Changing faces give new look to Senate Aging Committee.

As the 109th Congress takes office, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging starts the term with a host of new faces in place of longtime, ones well-known to the long term care industry.

Gone is veteran ranking member John Breaux, D-La., the three-term senator who opted not to run for a fourth term in 2004. Breaux had served on the aging committee since 1997.

Breaux's replacement is Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., who was appointed as ranking Democrat by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. Reid left the aging committee shortly thereafter to assume his new duties as Senate Democratic leader.

Exiting with Reid and Breaux from the Democratic side was Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Four Republicans also departed with the new term: Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi, Illinois Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, Utah Sen. Orin Hatch and Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens.

Sen. Larry Craig remains on the committee, but not as its chairperson. The Idaho Republican stepped down to become chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. He seeks to replace Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who became chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Craig was a U.S. Representative from 1980 to 1990 and has been a U.S. Senator since 1990.

Oregon Republican Sen. Gordon Smith replaced Craig as chair. A relative newcomer compared to Craig--Smith was elected to the Senate in 1997--he has served on the Aging Committee since 2001. He is also co-chair of the Senate Task Force on Medicare and Prescription Drugs and serves on five other major Senate committees.

Other newcomers to the aging committee are incumbent Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Conrad Burns, R-Mont., Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., Bill Nelson, D-Fla. and newly elected Sens. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and Mel Martinez, R-Fla.

All positions must be confirmed by their respective political caucuses. Those results were not available by press time.

Well-known in long term care circles for his work on the aging committee--including his support of the industry's Quality First initiative and hearings on elder abuse prevention--former Sen. Breaux ironically decided to leave politics partly because of age. Now 60, Breaux said his 35 years in government--including 14 in the House of Representatives and 18 in the U.S. Senate--was enough. "I had the privilege of serving with five governors and seven presidents," he said. "But there comes a time when you have to stand aside and let others step up and serve."

Sen. Kohl said a lot of that "stepping up" will revolve around the ever-crucial question of how to handle the nation's current crop of seniors and the major Baby Boomer crowd right behind it. Much of Kohl's efforts in recent years centered on improving quality and safety in long term care facilities and lowering the price of prescription drugs.

In a prepared statement, Sen. Clinton said the aging committee's work will become increasingly important as Baby Boomer age. "We must ensure that bedrock programs like Medicare and Social Security remain solvent and strong," she said. "(And we must) promote federal policies that promote positive aging, assist family caregivers, and help seniors remain in their homes and (be) active members of their communities for as long as they are able."

Established in 1961 as a temporary committee and made permanent in 1977, the Senate Special Committee on Aging specializes in studying issues relating to older Americans, conducting oversight of programs, and investigating reports of fraud and waste. Past topics addressed by the committee include poor nursing home conditions, age discrimination toward seniors, Medicare's Prospective Payment System and the drug pricing practices of pharmaceutical companies.