Carl Levin

Carl Milton Levin (born June 28, 1934) is the senior United States Senator from Michigan, serving since 1979. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Levin has been Michigan's senior senator since 1995. He has served as a U.S. Senator longer than any other Senator in Michigan history. He was elected to a sixth term in 2008, which will end in January 2015. He is the younger brother of U.S. Representative Sander M. Levin.

Early life, education and career
Levin was born in Detroit, the son of Jewish parents Bess (née Levinson) and Saul R. Levin, served on the Michigan Corrections Commission. He attended Detroit public schools and graduated from Swarthmore College in 1956 and from Harvard Law School in 1959. Soon after earning his law degree, he was admitted to the Michigan bar and opened a practice in Detroit, where he still lives. He received honorary degrees from Michigan State University in 2004, Wayne State University in 2005, and Michigan Technological University in 2008.

Levin was state assistant police officer and general counsel for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission from 1964 to 1967. He was special assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan and chief appellate defender for the city of Detroit from 1968 to 1969. He was a member of the Detroit City Council from 1969 to 1977, serving two four-year terms, the last four years as council president.

Committee assignments

 * Committee on Armed Services (Chairman)
 * As Chairman of the full committee, Sen. Levin may serve as an ex officio member of all subcommittees
 * Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security
 * Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
 * Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Chairman)
 * Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight
 * Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
 * Select Committee on Intelligence (Ex officio)

Armed Services
Levin is currently the chairman of the Armed Services Committee. He has served as the Democrats' ranking member on the committee since January 7, 1997. Levin previously chaired the committee when the Democrats were the majority party in the Senate, January 3–20, 2001 and June 6, 2001 – January 6, 2003.

Levin joined the Armed Services Committee upon joining the Senate. Recalling when he was assigned the committee seat, he said that he wanted to learn more about the armed services. "I had never served, and I thought there was a big gap in terms of my background and, frankly, felt it was a way of providing service."

He is a strong advocate for cost controls regarding military procurements. He has also pushed for less secrecy in government, working to declassify many documents, particularly where claims of ties between Iraq and al-Qaeda are concerned. Levin voted against sending troops to Iraq and repeatedly called on the Bush administration to provide a timetable for the withdrawal of troops.

Levin has argued strongly that the war in Iraq is a diversion from the War on Terror. On CNN on November 14, 2005, Levin said that "before the war, the President was saying that you cannot distinguish between Saddam Hussein and Iraq. As a matter of fact, he said that so often that he tried to connect Saddam Hussein with the attackers on us, on 9/11, so often, so frequently and so successfully, even though it was wrong, that the American people overwhelmingly thought, because of the President's misstatements that as a matter of fact, Saddam Hussein had participated in the attack on us on 9/11. That was a deception. That was clearly misinformation. It had a huge effect on the American people."

Conservative pundits have argued that this contradicts statements Levin made before the March 2003 beginning of major combat in Iraq. On CNN's Late Edition on December 16, 2001, he said that "The war against terrorism will not be finished as long as [Saddam Hussein] is in power." And as the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he said during a hearing on September 19, 2002, "We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region."

Levin believes that in order to improve the military the United States needs to shut down more installations and get rid of excess infrastructure. Under his leadership, the Committee of Armed Forces passed the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Act, which closed some military bases.

The Prime Minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, has hit back at senior U.S. politicians who have called for al-Maliki to be removed from office. He singled out Levin and Hillary Clinton, saying the Democratic senators were acting as if Iraq was "their property" and that they should "come to their senses" and "respect democracy".

During the 2009 MDA/AIAA Annual Missile Defense Conference, Levin spoke in favor of the U.S.-Russian cooperation on missile defense:

National Defense Authorization Act 2012
As part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (the main annual bill used to fund the US military) Levin and Senator John McCain (ranking Republican on Armed Services Committee-AZ) initially proposed to permit the indefinite detention of American citizens by the US military, without charges or trial, solely on grounds of suspected terrorist activity. After objections were raised that such detention violates Americans' constitutional rights, Levin agreed to include language (to section 1031, later 1021, of the bill) which exempted American citizens from the requirement for military detention, but not protecting them from indefinite detention. Levin has cited 'the Supreme Court' in support of his language authorizing indefinite detention (see box above). The NDAA is being challenged as unconstitutional in a lawsuit filed by Chris Hedges, Hedges v. Obama.

