Obama Transition Team

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For the past several months, a board of advisors has been informally planning for a possible presidential transition. Among the many projects undertaken by the transition board have been detailed analyses of previous transition efforts, policy statements made during the campaign, and the workings of federal government agencies, and priority positions that must be filled by the incoming administration. With Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s election, this planning process will be now be formally organized as the Obama-Biden Transition Project, a 501(c)(4) organization to ensure a smooth transition from one administration to the next. The work of this entity will be overseen by three co-chairs: John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett, and Pete Rouse. The co-chairs will be assisted by an advisory board comprised of individuals with significant private and public sector experience: Carol Browner, William Daley, Christopher Edley, Michael Froman, Julius Genachowski, Donald Gips, Governor Janet Napolitano, Federico Peña, Susan Rice, Sonal Shah, Mark Gitenstein, and Ted Kaufman. Gitenstein and Kaufman will serve as co-chairs of Vice President-elect Biden’s transition team. Supervising the day-to-day activities of the transition will be:

Chris Lu – Executive Director
Dan Pfeiffer – Communications Director
Stephanie Cutter – Chief Spokesperson
Cassandra Butts – General Counsel
Jim Messina – Personnel Director
Patrick Gaspard – Associate Personnel Director
Christine Varney - Personnel Counsel
Melody Barnes – Co-Director of Agency Review
Lisa Brown – Co-Director of Agency Review
Phil Schiliro – Director of Congressional Relations
Michael Strautmanis – Director of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs
Katy Kale – Director of Operations
Brad Kiley – Director of Operations

The phone number for the transition headquarters is 202-540-3000. The official website for the transition is www.change.gov and it will be live later today.

COMMENT

Of interest to readers is Carol Browner, who was the administrator of EPA during the Clinton Administration. Prior to that she was an aide to Senator Al Gore and ran the Flordia Department of Environmental Protection. She is currently chair of the Audobon Society and also chairs it's executive committee. The Audobon Society issued the post-election statement I linked to here.

This is from Wikipedia:

During the Clinton Administration

When Republicans took control of Congress after the 1994 elections, she took the lead in the Clinton Administration in successfully fighting efforts by the Republicans, especially in the House of Representatives, to weaken the Clean Water Act. She was able to work in a bipartisan manner, though, with Congressional Republicans in helping craft amendments to strengthen the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Food Quality Protection Act.

Browner came from Florida with a reputation as someone who could work with the private sector. While at EPA, she expanded the Agency's flexible public-private partnerships as alternatives to traditional regulation through Project XL (designed to find common sense, cost effective solutions to environmental issues at individual facilities) and the Common Sense Initiative (targeted at efforts involving entire industry sectors).

In 1995, Browner generated controversy, after she and the EPA were charged by the House Government Reform and Oversight Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs with violating the federal Anti-Lobbying Act (18 U.S. Code § 1913) by faxing unsolicited material opposing the Republican-sponsored regulatory reform package to various corporations and public-interest groups.[2]

As EPA Administrator, Browner also started the Agency's successful brownfields program, which, during her tenure, helped facilitate cleanups of contaminated facilities, especially in urban areas, and which leveraged more than $1 billion in public and private funds for cleanups.

Since 2001

After the Clinton Administration, Browner joined the Albright Group, a "global strategy group" headed by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. As a Principal in that firm, Browner assists businesses and other organizations with the challenges of operating internationally, including the challenges of complying with environmental regulations.

COMMENT

Another Gore connection is Donald Gips, who served as Domestic Policy Advisor to VP Gore and who raised over $500,000 for the Obama campaign. He is currently vice president of corporate strategy and development for Colorado-based Level 3 Communications, the sixth largest defense contractor in the country.

Watch for Gore to be some kind of special envoy on climate change from the White House or State Dept.

See anyone representing agriculture?

