Senate panels to supply soapbox

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Senate Democrats interested in White House bids will get tons of free publicity starting in January with new and prominent posts on key panels.

Senators hoping to pontificate on Iraq, global warming or health care policy will enjoy multiple hearings -- some televised live -- and the amplified political microphone that comes with being in the majority party.

Among the five Democratic senators who are widely expected to seek their party's presidential nomination, three will hold chairmanships when the 110th Congress opens Thursday.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware will assume the most prominent post of the bunch as incoming chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Already, the presidential aspirant has promised three weeks of hearings on the Iraq war, complete with testimony from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and new Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

Mr. Biden last month announced he will fight President Bush if he proposes sending a surge of troops to Iraq, calling such a move "escalation."

Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts will be chairman of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut will lead the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

Mr. Kerry said a lack of health insurance for small-business workers is one of the country's greatest challenges and said his committee will look at the tax code for small firms as well as loans for minority, female and veteran entrepreneurs.

"Small businesses are the heart of the American economy and the place where American dreams rise and fall every day," said Mr. Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, who is considering a second try for the White House.

Mr. Dodd's panel is tasked with oversight of the country's largest financial-services companies and government agencies such as the Federal Reserve Board and Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The committee also will examine foreign investment in the United States in the aftermath of the Dubai ports debacle and will look at strengthening the country's rails, ports and roads systems against terrorism, Mr. Dodd said.