The death of Senator Edward Kennedy could have significant ramifications in the Senate committee overseas credit unions and will be handling President Obama’s plan to restructure regulation of consumer financial services.
Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut) is currently the number two Democrat on the Committee for Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions, which Kennedy was the chair of. Because of the way that the senior system in the US Senate works, Senator Dodd will have the first right of refusal to take that chair committee. Dodd has stated to a group of reporters the following: “I’ll leave that for a decision down the road over the next few days.”
If 
Senator Dodd chooses to give up the chairmanship of the Senate Banking Committee to take Kennedy’s committee chair, Senator Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota) will be the next in-line to head the Senate Banking Committee. Johnson is a conservative Democrat that has generally been supportive of credit unions and chaired the confirmation of Deborah Matz as the current chair of the National Credit Union Association.
Senator Johnson has taken a much lower profile since he suffered a stroke in 2006 and may choose not to take the chairmanship. Although Johnson has recovered in large, his work capacity is significantly lower than what it was before his injury. If Johnson chooses not to take the committee chairmanship, Senator Jack Reed (Democrat-Rhode Island) would be next in line.
