How did Baucus get a chairman seat on finance commitee? Who would give that guy that position?

[uponit7771]

I'm sure if we went back and looked at statements Baucus made in regards to public option etc during the election we can find that he never had a position or didn't support it, both are bad.

How in the world did he get a seat that would decided the pub option seeing Obama campaigned off of it?

Thx in advance for any input

[Eric J in MN]

1. Probably most time in the Senate of the majority party on that committee.

If you mean how he became chair.

If you're asking why he is on that committee at all, lots of Senate committees are powerful with regard to something.

[uponit7771]

3. Yes, how did he get chairman then....Thx

[John Q. Citizen]

10. Senority. The same way everyone else does. He was ranking minority member when the

Repos held the Senate.

[Jennicut]

2. Its by seniority

"Advancement in Congress—increased power and privilege—generally comes through seniority. The longer that members serve, the more senior they become on their committees, leading to the chairmanship of important subcommittees and eventually to the chair of the full committee. Members also receive room assignments through seniority, gaining larger, better-placed offices with more impressive views the more often they are reelected and the more senior they become. Seniority is dated from the time that a member is sworn in."http://www.answers.com/topic/seniority-in-congress

[rox63]

4. One word: Seniority n/t

[stopbush]

5. Somebody thought that nothing was ever going to change with health care

in this country, so they stuck Baucus there as they felt he would never be put in a position of having to do something meaningful.

It's like putting Brownie in charge of FEMA during a period of weather calm where FEMA wasn't called on to handle major disasters on the scope of a Katrina. Then, Katrina hits...and the proverbial shit hits the proverbial fan.

[DebbieCDC]

6. Seniority that's how

[uberblonde]

7. Obama put him in charge of the Senate process.

So let's give credit where credit is due.

[John Q. Citizen]

8. Here's the Baucus white paper on health care reform, Nov 08. It has the PO in it.

http://finance.senate.gov/healthreform2009/finalwhitepaper.pdf

[OHdem10]

9. Harry Reid appointed Baucus to led the HealthCare Issue.

[John Q. Citizen]

11. No. All health care legislation goes through Finance and the HELP committe in the Senate

It's the nature of the committees. Same when bush did his Medicare drug part D, same when Clinton tried to do managed care back in 1993.

[Freddie Stubbs]

12. The Senate Democratic Caucus makes the decision, often, but not always, based in seniority

[dsc]

13. It is senority though with one proviso

Senority gives you the choice of which committee to chair as you can only chair one. I have no idea if Baucus is more, or less, senior than say Kerry but Kerry can only chair one of the committees upon which he sits. He chairs Foreign Relations.