U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk were given their new committee assignments by party leadership, with both landing on the Appropriations Committee. Durbin, the majority whip, will also serve on the foreign relations and the judiciary and rules committees. Kirk, in his first full term in the Senate, will have a role on the health, labor, and pensions; and banking and urban affairs committees; as well as the Special Committee on Aging.