ranking member: Frank Lautenberg
   (NJ)

   Finance Committee

   Chairman: Sen. William Roth (DE): Ranking member: Sen. Daniel Moynihan
   (NY).
   Jurisdiction: Health care, all entitlements, Medicaid, Medicare,
   Social Security, SSI, SSDI, SSI for Kids.

   Labor and Human Resources Committee
   Chairman: Sen. James Jeffords (VT); Ranking: Sen. Edward Kennedy (MA);
   Jurisdiction: Health, labor, employment consolidation, education,
   including special education, vocational rehabilitation

   Labor's Subcommittee on Education and Training
   Chairman: Sen. Mike DeWine (OH); Ranking Member Sen. Barbara Mikulski
   (MD)

   HOUSE:
   Appropriations Committee
   Chairman: Rep. Bob Livingston (LA); Ranking member Rep.David Obey
   (WI).
   Jurisdiction: all appropriations.

   Subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Education
   Chairman: Rep. John Porter (IL), Ranking member: Rep. David Obey (WI);
   Jurisdiction: program funds for Dept. of Education, Labor, Health &
   Human Services

   Subcommittee on VA, HUD and Independent Agencies
   Chairman: Rep Ron Lewis (KY), Ranking Member: Rep. Louis Stokes (OH).
   Jurisdiction: funds for Veterans Administration, Housing & Urban
   Development, independent agencies such as National Service, NASA,
   Federal Communications Commission and others.

   Budget Committee
   Chairman: Rep. John Kasich (OH), Ranking member: Rep.John Spratt (SC).

   Ways and Means Committee
   Chairman: Rep. Bill Archer (TX); Ranking member: Rep. Charles Rangel
   (NY). Rangel took over from Sam Gibbons (FL).
   Jurisdiction: Taxes, entitlements (SSI, Medicaid), welfare