In an editorial about Carl Levin, the Detroit News wrote, "He has been above reproach personally and has stuck to his principles, even when they were unpopular. Principled leadership, no matter what political ideology it comes from, is sorely needed in Washington."

Carl Levin is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he has earned a reputation as a strong supporter of our national defense and an effective waste fighter. He was an early and consistent advocate of efforts to prepare the American military to combat terrorism and other emerging threats of the post-Cold War world. Senator Levin has been a strong advocate on behalf of our service men and women.

The National Guard Association of the United States presented Senator Levin with its 2004 Harry S. Truman Award for distinguished service in support of national defense. The award cited Levin's “long-standing, diligent and impassioned commitment on the readiness, morale and welfare of our military forces, their families and the modernization of our armed forces” that has had an “unparalleled and direct positive impact to the defense capabilities of the National Guard.”

In January 2003, the Secretary of the Navy cited Levin's "exceptional service to the Navy and Marine Corps" in presenting him its Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest award given to a civilian. In December 2002, WorldBoston, formerly the World Affairs Council of Boston, presented Levin with the 2002 Christian A. Herter Award in recognition of his role following September 11, 2001, in ensuring a bipartisan response to the threat to the United States. The Herter Award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to improving international understanding.

Senator Levin also serves as the ranking Democrat of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. For the last six years, he has directed his staff in a comprehensive money laundering investigation, which has led to strengthened U.S. anti-money laundering. In addition, Levin's work has supported international efforts to detect and stop money laundering and terrorist financing.

In 2002, as chairman of that subcommittee, Levin led Congress' most in-depth examination into the collapse of Enron. His investigation exposed how Enron used deceptive accounting and tax transactions to report better financial results than the company actually experienced. The subcommittee's investigative work contributed to the accounting and corporate reforms enacted in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in July 2002. Levin also initiated an investigation into gasoline price spikes, and in April 2002 he issued a 400-page report and chaired hearings detailing how U.S. retail gasoline prices are manipulated. In 2002, Levin began a three year investigation into the mass marketing of abusive tax shelters by KPMG and other professional firms, which was cited by The Washington Post as "a path-breaking inquiry . . . that served as a road map for prosecutors." Levin is also a member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Levin is perhaps best known for his efforts to make our government both more efficient and more ethical. He authored the Competition in Contracting Act, which has led to significant reductions in federal procurement costs. His Whistleblower Protection Act protects federal employees who expose wasteful practices. Levin also helped author the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights, which protects individuals and small businesses from IRS harassment. He was the principal author of the Ethics Reform Act in 1989, which simplified and strengthened ethics requirements for the legislative and executive branches of government and prohibited members of Congress from accepting honoraria from special interests. He has never accepted honoraria from special interests, and in 1995 he persuaded the Senate to adopt a strong ban on gifts to senators and paid trips.

That same year, he won passage of strict disclosure requirements for lobbyists in the Lobbying Disclosure Act, the first major overhaul of those laws in 50 years. In December 2001, the Council on Government Ethics Laws recognized Senator Levin's leadership in this area by awarding him its highest honor. That same month, Taxpayers for Common Sense bestowed its annual "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington " award to Senator Levin and his colleague Senator John McCain for their bipartisan effort to cut inefficient Defense Department spending.

Carl Levin believes we must expand educational opportunities for all Americans if our nation is to remain strong and productive. He has fought for increased funding for the Head Start preschool program, Title I for educationally disadvantaged students, and Pell Grants and loans for college and vocational school students. Senator Levin has been a strong advocate for the effective use of technology in K-12 schools and helped create the Consortium for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching with Technology, a groundbreaking Michigan partnership helping teachers master technology skills. He has been an enthusiastic supporter of School to Work programs, which have created a public-private partnership to prepare students for the demands of the modern workplace. He has won critical federal support for the Focus: HOPE Center for Advanced Technology, a world-class manufacturing training facility in Detroit.

Carl Levin has worked to strengthen Michigan 's industrial economy and to protect the environmental treasures of "the Great Lakes State." As a co-chair of the Senate Auto Caucus and the Senate Auto Parts Task Force, Levin has been one of the most insistent voices in Washington calling for tough action to open the world's markets to American goods. Levin has been a longtime advocate of programs that provide for joint government-industry partnerships in development of advanced vehicle technologies. These efforts led to the establishment of the Army's National Automotive Center in Warren, Michigan, which has played an important role in developing advanced technologies for military use in conjunction with the private sector.

In his role as co-chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, Levin has fought to protect this irreplaceable natural resource for Michigan and the country. In 1990, Levin authored the Great Lakes Critical Programs Act, which authorized the Great Lakes Initiative to create new standards of environmental protection for Great Lakes waters. Levin also helped win passage of the Great Lakes Legacy Program in 2002 to clean up contaminated sediments. Levin has also worked to secure funding to prevent new introductions of aquatic invasive species including zebra mussels, milfoil and Asian carp.

Addiction to illegal drugs continues to plague our society. Senator Levin authored a provision in the Drug Abuse and Treatment Act of 2000 to enable qualified physicians, under strict conditions, to prescribe and dispense from their private offices - rather than centralized clinics - new anti-addiction medications such as buprenorphine that suppress the craving for heroin.

Carl Levin was born in 1934 in Detroit, where he graduated from Central High School. In 1956, he graduated with honors from Swarthmore College and graduated from Harvard University Law School in 1959. He practiced and taught law in Michigan until 1964 when he was appointed an assistant attorney general of Michigan and the first general counsel for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. He then helped establish the Detroit Public Defender's Office and led the Appellate Division of that office, which has become the State Appellate Defender's Office.

He won election to the Detroit City Council in 1969, becoming its president in 1973 by winning the most votes citywide. In 1978, he won an upset victory over the number two Republican in the U.S. Senate. He was reelected in 1984, 1990, 1996 and 2002.

Carl Levin married Barbara Halpern in 1961. They have three daughters: Kate, Laura and Erica, and five grandchildren. His brother Sander has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1983.