By ANDREW NOYES, CongressDaily
The Obama administration's selection of a Patent and Trademark Office director cannot come soon enough, according to officials inside the agency. They cite serious cash-flow problems, internal cutbacks and a downturn in the number of applications filed and patents granted amid continued U.S. economic gloom. "We need a new director just as soon as we can get one," Patent Office Professional Association President Robert Budens said Monday.
While the administration and Commerce Department, which houses PTO, have been tight-lipped about the appointment, sources say Commerce Secretary Gary Locke is involved and an announcement could come in the next week or two. Oft-mentioned prospects for the job include Q. Todd Dickinson, who ran the office under former President Bill Clinton, Silicon Valley attorney Jim Pooley and IBM Vice President David Kappos.
During his March confirmation hearing, Locke vowed not to let urgent issues like the 2010 census crowd out topics like improving the patent office's productivity. The agency faces a backlog of more than 750,000 applications.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
President Obama will nominate former Mississippi Democratic Gov. Ray Mabus to be secretary of the Navy, a source in the state told the Associated Press today. Mabus, 60, would replace Donald Winter, a Bush administration holdover who agreed to remain in office through March 20.
As someone who campaigned extensively for Obama last year, Mabus had been mentioned as a candidate for secretary of Education. He served in the Navy from 1970-1972 as a surface warfare officer on the Newport, R.I.-based USS Little Rock. Before then, he was in the Naval ROTC while an undergraduate student at the University of Mississippi. Mabus was governor of Mississippi from January 1988 to January 1992 and served as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1994-96 under President Clinton. From June 2006 to April 2007, Mabus was chairman and CEO of Foamex International Inc., and helped move the manufacturer of polyurethane foam products out of bankruptcy.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, a Democrat, is expected to be named soon as President Obama's third choice for Commerce secretary.
Locke, 59, was the nation's first Chinese-American governor when he served two terms in the Washington statehouse from 1997 to 2005. He now works in the Seattle-based law firm Davis Wright Tremaine.
Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson backed away from the post after initially accepting offers from Obama.
By JILL R. AITORO, NextGov
The White House was expected to announce as early as today that Melissa Hathaway, top cybersecurity adviser to the director of national intelligence, will oversee a 60-day review of federal cybersecurity efforts, after which she will likely be offered the position of cyber czar, a position Obama promised to create while campaigning, an intelligence official confirmed Friday.
Hathaway, who serves as the cyber coordination executive at ODNI and was senior adviser to former Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, will leave ODNI for 60 days to conduct the review of overall cyber organization and strategy in the federal government, said multiple sources with inside knowledge of the appointment.
Hathaway will lead the review with the National Security Council, the president's principal forum for considering national security and foreign policy issues with senior advisers and Cabinet officials. The council also helps coordinate policies among federal agencies.
"She will review short-term problems of cybersecurity that need immediate fixing," said an intelligence official who asked not to be named. When asked whether she will be offered the highly anticipated position of cyber czar, he said "probably so."
Hathaway chairs the National Cyber Study Group, a senior-level interagency body that played a lead role in the development of President Bush's Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative. She also serves as director of the Joint Interagency Cyber Joint Task Force, which oversees coordination of CNCI activities and programs.
Janet Napolitano, the newly appointed secretary of the Homeland Security Department, is running a parallel review at DHS outlining the state of cybersecurity in government.
By AMY HARDER
The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder and Time's Mark Halperin are reporting that Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) may be the choice for Health and Human Services secretary. Ambinder writes that the governor, who is widely known for cutting costs more than pushing for universal health care, is in "serious discussions" with the White House about the position.
Obama would likely face serious pushback on Bredesen from left-leaning groups expecting universal health care legislation early in his administration. Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack said that Bredesen "presided over the largest public health cutbacks in the history of our nation, and his actions are the antithesis of the president's desired direction for health care reform." How does he compare to Obama's first choice for the job? "He's the polar opposite of Tom Daschle," Pollack said. He added that he found it "very difficult to imagine" Obama picking Bredesen and could not think of any reason why he would.
