The lead Senate committee for drafting the still-unfinished highway and transit bill will have several new members when the 109th Congress convenes in January. The proposed Republican lineup for all the Senate committees, announced Dec. 20, includes four new members for the Environment and Public Works Committee, all of whom won election in November: David Vitter (La.), John Thune (S.D.), Jim DeMint (S.C.) and Johnny Isaakson (Ga.).
New Democratic members on Environment and Public Works, announced Dec. 6, are Frank Lautenberg (N.J.) and newly elected Barack Obama (Ill.). Lautenberg was on the committee during his first stint in the Senate, which ended in 2001. Lautenberg's retirement was brief: he won a 2002 race, but wasn't on the environment committee in 2003-2004.