Showing posts with label Secretary of Commerce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Secretary of Commerce. Show all posts
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
343. More News
The Senate Commerce Committee approved Gary Locke as Secretary of Commerce.
The reports on him are decidely mixed. The full Senate vote is expected to be pro forma--approval on the basis of the Committee report.
No doubt one of his first --and probably least troublesome, at least to him-- duties will be to join the Secretary of Interior in creating an Advisory Council for the Marianas Marine Monument.
Deadline looming (first week of April, I think.) We can hope for the best.
But here's what bothers me:
That smile... even the eyes...
Photo of Benigno Fitial taken from Wikipedia; Photo of Gary Locke from AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta.
The reports on him are decidely mixed. The full Senate vote is expected to be pro forma--approval on the basis of the Committee report.
No doubt one of his first --and probably least troublesome, at least to him-- duties will be to join the Secretary of Interior in creating an Advisory Council for the Marianas Marine Monument.
Deadline looming (first week of April, I think.) We can hope for the best.
But here's what bothers me:
That smile... even the eyes...
Photo of Benigno Fitial taken from Wikipedia; Photo of Gary Locke from AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta.
Friday, February 13, 2009
330. Still Need a Commerce Secretary...
Judd Gregg has withdrawn from the nomination for Commerce Secretary.
You can watch a news video on this from the Huffington Post.
I'm not too sad about the news. You can see my concerns, expressed in my earlier post on the nomination.
Thanks to Ken for the news.
You can watch a news video on this from the Huffington Post.
I'm not too sad about the news. You can see my concerns, expressed in my earlier post on the nomination.
Thanks to Ken for the news.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
326. Obama's Nomination for Secretary of Commerce
Well, the reports were wrong. Not John Thompson or Padrasmee Warrior, but Judd Gregg.
Photo from Getty Images
I don't like this nomination much myself. He's got a poor track record on environmental issues, and scores a puny 43% approval rating from the League of Conservation Voters 2006 scorecard. The LCV is fairly middle-of-the-road among environmentalists. For example, they approved the nomination of Ken Salazar for Department of Interior Secretary (after giving him only a 71% approval rating on his 2006 scorecard) while many wilderness organizations were disappointed. If the League gives a poor approval rating, there are definitely reasons to be concerned.
Gregg is a staunch Republican and as a U.S. Senator, has voted more than 77% of the time with the Republicans.
No doubt, President Obama selected him to undermine Republican opposition to his economic policies. But on the environmental front, it looks bad.
On January 8, 2009, he co-sponsored a bill with Senator Inouye about acquiring coastal resources to "protect them" and after a quick glance at the bill, I think it seems fine. But Senator Inouye is strongly aligned with Wespac, and I wonder if I'm missing something! I hope that someone with more knowledge will comment on this.
And this is likely to be our new Commerce Secretary, the one who will have some important voice in the creation of our Monument plan, starting with having to approve nominations to the advisory council.
He, himself, once tried to kill the Commerce Department, voting for its abolishment in 1995, according to this article. It doesn't seem like he would be all that chuffed about our Governor nominating Wespac-influenced opponents of the Monument to the new Monument Advisory Council.
And if all that weren't enough to cause concern, Wendy notes in her recent blog post that Kevin Koonce, one of the men somewhat ensnared in the Abramoff scandal net, worked as Legislative director for him at one point.
Photo from Getty Images
I don't like this nomination much myself. He's got a poor track record on environmental issues, and scores a puny 43% approval rating from the League of Conservation Voters 2006 scorecard. The LCV is fairly middle-of-the-road among environmentalists. For example, they approved the nomination of Ken Salazar for Department of Interior Secretary (after giving him only a 71% approval rating on his 2006 scorecard) while many wilderness organizations were disappointed. If the League gives a poor approval rating, there are definitely reasons to be concerned.
Gregg is a staunch Republican and as a U.S. Senator, has voted more than 77% of the time with the Republicans.
No doubt, President Obama selected him to undermine Republican opposition to his economic policies. But on the environmental front, it looks bad.
On January 8, 2009, he co-sponsored a bill with Senator Inouye about acquiring coastal resources to "protect them" and after a quick glance at the bill, I think it seems fine. But Senator Inouye is strongly aligned with Wespac, and I wonder if I'm missing something! I hope that someone with more knowledge will comment on this.
And this is likely to be our new Commerce Secretary, the one who will have some important voice in the creation of our Monument plan, starting with having to approve nominations to the advisory council.
He, himself, once tried to kill the Commerce Department, voting for its abolishment in 1995, according to this article. It doesn't seem like he would be all that chuffed about our Governor nominating Wespac-influenced opponents of the Monument to the new Monument Advisory Council.
And if all that weren't enough to cause concern, Wendy notes in her recent blog post that Kevin Koonce, one of the men somewhat ensnared in the Abramoff scandal net, worked as Legislative director for him at one point.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Obama's Secretary of Commerce-still waiting?
We're still waiting on President Obama to name someone to the position of Secretary of Commerce. Recent reports show two names have surfaced in the pool of possibilities: John Thompson, a Symantec CEO; and Padrasmee Warrior, CTO of CISCO. According to Reuters' report, John Thompson has the edge right now. According to CBS, he's got the job.
Other past rumors of contenders for the post included wealthy Penny Pritzker.
The CNMI needs to pay attention because the Secretary of Commerce has duties that directly impact on our situation here, including (but not limited to) a leading role in the National Marine Monument.
Other past rumors of contenders for the post included wealthy Penny Pritzker.
The CNMI needs to pay attention because the Secretary of Commerce has duties that directly impact on our situation here, including (but not limited to) a leading role in the National Marine Monument.
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