Pollack mentioned some names that his organization would prefer to see leading the way on health care: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D).
Bredesen's Almanac profile is available to subscribers here.
By JERRY HAGSTROM, CongressDaily
(Credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
Speculation on who might fill USDA subcabinet posts is intensifying on Capitol Hill and among lobbyists, but Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he would not discuss any personnel matters until they are announced.
After being sworn into office by Vice President Joe Biden, Vilsack told reporters in his office at USDA that he and his staff "are going to take our time" in selecting appointees. Vilsack said he thinks "it's unfortunate there are those who would speculate on [who is going to hold] positions."
The names of three Vilsack aides have been posted on a chart of top personnel in the entrance to the USDA administration building.
They are John Norris, a former Iowa Democratic Party leader and chairman of the Iowa Utilities Board, as chief of staff; Carole Jett, a former Natural Resources and Conservation Service official who retired and contributed money and time to the Obama campaign, as deputy chief of staff; and David Lazarus, a former aide to Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and key Obama rural campaign director, as special assistant.
Meanwhile, a House Agriculture Committee member and a key Senate aide said they believe Chuck Hassebrook, executive director for the Center for Rural Affairs, is a top candidate for deputy secretary.
Tech Daily Dose reports on two names already circulating as possible replacement picks to head the Commerce Department now that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has withdrawn his name from consideration. The post is Barack Obama's last remaining Cabinet position.
Two prominent business executives' names are being circulated among Washington insiders as potential nominees for Commerce secretary just a week after New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson -- President-elect Barack Obama's first choice -- withdrew his name, citing a pending investigation into a company that has done business with his state government. Several high-tech industry officials and congressional aides say John Thompson, chairman and CEO of computer security and systems management firm Symantec, and former Time Warner chairman Richard Parsons, are two of the top contenders for the job. A spokesman for Obama's transition team declined to comment.
Complete story can be read here.
After Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., turned down an offer to become the new U.S. trade representative this week, former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk has moved to the top of the rumored short list for the job. But CongressDaily's Peter Cohn reports today that labor groups may be unreceptive to this choice.
"We don't see a whole lot of evidence that Ron Kirk is interested in going in a new, substantive direction on trade," said one labor official, pointing to favorable statements the prospective nominee has made about the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The full story is available to subscribers here.
(Credit: STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images)
Computer science pioneer Vinton Cerf, commonly referred to as the "father of the Internet" and currently Google's chief Internet evangelist, isn't sure exactly what Barack Obama's proposed chief technology officer position would entail. But he recently told NationalJournal.com that a national CTO could do a lot to stoke the country's economic engine.
Cerf, an Obama donor who is reported to be on the short list for the first-of-its-kind position, said that the transition team has not approached him about joining the administration. But regardless of who is offered the CTO position, he said, "if the job is of the sort that I imagine and hope it might be, I'd certainly want to be supportive of the party in that role."
He says there is great potential for the CTO to create jobs through investments in American infrastructure -- including infrastructure that supports information technology and energy, particularly electrical power grids and tools that manage energy consumption. He said that fulfilling such a task would be hard, "but I also think this is an amazing opportunity, given our current economic situation."
Read more about Cerf's hopes for the CTO position on Monday in an Insider Interview with NationalJournal.com's Theresa Poulson.
Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., on Tuesday night confirmed his intention to remain in Congress rather than serve as President-elect Obama's U.S. trade representative.
In a statement, the eight-term lawmaker said that while he was honored to be considered by Obama, he would prefer to continue serving his Los Angeles-area district. "I am grateful for that privilege and now see a rare opportunity to push across the goal line much of the unfinished business of America," said Becerra, who will serve as vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus and as a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee in the 111th Congress.
Becerra said while working with Obama would be "the opportunity of a lifetime," he will nonetheless get that opportunity, just at the other end of Pennsylvania Ave. Becerra's decision ends a budding race to replace him as Caucus vice chairman, with a field that included Reps. Kendrick Meek of Florida, Joseph Crowley of New York, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Joe Baca of California and possibly others.
