Obama Names FCC Transition Team

President-Elect Picks Panel To Aid In New Agency Selections

(CNET)  President-elect Barack Obama's transition team on Friday announced who will lead the transition project's review of the Federal Communications Commission, the office of the United States Trade Representative, and a number of other agencies, departments, and executive offices.

The new team members will review the agencies and offices to aid the new administration in its planning decisions. Obama's transition group first announced the formation of the teams on Wednesday.

Susan Crawford, a communications law and Internet law professor at the University of Michigan, is a leader of the FCC review team. Crawford was until recently on the ICANN board of directors. Kevin Werbach, an assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, is the other FCC review team lead. Werbach organizes the annual Supernova technology conference and formerly served as counsel for new technology policy at the FCC.

Jim Kohlenberger, who served as senior domestic policy adviser to Vice President Al Gore and helped pass the Telecommunications Act of 1996, is a leader of the National Science Foundation review team. He is executive director of the Voice on the Net Coalition, which represents the voice over IP industry, and is a senior fellow at the Benton Foundation, which aims to ensure media and telecommunications serve democracy.

Henry Rivera, who represents the telecommunications sector for the firm Wiley Rein, is the other National Science Foundation review team leader. Rivera served as an FCC commissioner and is a past president of the Federal Communications Bar Association.

Anna Gomez, vice president of government affairs for Sprint Nextel, is a leader of the United States Trade Representative review team. Gomez served as senior legal adviser to FCC Chairman Bill Kennard and held a number of other positions in the FCC, including chief of the network services division. She also briefly served as counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee's telecommunications subcommittee.

Peter Cowhey, the other leader of the United States Trade Representative review team, served as chief of the FCC's international bureau and is now associate vice chancellor and dean of the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego.

Christopher Putala, who will lead the reviewal of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, previously served as senior staff to Vice President-elect Joe Biden on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Putala was executive vice president for public policy at EarthLink, an Internet service provider, from 2005 to 2007, and was vice president for congressional relations at CTIA, the wireless trade association.

A number of other advisers named Friday have experience or expertise in telecommunications and other technology sectors. For instance, Susan Ness, who leads the Federal Trade Commission review team, is a former FCC commissioner. Gloria Parker, who is leading the National Archives and Records Administration review team, was the Department of Housing and Urban Development's first chief information officer and is a director at the Computer Sciences Corporation.

Updated November 16 to correct Mr. Werbach's name, which is Kevin, not Ken.

[deathofusa]

Hillary should think long and hard before she gave up
a powerful senate seat that is hers for the asking for
as long as she wants it, for the most tenuous job in any
new administration. Now, why would the first African
American president want to appoint his biggest political
rival Secretary of State, knowing full well it would
effectively end Hillary Clinton''''s political
career, and give the African American governor of
NY, by default, the opportunity to appoint anybody
he chooses, Colin Powell, for instance, to fill her
vacant senate seat? I mean, Hillary could hardly come
back in four or eight years and realistically challenge
a sitting fellow Democrat for her old seat, now could she?
I hear the Big O is retiring her talk show, maybe Oprah
would like to be the Junior Senator from NY? For a man
that always warns everybody else to be on their guard against
racism, Barack Obama plays the politics of race very, very
well.
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Posted by skuareoff at 03:18 AM : Nov 17, 2008


OB knows Hillary will be a thorn in his side if she remains in the Senate. She can make him pay. Lol. I love it.

[prudentvoter]

If he is going to chaeck out anybodys past, he should take a long hard look at the Clinton history. It stinks.

[libra217]

Donations were fraudently made to the Obama campaign by people who did not give their real name, which is a violation of that particular campaign law.

Posted by nojoy01 at 11:54 AM : Nov 16, 2008

The same thing happened with some of McCain''s campaign contributions. I suppose you just ignore that inconvenient little fact.

[libra217]

You notice there was never any mention of his illegal alien aunt living in squaller in Boston.

Posted by lrryerc6 at 03:44 PM : Nov 16, 2008

If there was "never any mention of it", how come you (and I) know about it ? Mmmm ?

And "no dead grandmother" ? Your hatred is BLINDING you.

[somnilocus]

"Now that you mention granny. Was there even a funeral for granny? Hmmmm. How weird that no one covered it if there was one. How''''''''s that? Anyone else curious? What did they do with granny?"

Some people are un-frickin-believable. Just because you didn''t hear about it means that it never happened and there''s a huge conspiracy blah blah blah? Try Google before you speak.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/11/obamas-grandmot.html

Oh, I''ll be damned, look at that.

And apparently some idiots decided to picket at it. Isn''t that lovely? Perhaps that''s why it was kept fairly quiet: because people are ignorant a-holes.

[deathofusa]

Why don''''t you go find out and then report to us.

For those of you who find it convenient for this can you tell me if you can plan death, you idiots are really far fetching. I am sure they held a private funeral where no one knew about it. But I guess that would be to hard for you people to understand
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Posted by DJ_IL at 05:25 PM : Nov 16, 2008


Just one more of those things you cant confirm with Obama. Not ONE news outlet covered ANYTHING about a funeral for granny. Give me a break. Either granny died some time ago or she is still alive. You guys are sooo gullable. I know you want to believe but please wake up, open your eyes.

[deathofusa]

Ask his dead Grandmother - convienient)? Posted by kerick913 at 08:34 AM : Nov 16, 2008


Now that you mention granny. Was there even a funeral for granny? Hmmmm. How weird that no one covered it if there was one. How''''s that? Anyone else curious? What did they do with granny?

[lrryerc6]

I wouldn''t hang around with a racist, unless I was one too.

[lrryerc6]

There is no dead grandmother.It was ploy to get sympathy votes.If there was anything to it the left wing media would have been all over it. You notice there was never any mention of his illegal alien aunt living in squaller in Boston. Wonder what else our socialist media didn''t tell us.

[nickpr53]

wow this is a bit crazy... why not have a 9 page questionnaire that asks for your views on critical questions and then say that any statements made by you that contradict your declarations could lead to a dismissal? Anyway I''m not pleased with this at all and I hope it''s clarified... otherwise obama will take a hit at http://www.spinwhip.com/obama