Election Results Bring Conservation Opportunity and Need for Action "Voters in this historic election cast their ballots not only for change, but for a new era of hope for our environment, and the people, birds, and other wildlife that depend on it. Washington has been ignoring critical environmental issues for too long. President-elect Barack Obama and a more environmentally aware Congress offer the promise of leadership and fundamental change that could usher in new protections for America's great natural heritage, and a new lease on life for species in decline. "Despite real reason for optimism, we cannot take conservation gains for granted. Audubon is committed to helping the new Administration and Congress to live up to their great promise; and to make conservation, clean energy and green jobs part of America's path to a brighter tomorrow. "Through our local Chapters, state offices and national grass roots efforts, Audubon will join with others in the environmental community to ensure that our newly elected leaders lead the way on issues vital to our environment, our economy and diversity of life on Earth." Issues demanding prompt attention include....

Lawyer wants Supreme Court to hear eagle case A Northern Arapaho man who killed an eagle for use in his tribe's Sun Dance is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court order that he must stand trial on a criminal charge. Winslow Friday asked the Supreme Court to review his case last month. He wants the court to overturn a ruling that a three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver issued in May stating that he must stand trial. Friday's request is the latest turn in a long-running legal dispute over the rights of American Indians to kill eagles for religious purposes. The latest challenge, however, centers on whether it's appropriate for federal appeals courts to second-guess federal district judges on the factual issues of a case. The appeals court ruling in may overruled a decision that U.S. District Judge William Downes of Wyoming wrote in 2006 that dismissed the criminal charge against Friday. In throwing out the charge against Friday, Downes ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had shown "callous indifference" to the religious beliefs of American Indians. Downes ruled that the federal agency wouldn't have given Friday a permit to kill the eagle even if he had applied for one....

Report: Drilling on federal lands could be faster The government isn't doing enough to expedite drilling in federal waters and on public lands, according to a report issued Tuesday by congressional investigators. In a review of the 55,000 federal oil and gas leases issued to energy companies by the Interior Department from 1987 to 1996, the General Accountability Office found that the vast majority expired without being drilled, and an even smaller amount actually produced oil and natural gas. "We do not agree that Interior is pursuing expedited development of oil and gas leases," the report reads. Energy companies currently hold leases but are not producing on about 68 million acres of federal land -- property that has the potential to double domestic oil production. About a third of the oil produced in the U.S. in 2007 came from public lands. House Democrats and Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama have said companies should "use it or lose it" -- meaning they must drill on lands they currently rent or release them before being awarded new leases....

Wolves kill ewe at Reed Point ranch Wolves returned to a sheep ranch north of Reed Point Sunday and killed one ewe. Wolves have killed livestock on the ranch in five previous incidents, the most recent in early October. Federal Wildlife Services officials confirmed that wolves were responsible for the depredation. As a result, a permit allowing the rancher to kill one wolf was extended for 45 days, starting Sunday. A total of 16 sheep and one goat on the same ranch have been confirmed killed despite the efforts of herders and guard dogs.

Burgeoning workloads ahead for Interior agencies The Minerals Management Service might need as much as $140 million in new appropriations to regulate new offshore drilling projects, according to agency officials. MMS is one of two federal agencies that oversee energy projects on federal lands, and both will see their workloads increase markedly in the next few years. At MMS, it’s because of the lapsed ban on offshore oil drilling, which opens millions of acres of coastal lands to exploration. The Bureau of Land Management, meanwhile, will have two new responsibilities: issuing oil shale exploration leases, and managing new geothermal projects on millions of acres of federal land. The new work means both Interior Department agencies could need big budget bumps in years to come. At BLM, the most immediate priority is the geothermal project. The Interior Department last month opened 190 million acres of federal land to geothermal development; companies are already looking to develop some of that land, according to Mike Nudd, BLM’s associate director for minerals, realty and resource protection. Companies are particularly interested in developing land in Western states, like California, Nevada and Wyoming, Nudd said. BLM will probably look to expand its staff in that region, he said....

Avalanche blasting in park still prohibited The National Park Service has issued a final decision denying BNSF Railway permission to use explosives for avalanche control on Glacier National Park's southern boundary except under extreme, emergency circumstances. The decision signed by Mike Snyder, the service's Intermountain regional director, does, however, allow the railroad to monitor the potential for avalanches on the steep slopes above railroad tracks in the Middle Fork Flathead River corridor. The railroad had requested permission to use light artillery to reduce the threat of avalanches to railroad traffic. "The area of the park that was the subject of this [environmental impact statement] has federally listed threatened and endangered species present, is within the park's recommended wilderness, provides winter recreation for park visitors and is important winter range for deer, elk and other ungulate species," Cartwright added....Endangered Species: 1, Human Safety: 0

Ca. animal welfare measure passes Proposition 2, which outlaws cramped cages for egg-laying chickens, has passed. The Standards for Confining Farm Animals Act drew some high-profile backers, including Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi. Opponents argue the measure will drive egg producers out of state. The proposition was the farthest-reaching measure dealing with farm animal treatment ever put before voters in any state. It prohibits ranchers from keeping chickens, veal calves and breeding pigs in pens that are too small for them to stand up, turn around or stretch....

