Committee Assignments

Committee on Veterans Affairs  

Senator Blumenthal is the Ranking Member for the Committee on Veterans Affairs. According to the committee's website, the purpose of the committee was "created in 1970 to transfer responsibilities for veterans from the Finance and Labor committees to a single panel. From 1947 to 1970, matters relating to veterans compensation and veterans generally were referred to the Committee on Finance, while matters relating to the vocational rehabilitation, education, medical care, civil relief, and civilian readjustment of veterans were referred to the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare." This committee is ranked as the second most valuable committee according to Kieth Edwards and Charles Stewart's 2006 paper on "The Value of Committee Assignments in Congress since 1994"

 In typical Blumenthal active legislating fashion, the Senator has already introduced legislation. Blumenthal introduced an amendment to the Senate budget that would improve care and benefits for veterans. Blumenthal used this as an opportunity to release a statement on his website: "This amendment builds on the reserve fund in section 307 to provide for better medical research into the issues affecting women in our military, most particularly women who become veterans, which is a neglected aspect of health care in our Veterans Affairs health care system. This is a valuable committee assignment, caring for veterans is popular with both parties. This is a committee assignment that allows for credit claiming easily, as well as gaining speaking engagements. This can be seen by Yale Law School bringing Senator Blumenthal onto campus to give a speech on Veterans Health Care benefits.  

Armed Services Committee

Senator Blumenthal is also on the 4th most powerful Senate committee according to Edwards and Stewart, the Armed Services Committee. According to Senator Blumenthal's website, the Committee on Armed Services is responsible for overseeing the nation’s military forces including the Department of Defense, military research and development, and a variety of other national security issues. This committee is of particular interest to Senator Blumenthal due to the naval base at New London CT. Senator Blumenthal has stated "I am honored to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, which oversees our nation’s military and all matters of our national defense. I am dedicated to protecting the hard-working men and women at the New London Naval Submarine Base, as well as the high-tech manufacturing workers across Connecticut who provide cutting-edge equipment to our military." This assignment makes it easy for Blumenthal to show he is representing Connecticut's interests by keeping this base open and protecting the jobs that it provides. 

Judiciary

Senator Blumenthal is also on the Committee of the Judiciary. Senator Blumenthal's website states The Committee on the Judiciary has a wide range of responsibilities including judicial nominations, certain counterterrorism and homeland security issues, intellectual property, criminal law, as well as maintaining oversight of the Department of Justice. Senator Blumenthal has been a champion of Internet privacy and safety, as well an aggressive advocate for consumer protection, and looks forward to using his position to fight for Connecticut families. Consumer protection has long been a major point that Blumenthal has trumpeted. The Connecticut Post, a large circulation newspaper in Connecticut, stated that in regards to Blumenthal's time as Attorney General in CT; "It is indisputable that Blumenthal has changed the office he holds, moving away from the traditional role of state attorney to one of citizens' advocate." Senator Blumenthal used his position to preside over S.1696, The Women’s Health Protection Act: Removing Barriers to Constitutionally Protected Reproductive Rights. This is an issue that is important to progressive voters in his state and it provides advertising and credit clamming opportunities. 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

Blumenthal is the subcommittee ranking member of the Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security subcommittee of the Commerce Science and Transportation committee. This committee is focused on protecting consumers, right up Blumenthal's alley.  Blumenthal recently introduced legislation that would require used car dealers to repair safety defects, recalls before selling. Senator Blumenthal released this press statement: “There are now more than 46 million cars and trucks on our nation’s roads with unrepaired safety recalls; last year alone, five million used cars subject to safety recalls were sold to new owners without the necessary repairs. This critical legislation will protect consumers and help reduce the number of unsafe cars on the road.” Considering the emphases Blumenthal has placed on consumer protection through out his career, this is an incredibly important subcommittee for him to be on to show to his constituents his following through on his promise to protect consumers.