On the Senate side, Appropriations Committee chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, will have to leave that post
due to term limits; Stevens is one of the most knowledgeable members of Congress on employee issues,
particularly retirement, and under his control the committee has regularly boosted annual federal raises
above what the White House proposed. He will be replaced by Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., while Stevens is
set to take over the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, will
remain chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee, which will be renamed Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs to reflect new duties it recently acquired.