USDA adds to list of preferred environmentally friendly products The Agriculture Department is proposing to add nine categories of products made from biological or agricultural ingredients to its list of preferred procurements. Procurement staffs and federal contractors must give preferences to these environmentally friendly products when they order new supplies so long as they are available in a reasonable amount of time, meet performance needs and come at a reasonable price. The nine new product categories are chain and cable lubricants, corrosion preventatives, food cleaners, forming lubricants, gear lubricants, general purpose household cleaners, industrial cleaners, multipurpose cleaners, and parts wash solutions. The nine products would be added to the 33 product categories that have been identified to date under Agriculture’s BioPreferred Program. The categories include everything from hydraulic fluids and roof coatings to hand cleaners and towels....

COOL marks first full month After the first full month of country of origin labeling implementation, producers, packers and retailers have begun sorting out in practical terms how to transfer live cattle origin information up the chain to consumers at the retail meat case. What the U.S. Department of Agriculture considers the “educational compliance” phase is expected to take at least another six months. “The best estimate that we are seeing now is that approximately 30 percent of the beef sold in the U.S. will have to be labeled with country of origin information,” says Ryan Reuter, a beef specialist for the Noble Foundation at Ardmore, Okla. Processed items, food service, restaurants and smaller meat markets doing less than $230,000 in business annually, are all exempt from the law. Most beef is already of U.S. origin. The nation’s largest packer Tyson Foods estimates that 90 percent of all the fresh, retail beef and pork cuts produced in the United States will qualify for a U.S. label. All the major meatpackers have said they intend to label everything they can as a U.S. product by spring. During a temporary grace period, USDA is allowing auction markets and packers to use visual identification to determine origin. But government officials have continued to insist that visual means of identification of imported animals alone will not be sufficient to make a U.S. origin claim in the future....

BSE Testing Hot Topic on “Boston Legal” With the hubbub of the election, you might have missed ABC’s “Boston Legal” tackling the beef industry. Last night’s episode centered on cattle rancher Carol Hober (Valerie Bertinelli) suing the USDA for not allowing her to test every animal on her ranch for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). During testimony, Bertinelli’s character accused the USDA of catering to corporate meat packers who are against the cost of mandatory testing, while 65 countries impose trade restrictions on U.S. beef. “That’s the policy at my ranch. We want to test every cow so we can be safe. How dare the federal government say I can’t do so,” Hober said on the stand. Proponents for USDA on the show revealed BSE testing can only detect the disease shortly before the animal exhibits symptoms—which for most U.S. cattle is after the typical age of slaughter. “First of all, testing can’t detect mad cow disease until shortly before the cow develops symptoms. Cattle are typically slaughtered at 24 months of age—that is long before the disease is detectable. Look, all this testing, testing, testing talk, the reality is, testing can’t make a difference,” said the proponent for USDA. During Shore’s cross examination, the USDA representative said that allowing some ranchers like Hober advertise the fact they test all of their animals would make the rest of the beef industry look unsafe....

Oregon - US Senate: Merkley-Smith race tightens as count continues

Alaska - Stevens leads Begich by thin margin in Senate race

Alaska - Young headed to victory

North Dakota - Hoeven returns as Governor

South Dakota - Johnson returned to Senate

Idaho - Risch defeats LaRocco to succeed Craig in U.S. Senate

Heinrich wins 1st Congressional District seat (NM)

Teague ends 28-year GOP hold in 2nd (NM)

Huntsman reelected Governor in Utah

Wyoming's Enzi, Barrasso elected to Senate

Gov. Schweitzer wins re-election in Montana

Voters send Baucus back to Senate