First off, no, Fred did not help Roberts get confirmed. He was out of office by 2003. Roberts wasn’t confirmed until 2005.
And as for his committee...
To quote Wikipedia, his committee oversaw “the functioning of the government itself, including the National Archives, budget and accounting measures other than appropriations, the Census, the federal civil service, the affairs of the District of Columbia, and the United States Postal Service.”
If you ask me, that’s probably one of the more mundane committees one could chair. So much that instead of adding a new Homeland Security committee, they just tagged it onto that one.
Gawd, you can't even keep up with events. Fred basically functioned as a lobbyist on behalf of the White House to shepherd Robert's nomination through the Senate.
And other posters have done a good job showcasing Fred's accomplishments. But, like I said earlier, Fred's greatest appeal to me is that he did not see the fedgov as the answer to everything. Such a position tends to NOT give you the typical DC resume of "accomplishments" (i.e., more and bigger government programs). But that is exactly what we need nowadays - less government, not more.
can you say “sherpa”?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/08/AR2005090801691.html
That phrase, alone, disqualifies you from being taken seriously.