Biography of Senator Carl Levin
In naming Carl Levin one of the ten best senators, Time Magazine wrote in April 2006 that he has "gained respect from both parties for his attention to detail and deep knowledge of policy," and that "his carefully researched, thoughtful remarks carry great weight with his colleagues."
Since 1979, Carl has represented the people of Michigan in the United States Senate, where he has fought for Michigan's industrial economy; for the Great Lakes and the environment; for Social Security and more affordable health care and prescription drugs; for education programs; for agriculture programs; and for roads and infrastructure. A Senate colleague once remarked on the floor of the Senate that Carl "adds new meaning to 'fighting like a pit bull.' Every day, there is Senator Levin, making sure, 'Hey, what about Michigan?'"
Carl Levin is a powerful voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee where, as the ranking Democrat, he has worked to make America more secure and fought to reduce fraud and waste in the Department of Defense. He has strongly supported programs to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means to produce them, and he has argued for years that any national missile defense system should be tested and proven before it is deployed. He has been recognized for his passionate commitment to the readiness, morale, and welfare of our men and women in uniform.
Carl opposed the unilateral decision of the Bush Administration to attack Iraq. Although he has been critical of the Administration's policies and actions in Iraq, particularly the misuse of prewar intelligence to exaggerate the threat posed by Iraq, he has worked tirelessly to find ways the United States can help support the creation of a unified, democratic government in Iraq and to bring our forces home sooner rather than later. Columnist E.J. Dionne wrote that "This administration rarely pays attention to constructive criticism from the opposition party. But somebody in the White House ought to listen to Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who opposed the war but keeps trying to help Bush find a way out of this mess."
Carl is also the senior Democrat on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where he has long led efforts to make the federal government more efficient and more ethical. He authored the Competition in Contracting Act to reduce government procurement costs and the Whistleblower Protection Act to protect federal employees who expose waste, fraud and abuse, and he coauthored the Taxpayers Bill of Rights to protect individuals and small businesses from IRS harrassment. Carl was the principal author of the Ethics Reform Act in 1989, which simplified and strengthened ethics requirements for the government and prohibited members of Congress from accepting honoraria from special interests. In 1995 he authored legislation to ban gifts and paid trips to senators, as well as to impose strict disclosure requirements for lobbysists. He has also gained international recognition for his thorough investigations into abusive tax shelters, off-shore tax avoidance, Enron accounting practices, money laundering, terrorist financing, corporate tax evasion, and high oil prices.
parade.jpgCarl serves as the co-chair of the Senate Auto and Auto Parts Task Force, through which he has been a leading voice in the fight for trade policies that would create a level playing field with our trading partners and promote U.S. manufacturers. He has fought for energy policies that decrease our dependence on foreign oil and protect our national energy security, while also promoting renewable energy sources, environmentally responsible domestic production, and tax incentives for energy efficiency and advanced automobile technology.
As co-chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, Carl has fought to clean up and protect the Great Lakes, one of the world's greatest natural resources. He has led Senate passage of the Great Lakes Critical Programs Act and the Great Lakes Legacy Act to fight pollution and toxic contaminated sediments and to ensure the water quality of the lakes, on which millions of people rely for drinking water. He has also led efforts to minimize the damage done by invasive species that threaten the lakes' ecosystem.
Carl's decade-long effort to come up with a more effective means of combating drug abuse and addiction paid off in 2000 when President Clinton signed into law the Drug Addiction Treatment Act, which Carl Levin authored with Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT). This law permits physicians, for the first time, to prescribe and dispense in their private offices a medication called buprenorphine, which actually blocks the craving for heroin with a non-addictive substance. This new office-based system has opened the door to treatment to tens of thousands of individuals previously unable or reluctant to seek medical treatment at centralized and distant methadone clinics.
Carl was born in Detroit and attended Detroit public schools. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School. Before being elected to the Senate, Carl served as Michigan assistant attorney general and general counsel for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission from 1964-67. He was special assistant attorney general for the State of Michigan and chief appellate defender 1968-69. Carl served as a member of the Detroit City Council from 1970-77, the last four years as Council President.
Carl Levin married Barbara Halpern in 1961. They have three daughters and four grandchildren. His brother, Sander, has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1983.
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