Education
Levin was a strong supporter of the creation of The Department of Education. Over the years, Levin has introduced legislation and amendments to improve education, including an amendment that greatly reduced class sizes to help teachers better focus on the needs of each specific child. Levin was a hesitant sponsor of the No Child Left Behind Act, and still believes that the United States Congress should examine the effects of the Act. Levin was also disappointed with the final draft of the No Child Left Behind Act because it cut much of the increased funding for children with disabilities that was initially promised.

Energy
Senator Levin has directed the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to investigate whether Department of Energy policies have caused a rise in the price in crude oil. He also led an investigation in 2001 to try to discover the cause of the spike in gasoline prices that summer.

Levin has opposed raising mandatory automobile fuel efficiency standards.

Levin voted for the Energy Policy Act in 2005, a comprehensive energy bill that advanced vehicle technologies, banned drilling in the Great Lakes, improved the electrical grid of the US, and made energy efficiency a component of the United States' energy policy.

Levin led opposition in the Senate to the Rahall Energy Policy Bill (H.R. 6), but lost 65–27.

Environment
Levin is working to prevent garbage from Canada (typically about 160 trucks per day) from being disposed of in Michigan.

Levin wrote legislation in the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act, creating a program for the research and construction of fuel-cell vehicles.

In 1999 Levin obtained $56 million for the Detroit Riverfront Project. The funds will be used in part to acquire land for a major five-mile walkway and greenway along the Detroit River. The Detroit Riverfront has been contaminated for decades by pollutants from factories that once operated there.

Ethics
Senator Levin authored the Competition in Contracting Act, which has led to significant reductions in federal procurement costs. He also authored the Whistleblower Protection Act, which protected federal employees who expose wasteful and unnecessary practices.



Health care
Senator Levin supported a Patients' Bill of Rights to reduce the ability of Managed care organizations to affect medical decisions.

Levin is an advocate for embryonic stem-cell research because of its potential to cure diseases like Alzheimer's, diabetes, and Parkinson's.

Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act
Carl Levin initiated the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act against alleged tax havens such as Liechtenstein. For the state of the initiative against tax avoidance and tax evasion registered as S.506, and the complementary initiative H.R.1265, see: Thomas (Library of Congress).

Miscellaneous
Levin is a critic of the New Hampshire presidential primary's first-in-the-nation status, saying a more diverse state (such as his own Michigan) should hold its contest first.

In April 2006, Levin was selected by Time as one of "America's 10 Best Senators."

The American Civil Liberties Union has given Levin an 84% lifetime rating on civil liberties issues.ACLU Congressional Scorecard

A strong gun control advocate, Levin has been graded F by Gun Owners of America. He was one of the 16 senators who voted against the Vitter Amendment.

He is almost always seen wearing his glasses at the end of his nose, which has drawn much humorous attention. In response, he lightheartedly joked that the late Senator Strom Thurmond (while he was in office) would have never worn his glasses because they "make him look old." Daily Show host Jon Stewart refers to him both as the "kindly old shoemaker", and "Grandpa Munster".

An avid supporter of the non-profit civil rights organization Focus: HOPE, Levin was instrumental in the procurement of equipment and funding for their Machinist Training Institute (MTI).

Political campaigns
Levin was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978, defeating Senate Minority Whip Robert P. Griffin.

Levin faced a tough reelection bid in 1984 against former astronaut Jack R. Lousma, winning by only four percent. However, he routed Congressman Bill Schuette in 1990, and was reelected in 1996 and 2002 against only nominal Republican opposition. In 2002, Levin garnered 61% of the vote against Republican Andrew "Rocky" Raczkowski despite the then-high popularity of President George W. Bush and the GOP and a close gubernatorial race that year.

In the 2008 election Levin won by a comfortable margin against state representative Jack Hoogendyk.

Electoral history
United States Senate election in Michigan, 2008

United States Senate election in Michigan, 2002

United States Senate election in Michigan, 1996

United States Senate election in Michigan, 1990

United States Senate election in Michigan, 1984

United States Senate election in Michigan, 1978

Personal life
Carl Levin married Barbara Halpern in 1961 and they have three daughters: Kate, Laura, and Erica.

Levin's family has long been active in Michigan politics. His older brother, Sander M. Levin, has represented Michigan's 12th congressional district in the House of Representatives since 1983. Sandy's son (Carl's nephew) Andy Levin was a policy analyst for the AFL-CIO and later ran unsuccessfully for the Michigan Senate. Carl's uncle Theodore Levin, was a chief judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Carl's first cousin Charles Levin was a Michigan Supreme Court judge; another first cousin, Joseph Levin, was a candidate for the House.

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