Landrieu Sworn in to Third Senate Term as 111th Congress Convenes

Press Release

Landrieu Sworn in to Third Senate Term as 111th Congress Convenes

United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., was today sworn in by Vice President Dick Cheney to a third term in the United States Senate. One of only 10 women to be elected to a third Senate term, Sen. Landrieu was escorted into the Senate chamber by U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., the Dean of the women in the Senate, and U.S. Senator Pete Domenici, R-N.M.

Sens. Domenici and Landrieu partnered to pass landmark legislation in 2006, the Domenici-Landrieu Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, that opened new areas to offshore oil and gas production and for the first time shared the revenues with Louisiana and other coastal states.

"I am very proud and grateful to the people of Louisiana for entrusting me with the opportunity to serve in the Senate for another term," Sen. Landrieu said. "With ongoing hurricane recovery and development needs throughout our state, a national economy in peril and U.S. forces fighting valiantly abroad, we face significant challenges on many fronts and I look forward to the work ahead in meeting them.

"It was particularly meaningful for me today to be led into the chamber by two very dear friends and mentors. Pete Domenici has stood by Louisiana when we have needed him most, and I will always admire his leadership, determination and generous heart. I also would not be here today if not for the trail blazed by Senator Mikulski. This year she takes a new class of women senators under her wing, and will give them the precious counsel and friendship I and so many others have so fortunately benefitted from."

In the new Congress commencing today, Sen. Landrieu will chair the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, with U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, serving as Ranking Member. Sens. Landrieu and Snowe will be the first pair of women to lead a full committee in either chamber of Congress. The two Senators will continue to co-chair the Senate Common Ground Coalition, a bipartisan group of Senators who work to forge consensus on key issues facing the nation.

"The Small Business Administration's budget has been cut repeatedly over the past eight years, blocking any real chance for this agency to be the effective partner our small businesses need," said Sen. Landrieu. "It will be a priority of my committee to restore this necessary funding, and I have asked President-elect Obama to return the agency to Cabinet-level status in order to demonstrate a clear commitment to standing with the small businesses who will be the backbone of our economic recovery.

"My other priorities for this term will include reforming the Army Corps of Engineers and accelerating the payments to Louisiana from the offshore oil and gas revenue-sharing plan we passed in 2006. We also need to reform the Stafford Act to once and for all stand up a federal disaster response and recovery mechanism that is marked by nimble effectiveness in the face of even the largest catastrophe, not by more tangles of bureaucratic red tape.

"I will continue fighting for our farmers and rural communities, making sure they do not get left behind as we strengthen the national economy. And I will build on my proud record of reform, again working across the aisle to provide parents with real options and tools for a quality education for their children and for creating stable, loving homes for adopted and foster children."

Sen. Landrieu will continue to chair the Disaster Recovery Subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, as well as the Legislative Branch Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee. She will also retain her membership on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, a position she's held since her first swearing-in in 1997, and will continue to co-chair the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, which she co-founded.

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