Herb Kohl is a US Senator from Wisconsin who made headlines this summer when he subpoenaed Google's CEO Larry Page. After being issued a subpoena, Larry Page reluctantly appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee and allegedly began sweating when interrogated by Senator Kohl. Besides being known for his ability to make corporate heads sweat, Herb Kohl is also known as the CEO of the Milwaukee Bucks and the chairman of several influential committees. He is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Aging, the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture.
As we read in the article "The Industrial Organization of Congress", committee assignments are based on seniority. Kohl's committee assignments can be partially explained by his ranking in the seniority system. Kohl is a four term democrat who has been in the Senate since 1989 so he is given priority when bidding on committee assignments. As chairman, he has property rights over three committees including the powerful appropriations subcommittee on agriculture. Kohl represents Wisconsin which is known as the dairy state or America's farmland. Many of his constituents are dairy farmers that enjoy receiving agriculture subsidies and Kohl has the ability to appropriate those funds to them. A congressman's reelection prospects depend on his ability to obtain benefits for his constituents therefore, legislators seek assignment to those committees that will have the greatest impact on their electoral fortunes. We know from the Weingast and Marshall paper that committees are composed of high demanders or individuals with greater than average interest in the committee's policy area and that committee members gain a greater share of the benefits from these policies. Kohl's policy interests reflect his constituent's interests and the committee system serves his electoral needs because it allows him to provide benefits to his supporters. Congress is organized to support the electoral needs of members like Kohl.
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