A new analysis ranks Iowa’s two long-serving United States Senators as having much more influence in Washington than senators who are often in the headlines.
New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the ex-First Lady who’s considered a leading contender for her party’s presidential nomination in 2008, ranks 41st on the list. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry ranks 61st. Iowa’s two senators rank in front of both of them in terms of influence inside the so-called Beltway because of their tenure, their committee positions, and their ability to get legislation passed.
Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican, is in his fifth term and is chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee. Grassley ranks as the fourth most-powerful United States senator. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin ranks as the 35th most influential and the 13th most-powerful Democrat among the 43 Democrats in the Senate. Harkin is in his fourth term.
On the House side of the ledger, Iowa Congressman Jim Nussle ranks as the 54th most influential House member because of his role as House Budget Committee chairman. You can see the analysis on-line at www.congress.org.
Due to the influence Grassley, Harkin and Nussle weild in Washington, Iowa ranks right up there as having the third most-influential state delegation in congress. Iowa’s other congressmen rank as follows: Leach at #70; Latham at #190; King at #208 and Boswell at #302.
Related web sites:
Congress.org