Marine Log - December 2008 - (Page 12) INSIDEWASHINGTON Get your hand out and get in line W ith every new Administration there must be a few faint hopes that we are about to embark on a new era when Washington is permeated by selflessness, patriotic dedication to the common good, bipartisanship and the like. Meantime, the cynics and realists are assessing the results of the election, licking their wounds, counting their gains and determining who will be sitting in which seats of power. WAXMAN WARNING On that last note, law firm Blank Rome found it necessary to issue what can only be described as a “Waxman Warning” when on November 20th the House Democratic Caucus tipped the longest serving member of the House, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) from the Chair of the powerful House Committee on Energy and Commerce. In his place they installed Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA). “The jurisdiction of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is vast,” notes Blank Rome. “It covers virtually all energy issues— exploration, production, generation, distribution, supply, pricing, interstate energy compacts and commerce, non-military nuclear matters, research and development, unconventional and renewable resources, health effects, and oversight of the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Chemical security is a related area of responsibility. The committee also has jurisdiction over healthcare and environmental matters, both of which are expected to be major issues in the next Congress and with the incoming Obama Administration.” “Between the economy and Chairman Waxman,” warns Blank Rome, “tough times are on the horizon for regulated industries.” DEPARTED FRIENDS Someone who won’t be coming back to the Senate in the next Congress is Senator Ted Stevens. The 85-year-old lawmaker was voted out by Alaskans—and has also been convicted of lying about gifts he received from an oil contractor. Be that as it may, Senator Stevens was seen as a long time friend of the U.S. marine industries. He received at least one maritime union endorsement in his last campaign and is a recipient of the ASA’s Bateman Award. THE TROUGH BECKONS Meantime, Presidentelect Obama has promised a two year economic plan that will “put people back to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizing schools that are failing our children, and building wind farms and solar panels; fuel-efficient cars and the alternative energy technologies that can free us from our dependence on foreign oil and keep our economy competitive in the years ahead.” Of course, it all has to get through Congress and the job of any respectable maritime lobbyist in the coming months will be to point out that “we’re infrastructure, too” and get a few ferries in with the bridges, canals with the roads 12 MARINE LOG DECEMBER 2008 www.marinelog.com http://www.marinelog.com
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