Politics on the Hudson

Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand will have limited options in terms of potential committee assignments when she is sworn in as a member of the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently released a list of committee assignments for the new Congress that shows some of the most important panels no longer have vacancies.

Sen. Roland Burris, the new senator from Illinois, took the last seat available to a Democrat on the Armed Services Committee.

Gillibrand indicated Friday she wanted an Armed Services seat because she currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee.

However, there still are two vacancies on the Agriculture Committee, which Gillibrand indicated she would like to serve on. The upstate Democrat currently serves on the House Agriculture Committee.

What else is left? The youngest member of the Senate might consider joining the Senate Special Committee on Aging, which still has slots available for three more Democrats.

And the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs has a slot open. That could be a good choice for Gillibrand, who needs to bolster her standing with urban New Yorkers going into the 2010 election. Her background as a securities lawyer also would be a good fit. But the downside is that New York Sen. Chuck Schumer already serves on that committee and uses that platform to speak on behalf of the state’s Wall Street interests.

A better option might be the Committee on the Environment and Public Works. Former Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton served on the panel and used her seat to advocate on behalf of the health problems experienced by emergency workers involved in the World Trade Center cleanup.

Four others with vacancies are: Foreign Relations; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Health Education Labor and Pensions; and Indian Affairs.

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