file in Sen. Carl
Levin's desk bears
the label "Confu-
sion."
Its contents —
at least 50 items
— document the
numerous occa-
sions on which
Sen. Carl Levin
and his older brother, Rep.
Sander Levin, have been mis-
taken for each other. Media er-
rors, mixed-up letters from
colleagues and faux pas from the
U.S. Army, Capitol physician and
others bring a hint of a smile to
the Levin brothers.
tains an office there, came up and
told him he is looking more and
more like his brother.
The Levins' close relationship,
jobs in Congress and the thin rec-
tangular reading glasses each
wears on the bridge of his noise
make the two easy to confuse.
The brothers grew up sharing
the same bedroom until the elder
went off to college. Neither would
have guessed the direction of
their career paths until much lat-
er.
"I thought Carl was going to be
a great baseball player," said Rep.
Levin, who used to endlessly hit
baseballs to his younger brother.
is the ranking Jewish member of
the Senate.
"What you see is what you
get," said U.S. Federal Judge Av-
em Cohn, a relative of the Levins.
"In a family setting, they don't
dominate, and you wouldn't
guess one is a senior U.S. sena-
tor. They don't throw their weight
around. That's their charm and
effectiveness."
Sen. Levin, whom colleagues
and lobbyists often call the con-
science of the Senate, is a hard-
liner on defense issues. Socially,
he is more liberal than most of
Congress. Colleagues describe
him as honest and likeable, mak-
Churchill, one of his heroes. The
pride of his collection are letters
from Presidents Truman and
Franklin Roosevelt.
His brother, Rep. Sandy Levin,
65, is not among the most recog-
nizable members of Congress. Al-
though he serves on the powerful
Ways and Means Committee, he
is more of a behind-the-scenes
legislator.
Often described by colleagues
and lobbyists as a details man,
Rep. Levin focuses on issues that
tend not to draw attention to him.
NAFTA was an exception.
Rep. Levin was a strong oppo-
nent of the free-trade agreement.
behind the scenes. That builds
respect."
In addition to games of pickup
basketball (Mr. Silberfarb jokes
that Rep. Levin needs to work on
his jumper), Rep. Levin, along
with his brother, regularly plays
squash. Although they've been
playing for years — ask, and they
will tell you — their win/loss
record is still tied.
Even as children, the brothers
were inseparable.
"Sandy always included me
and my friends in his baseball
games," Sen. Levin said. "My
friends were close to him, too. As
soon as Sandy could drive, we
ing it is hard for his political foes
to truly loathe him.
He pushed for lobby reform,
fights for hard-core Democratic
Party issues and consistently
votes for tax increases.
Often called the worst-dressed
U.S. senator by local and nation-
al publications, Sen. Levin has a
desk that matches his disheveled
appearance. It is filled with paper
stacks, described by a staff mem-
ber as "a healthy few inches."
An avid collector of historical
documents, the senator has a
framed letter from Winston
He argued labor and environ-
mental standards in Mexico were
substandard compared with
those of the United States.
"You couldn't ask for two bet-
ter mentshes," said Steve Silber-
farb, deputy executive director of
the National Jewish Democratic
Council, who occasionally plays
basketball with Rep. Levin.
"They are a conscience on so
many important issues. They
care about Israel and those who
are without. They have a
tremendous influence on their
colleagues and do their best work
took off together." Throughout
their youth, the brothers traveled
to the Upper Peninsula, out
West, Mexico and Washington,
D.C., though it had nothing to do
with politics.
"We were not aware of Sandy's
political aspirations until much c---=(
later," he said. 'We were just hav-
ing fun."
They also have fun when peo-
ple mix them up.
Several years ago, a man ap-
proached the senator and re-
ferred to him as Sandy. The
younger Levin brother in turn
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Four years ago, a California
representative wrote a letter to
"Congressman" Carl Levin, con-
gratulating him on his re-elec-
tion. 'There are many challenges
awaiting the 103rd Congress,"
Rep. Maxine Waters wrote. "It
gives me great pleasure to know
we will be facing them together."
And, the sibling resemblance
is growing. Recently, Sen. Levin
walked into the cafeteria of a
Southfield office building for a
morning cup of -tea and a choco-
late-chip cookie. An employee,
who knows the senator main-
While the older of the two Levins
was a better hitter, Sen. Levin
was the better fielder.
"We've always been careful to
cut out our own pattern in life,"
the U.S. representative said.
"We're in different institutions
with different committee assign-
ments. Yes, we're close and we
share common experiences, but
we've both extracted different per-
spectives."
The Levins are the only broth-
er team in Congress. And Sen.
Levin, who turned 62 last Friday
and has served 18 years in office,