Nov. 8 (Bloomberg) -- John Dingell will celebrate his 52nd year in Congress when the House of Representatives convenes in January by taking back the gavel of the Energy and Commerce Committee that he once headed for 14 years.

The Michigan Democrat, who turned 80 this year, is the oldest of at least eight lawmakers over 70 who are likely to become committee or subcommittee chairman in the new Democratic Congress, returning an old guard to power after 12 years in the minority.

The new chairmen will probably include Iraq war skeptics Ike Skelton of Missouri to run the Armed Services Committee and John Murtha of Pennsylvania to lead the Appropriations defense spending subcommittee. Both are 74. New York Democrat Charles Rangel, 76, will head the Ways and Means Committee, while chairmanship of the judiciary panel will move to John Conyers of Michigan, 77, the second-longest serving member in Congress after Dingell.

James Oberstar of Minnesota, 72, a 30-year House veteran, is in line to head the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Second in age behind Dingell is California's Tom Lantos, 78, who is likely to become chairman of the International Relations Committee. Louise Slaughter of New York, 77, will probably head the Rules Committee, the panel that sets rules for debate and decides which amendments will be considered.

About the only committee where a Democratic successor isn't clear is the intelligence panel, where future Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 66, of California faces a tough choice between Representatives Alcee Hastings of Florida, age 70, and Silvestre Reyes of Texas, 61, having ruled out the panel's most senior Democrat, Jane Harman of California.

Picked in January

Democrats, who yesterday won more than the 15 seats they needed to win majority control of the House, will pick their new chairmen in January, relying on seniority and recommendations from Democratic leaders. The veteran Democrats in line for the top committee posts say they won't be shy about pursuing their goals, stymied since the Republicans took over the House in 1995.

Dingell, for example, said before the election that it was a ``shame'' when the Republicans transferred jurisdiction over the securities and insurance industries to the Financial Services Committee from the Energy and Commerce panel. He declined to speculate on whether he would try to reclaim that power.

``Dingell is just the kind of person who would like to increase his range of control,'' said Peter Wallison, a resident fellow specializing in financial services at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, a research organization.

Powerful Committee

During his previous tenure as chairman, Dingell made the Energy and Commerce Committee one of the most powerful in Congress, working to block changes to banking laws and exercising jurisdiction over securities, transportation, health and telecommunications.

He developed a reputation for being a tough and feared investigator of scandals and government waste involving a range of issues. His committee led probes of junk-bond trader Michael Milken's investment schemes, abuses of government research funds at Stanford University and the Environmental Protection Agency's cleanup of toxic waste sites.

Skelton has said in press interviews that if elevated to Armed Services chairman he would re-establish the panel's oversight and investigations subcommittee, which was disbanded by the Republicans in 1995. He has said he would like the panel to function as the equivalent of the World War II-era ``Truman Commission'' that investigated government fraud and waste and was chaired by a fellow Missourian, Senator Harry Truman.

Military Readiness

Skelton, who has become increasingly critical of U.S. strategy and tactics in the Iraq war, may also convene hearings on the degradation of military readiness purportedly tied to the conflict and U.S. exit strategy in Iraq.

Conyers, while serving as the Judiciary Committee's senior Democrat, held unofficial hearings on the possible impeachment of President George W. Bush. Pelosi has since rebuffed him and said no impeachment hearings will be on the agenda.

In the past, Oberstar has sponsored rail-safety legislation that sets work-hour limits for railroad company employees. Oberstar has also opposed new rules to allow greater foreign investment in U.S. airline companies.

Israel Supporter

Lantos, who was born in Budapest, Hungary, and moved to the U.S. after World War II, has been a strong supporter of Israel and helped draft the House resolution authorizing the war in Iraq. He has since said his vote for that resolution was a mistake.

Recently, Lantos, who is co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, has spoken out on the civil war in the Darfur region of Sudan where more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2 million forced from their homes. In April, he was arrested at a protest outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington.

The Budget Committee, which designs the congressional budget blueprint followed by appropriators, will probably be headed by John Spratt of South Carolina. Spratt, 64, has been critical of deficit spending by the Republican-led Congress.

David Obey, a 68-year-old from Wisconsin, will become chairman of the Appropriations Committee, which holds sway over government spending. He has pushed for Democratic policies such as an increase of the minimum wage. He has pressed for higher spending on health and education programs and support for farmers in his home state. He was chairman of the panel for nine months before Republicans captured the House in 1994.

Farm Bill

Murtha, an ex-Marine colonel who has gained notice as an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq, is likely to head the panel's defense spending subcommittee.

Ethanol subsidies and a new farm bill are top priorities for Collin Peterson, 62, who is likely to become chairman of the Agriculture Committee. Peterson's Minnesota district received $4.2 billion in farm subsidies from 1995-2004, seventh in subsidies among all congressional districts, according to the Environmental Working Group in Washington.

Peterson plans to make ethanol a centerpiece of the next farm bill in 2007 as a way to further U.S. energy independence.

Californian Howard Berman, 55, is in line to become chairman of the ethics committee, a panel plagued by partisan bickering in recent years. Berman served as senior Democrat on the committee from 1997 to 2003 when it conducted a number of high-profile investigations, including a probe of Republican Bud Shuster for accepting gifts from a lobbyist.

Berman is also one of three lawmakers probing the House page program after allegations that Florida Republican Mark Foley exchanged inappropriate e-mails with former male pages.

Small Business Committee

New York's Nydia Velazquez figures to lead the small business committee, and, at 53, will be the youngest committee head.

The Homeland Security Committee, created in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, will probably be led by Bennie Thompson of Mississippi. Thompson, 58, has used his position as the senior Democrat on the committee to conduct investigations of the Homeland Security Department and demand more government attention to the nation's security vulnerabilities, such as ports and air cargo.

California's Juanita Millender-McDonald, 68, is in line to chair the Administration Committee, which oversees federal elections and the chamber's day-to-day operations.

The Resources Committee, which deals with many environmental issues, would be chaired by Nick Rahall, 57, of West Virginia, while the Science Committee, which oversees the nation's space program, would be chaired by Bart Gordon, 57, of Tennessee.

The Veterans Affairs Committee chairman will probably be Bob Filner, 64, of California.

Intelligence Committee

Perhaps the toughest issue for Pelosi and the House Democrats is who should lead the intelligence committee. Hastings, next in line by seniority, has come under criticism because of his involvement in a bribery case while a federal judge. Though acquitted in a criminal trial, he was impeached by the House and in 1989 removed from his judgeship by the Senate.

Reyes, a former border patrol agent, is being considered as an alternate choice, but members of the Congressional Black Caucus aren't happy at the prospect of leaping over caucus-member Hastings, said Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution in Washington.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Washington at njohnston3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 8, 2006 00:14 EST