Democratic Senator Mark R. Warner of Virginia will co-chair the Senate-India Caucus in the new U.S. Congress, after his veteran party colleague Chris Dodd and a close friend of President Barack Obama opted out of the just-concluded mid-term polls.
Warner, as Governor of Virginia during its worst economic recession in 20 years had led a trade delegation to India which was considered to be highly successful, would be co-chairing the Senate-India Caucus with Republican John Cornyn from Texas.
Elected to the Senate in November 2008 from Virginia, Warner, 55, is considered a friend of New Delhi and his co-chairing the Senate-India Caucus will ensure that the interest of India in the U.S. Congress is well protected.
As a member of the Senate's Banking Committee, he has been instrumental in bipartisan efforts to effectively strengthen oversight of Wall Street and end taxpayer bailouts of failing financial firms.
Warner is also regarded as a crusader of small businesses on Main Street, working effectively with the White House on creative solutions to increase the flow of credit to small businesses that continue to struggle in this economy downturn.
Born in Indiana, Warner co-founded the cellular phone company Nextel and is credited with creating thousands of jobs during his early investments in hundreds of promising new companies. His tireless efforts to make Virginia state government more modern, effective and affordable, ultimately turned record deficits into a budget surplus.
When he demited office in 2006, Virginia was nationally recognized as the country's "best-managed state" and the "best state for business."
Cornyn, who along with Warner appeared on CNN's 'State of the Union' Sunday Talk Show, said they appreciated Obama's travel to India, "his commitment to free trade and making sure that India, the world's largest democracy, represents one of our strongest trading partners."
He said he was glad that the President went to India and three other Asian countries to talk about free trade, but wished that the U.S. Congress had passed the three pending Free Trade Agreements (FTA) that have been languishing.
"I hope this (FTAs) represents a change in approach to recognizing that markets abroad create jobs at home. So I'm really glad to see that," he added.
Warner on his part said that he wanted to see a free trade pact with Korea as well and appreciated Obama standing up for America and nudging China, who he believes has been manipulating its currency and putting American business at a disadvantage.
Unlike in the past when the rest of the world had to wait for America to get its economy or its political act together, Warner said there were countries like China and India, with their billion-plus population, were forging ahead with their own plans.
"We have to ensure that part of that plan includes selling them our stuff so that we can grow our economy through exports," said Warner, who replaced Dodd, the longest serving Democratic Senator from Connecticut.
Dodd, who did not seek re-election in the mid-term polls held prior to President Barack Obama's four-nation trip to Asia, heads the Senate Banking Committee and had succeeded Hillary Clinton, as co-chair of the Senate-India Caucus, after she was appointed as Secretary of State by Obama in January 2008.
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