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Carl Levin
Senior Senator from Michigan
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 15, 1979– Serving with Debbie Stabenow
Preceded by	Robert P. Griffin
Succeeded by	Incumbent 2009
Born	June 28, 1934 (age 72) Detroit, Michigan
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Barbara Halpern-Levin
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Jewish

Carl Milton Levin (born June 28, 1934) is a Democratic United States Senator from Michigan and is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. He has been in the Senate since 1979 and Michigan's senior senator since 1995. He is the longest-serving US Senator ever to represent Michigan.

Levin was born in Detroit to Jewish parents Bess Levinson and Saul R. Levin.^[1] 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 and Wayne State University in 2005.

He was state 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 for the city of Detroit from 1968-69. He was a member of the Detroit City Council 1969-77, the last four years as council president.

He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978, defeating Senate Minority Whip Robert P. Griffin. Griffin did not call Levin to concede until the day after the election, because he was stuck in an elevator and did not find out that he lost until late that night.

Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Sen. Levin discusses the War in Iraq and his determination to end it as soon as possible by working with Sen. John Warner (R-VA); Levin and Warner are considered the prime military spokespeople in their respective parties in the U.S. Senate.

Levin was subsequently re-elected in 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002. 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 the closeness of the gubernatorial race that year and the 2000 presidential election.

On December 4, 2006, Levin announced that he will run for a sixth term in the 2008 election. [1]

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. He has 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 has repeatedly called on the Bush administration to provide a timetable for the withdrawal of troops.

Levin believes that in order to improve the military, that 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.

Sen. Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee confers with Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) off the Democratic Leader's office. In the background, the official portrait of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt can be seen.

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 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.

Senator Levin has directed the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to investigate whether Department of Energy policies have caused a raise 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. [2]

Carl Levin and the Congress had been working to pass a comprehensive energy bill for nearly three years. In past years it has proven difficult for the House of Representatives and Senate to agree on an energy bill that balances the need for reliable and affordable energy with the obligation to protect the environment and public health. In 2005 the Congress and the Senate agreed and passed the 2005 Energy Policy. The law increases the federal investment in advanced vehicle technologies which will improve fuel economy, bans drilling in the Great Lakes, takes steps to improve the reliability of our electrical grid, and makes energy conservation and efficiency a central component of our national energy strategy.

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 Carl Levin obtained 56 million dollars 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 for a long time has been contaminated with pollutants from factories that used to operate there.

Senator Levin has been very concerned with the ethics of the federal government. He authored the Competition in Contracting Act, which has led to significant reductions in federal procurement costs. He also authored Whistleblower Protection Act, which protected federal employees who expose wasteful and unnecessary practices. He helped author the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights, which limits IRS harassment, and the Ethics reform of 1989.

Senator Carl Levin announces at a press conference regarding his opposition to the War in Iraq and his willingness to vote "No" on the authorization to give President George W. Bush the right to invade Iraq.

Levin has worked with other senators to make health care affordable to all citizens. He supported a Patients' Bill of Rights to reduce the ability of Managed care organizations to affect medical decisions. That legislation has not yet become law because the House and the Senate have not agreed on one version.

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

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 their contest first.

In April 2006, Levin was selected by Time as one of "America's 10 Best Senators."[3]

The American Civil Liberties Union gave him a 78% on civil liberties issues from 2005-2005.

Levin has been rated 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."[4] Daily Show host Jon Stewart refers to him both as the "kindly old shoemaker", and "Grandpa Munster".

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.

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

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Carl Levin

• United States Senator Carl Levin official Senate site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission - Carl Levin campaign finance reports and data
• New York Times - Carl Levin News collected news and commentary
• On the Issues - Carl Levin issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org - Carl Levin campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart - Senator Carl Levin (MI) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia - Carl Levin profile
• Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Carl Levin voting record
• Michigan Democratic Party
• Michigan Liberal's Senior Senator section
• Friends of Senator Carl Levin official campaign site