Marine Log - January 2009 - (Page 14)

INSIDEWASHINGTON Obama Administration shapes up T he Obama Administration’s cabinet level picks for jobs of key maritime industry concern are none too frightening. For example, Robert Gates will continue as Secretary of Defense. Whether he’ll now have any more success in bringing Navy shipbuilding costs under control is an open question. Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano has been chosen as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which, of course, includes the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection. As U.S. Attorney for Arizona, Napolitano led the Arizona portion of the domestic terrorism investigation into the Oklahoma City bombing; as Arizona’s Attorney General, she helped write the law to break up human smuggling rings; and as Governor, she implemented the first state homeland security strategy in the U.S, and opened the first state counter-terrorism center. The pick for Secretary of Transportation, which includes the U.S. Maritime Administration, is retiring seven-term Republican Congressman Ray LaHood, who served for six years on the House Transportation Committee and has led efforts to enhance Illinois’ infrastructure. Now we’ll have to remind him that ferries, shipyards and waterways are infrastructure, too. Colorado Senator Ken Salazar is to be nominated as Secretary of the Interior. That includes the Mineral Management Service, responsible for offshore leases. Having Senator Salazar in charge should make for interesting times at MMS. He was sharply critical of the recent scandal involving all types of sleaze at MMS’s Royalty in Kind operation. Meantime, he’s likely to take a sensible approach to offshore drilling. He was one of the “Gang of 16” in the Senate that put together a bipartisan compromise proposal on the issue when “Drill, baby, drill” had become a campaign issue. Realistically, though, the biggest challenge to expanding offshore operations in the foreseeable future looks to be the price of oil. Which brings us to the environment. The new administration just has to be cleaner and greener than the old one. Lisa Jackson, the nominee for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, has headed New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) since 2006 and her past experience includes management responsibilities at the EPA’s regional office in New York. Nancy Sutley, who will be Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, currently is Deputy Mayor for Energy and Environment for Los Angeles. In the Clinton administration, she was a Senior Policy Advisor to the Regional Administrator for EPA, Region 9 in San Francisco and a Special Assistant to the Administrator at the Federal EPA in Washington, D.C. Carol Browner, who was the Clinton era EPA Administrator is being recycled into Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change. 14 MARINE LOG JANUARY 2009 www.marinelog.com http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - January 2009

Marine Log - January 2009 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington What's On Your Hull? That Sinking Feeling Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Wake Up Call From Mumbai Events Security Guide Vietnam Stretches its Portfolio ML Buyer's Guide ML Marketplace Marine Salvage

Marine Log - January 2009

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