The Aging Committee in the Senate consists of twenty members- the majority leader is Senator Susan Collins from Maine and the minority leader is Senator Bill Nelson from Florida. It is no surprise that the two chairmen of the committee are from Florida and Maine. This is because Florida and Maine rank #1 and #2 respectively with the highest percentage of populations over 65 years old, according to World Atlas. The committee at large represents over half of the top 25 states with populations over 65. According to Weingast and Marshall, this representation is to be expected. The senators on the aging committee fight in the interest of pro-senior legislation, and being on this committee helps them represent almost a fifth of their possible voting populace.
Three days ago, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey was appointed the ranking member on the committee (also unsurprising as PA also ranks within the top ten oldest US state populations). Prior to the appointment, he worked on a subcommittee of the aging committee titled the "Special Committee on Aging", in which he did research into policy changes affecting "long-term care, elder fraud and abuse, [and] prescription drugs" which affect the lives of the elderly (Aging Edge). Having been on the committee since the start of his position, it is plausible to argue he is working his way to a significant position of power, such as chairman, with due time.
Between June and September of 2016, the Committee has unveiled 18 press releases on their website. Of these, 14 out of the 18 releases have been a joint release by the committee. The other four are Republican (since they hold the majority). According to Weingast and Marshall and the venn diagram discussed in class, the releases they pass and legislation and hearings they hold must be moderate enough to be palatable to the majority of the committee and the full Senate. Thus, it is intuitive that the output of the committee are a bipartisan result, rather than predominantly one-sided policies.
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