Levin successor to sit on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee
By David Eggert
Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s Gary Peters, the lone Democrat among 13 freshmen U.S. senators who were sworn in Tuesday, pledged to find common ground with majority Republicans and said his top priorities are ensuring that the auto industry stays healthy and building a second bridge to connect Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.
One of the four committees on which he will sit is Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Peters said when he served in the House, he worked with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.
“They know where I’m coming from on this bridge, and I’m going to continue to push very hard,” Peters told reporters during a conference call. “The international trade crossing is perhaps the most significant infrastructure project for the whole country. It’s absolutely critical for us in Michigan.”
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has expressed frustration with the Obama administration for not committing to pay for a $250 million U.S. customs plaza as part of the planned multibillion-dollar, government-owned bridge linking Detroit and Windsor. Canada plans to cover almost the entire cost of the bridge in exchange for future toll revenues.
Asked about the Senate GOP’s plan to vote on constructing the long-stalled Keystone XL oil pipeline, Peters was noncommittal on how he would vote, saying it would depend on amendments he supports dealing with petroleum coke — a byproduct of oil refining — and pipelines underneath the Straits of Mackinac, a major shipping lane between Lakes Michigan and Huron. The White House has threatened to veto the bill approving the pipeline.
Peters, a 56-year-old from Bloomfield Township who served in the House for the last six years, defeated Republican Terri Lynn Land in November. He succeeds Democrat Carl Levin, who did not run again after 36 years in the Senate.
Five new members of Michigan’s 14-member U.S. House delegation also took office Tuesday. They include Republicans Mike Bishop, John Moolenaar and Dave Trott — who will be in the majority — and Democrats Debbie Dingell and Brenda Lawrence.
Bishop, a 47-year-old from Rochester Hills, is a former state Senate majority leader. Moolenaar, 53, of Midland, most recently served as a state senator. The 54-year-old Trott, of Birmingham, led a law firm that specialized in real estate issues including foreclosures.
Dingell, 61, of Dearborn, succeeds her husband John, the longest-serving member of Congress in history. She is a former General Motors executive who has long been involved in Democratic politics. Lawrence, 60, was Southfield’s mayor and is the third African-American congresswoman in Michigan history.
