Murray gets key Senate post

Patty Murray was elected by fellow Democrats to a leadership position in the Senate on Tuesday, which she said will give regional concerns a higher profile in Congress over the next two years.

Murray will serve as the Senate Democratic Steering Committee’s conference secretary, the No. 4 spot behind Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin of Illinois and Caucus Vice Chairman Charles Schumer of New York. The steering committee sets the agenda, deciding which bills will come to the floor and when.

“We have a seat at the table,” Murray said of the position. “Often times the things I hear about at home aren’t reflected in the discussions here.”

Concerns over energy, including electricity rates from federal dams, which are often the target of presidential administrations, should get more attention, as well as agriculture and education, she said.

Democrats also gave out committee assignments, with Murray keeping her existing spots on Appropriations, Veterans Affairs, and Health Education Labor and Pension committees, and picking up a spot on the Rules Committee. She’s in line to become the chairwoman of the Transportation Appropriations subcommittee. Leadership of committees is not formally assigned until closer to the start of the new session.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, who last week beat Republican Mike McGavick to win a second term, kept her positions on the Energy, Commerce, Small Business and Indian Affairs committees, and picked up a seat on the Finance Committee.

The new spot will be important for upcoming discussions about middle-class tax cuts, lower health care costs and Social Security, she said.

“I want to focus on what we can do about Medicare reimbursement and closing the ‘doughnut hole’ ” on the Medicare prescription drug plans, she said. The committee will also push for more middle-class tax cuts for areas such as college education, state sales tax payments and health care, she said.

John Tester, the Democratic senator-elect from Montana, will join Cantwell on Small Business, Indian Affairs and Energy, and Murray on Veterans Affairs. He’ll also serve on Banking and Homeland Security committees, but will not have a seat on the Appropriations Committee, which his predecessor, Republican Conrad Burns, had.

Republicans are scheduled to elect Senate leaders today. The top spot is expected to go to Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. They won’t announce committee assignments until after Thanksgiving, after discussions about the ratio of Democrats to Republicans on each panel.