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Tauzin Taps Marventano For Top Commerce Slot
Capitol Hill veteran David V. Marventano has been named staff director to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and will serve as chief legislative and political adviser to chairman Billy Tauzin, R-LA, and committee members. Marventano has been Tauzin's administrative assistant and legislative director since April.
"Dave brings a wealth of experience to his new job," Tauzin said in a statement. "He is well-respected on Capitol Hill and has a keen understanding of the legislative process. We have a very close working relationship, and he will be assisting me in advancing an ambitious agenda this year, dealing with everything from a top-to-bottom review of our national energy policy to HMO reform."
Before heading Tauzin's personal office, Marventano served as vice president and senior director of government affairs for the Securities Industry Association. His Hill experience includes a stint as chief of staff and legislative director to former Rep. Bill Paxon, R-NY. As Paxon's chief aide, Marventano was responsible for coordinating the congressman's leadership functions as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Elsewhere On The Hill
With the membership of Senate committees still to be determined, Charles Grassley, R-IA, who is expected to lead the Finance Committee, has announced that Mark Prater will remain tax counsel to the panel.
Prater, who has served on the panel since his days with former Finance Chairman Bob Packwood, R-OR, was said to be considering opportunities in the Bush administration or the private sector. But he told CongressDaily: "This was my first choice. I think Senator Grassley is going to be a good chairman."
Dean Zerbe, Ed McClellan and Elizabeth Paris will serve as trade counsels pm the committee.
The House Appropriations Committee, meanwhile, will be losing its first-ever press secretary, Elizabeth Morra. She is leaving the post she has held since Republicans created it upon winning control of Congress in 1995 to become a principal with the public relations and consulting firm Podesta.com.
Morra, a former television reporter, joined the Appropriations panel after serving as press secretary to Sen. Thad Cochran, R-MS, and as a staffer with the Senate Republican Conference under Cochran. Her successor at the committee will be deputy communications director John Scofield.
Joe Hardy, currently a legislative assistant and chief technology adviser to Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-CA, also is leaving his post to become a lobbyist for Strategic Marketing Innovations (SMI), a small Washington state firm. He will specialize in higher-education policy issues. Previously, Hardy spent three years working on high-tech legislative issues for Rep. Adam Smith, D-WA. "I'm looking forward to working with a small group of people. I've worked in government for 12 years and wanted to do something different," Hardy said.
Cheney Snatches Cox Aides For Top Jobs
C. Dean McGrath Jr., who served as staff director for the bipartisan Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with China, and as chief of staff to Rep. Christopher Cox, R-CA, has been named deputy chief of staff to Vice President-elect Richard Cheney. Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been named Cheney's chief of staff. Libby served as legal adviser on the staff of Cox's select committee.
"The depth of executive and legislative experience that each of these men will bring to the White House will be a tremendous asset for both the vice president and the president," Cox said in a statement.
Cyber Security Expert To Resign
Michael Vatis, director of the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC), has announced his impending departure, though he has not said yet where he will go. The NIPC is an interagency unit located at the FBI. President Clinton created it in 1998 as part of his cyber-security initiative. The NIPC attempts to warn of, and respond to, cyber attacks.
Dot-Comings And Goings
Paul Misener, Amazon.com's vice president of global policy, said he has taken his name out of contention for a position to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration under a Bush administration. Misener said he is staying put and adding staff.
Amazon.com, meanwhile, has hired Lane McIntosh, currently an attorney with Wiley Rein & Fielding. McIntosh previously was a policy specialist for Sen. X Byrd, D-WV. Amazon also hired Alyson Williams, who currently works for Rep. Jay Inslee, D-WA. Inslee represents the district that is the home base to Microsoft.
Michael Bustamante, the former communications director for Voter.com, has left the East Coast to move back to California. Bustamante said he has taken a position as senior vice president of Stoorza Communications in Sacramento. He is representing clients such as Sequoia Voting Systems, which makes touch-screen voting machines.
Bustamante left Voter.com before the firm, which reportedly has laid off workers and had trouble negotiating new funding, faced financial problems in November.
Sayonara NTT
America Online Japan today appointed Minoru Nakamura to the position of president of the Japanese unit. Nakamura brings more than 30 years of experience in the Japanese market to the AOL Japan management team, AOL said.
Nakamura's career spans more than three decades in various fields, including telecommunications and new media. He started at Nippon Telephone & Telegraph (NTT) ECL labs as an engineer and most recently served as senior executive vice president at NTT PC Communications. Over the course of his career, he has been an instrumental part of a numerous major projects at NTT, most notably building out its commercial telecommunications switching networks business, said AOL.
From One Firm To Another
John E. Fiorini, III, formerly a partner with the Washington, D.C. office of Gardner, Carton & Douglas, is joining Wiley Rein & Fielding as a partner beginning this week. Fiorini will participate in the firm's 70-lawyer communications practice, specializing in mass media and telecommunications law.
Fiorini brings more than two decades of broadcast experience to the firm, with a focus on radio and television law. He has extensive experience representing clients before the Federal Communications Commission, among them the Radio Operators Caucus. He also regularly counsels clients on regulatory matters surrounding mergers and acquisitions within the communications industry.
Party Time
TVWorldwide.com, a Chantilly, VA, streaming-video company, will provide Web coverage of the inaugural balls and host a party of its Jan. 20 at the National Press Club. According to the company's Web site, astronaut Buzz Aldrin will be the party's master of ceremonies. Proceeds from the event are to be donated to organizations that aim to close the "digital divide."
Also on the party front, former White House press secretaries Mike McCurry and Joe Lockhart are serving as honorary hosts to an AlexanderOgilvy, Ogilvy Public Relations and Washington Business Forward party to celebrate John Heilemann's book about the behind-the-scenes action before and after the Microsoft trial. His book, called The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era, was previewed in Wired magazine late last year.
Other honorary hosts at the party, to be held at the Hotel George, include former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and Eamon Javers, editor of Washington Business Forward. McCurry is now CEO of Grassroots.com, and Lockhart heads public affairs for Oracle.
Help Wanted
The American Civil Liberties Union is seeking a lawyer to serve as a legislative counsel in the national organization's Washington, DC, office. The office is responsible for advancing the civil liberties agenda of the national organization before Congress and the executive branch.
The new legislative counsel will be expected to know a wide range of civil liberties issues and will focus on privacy rights, including Internet privacy, the privacy of medical and financial records and the application of the Privacy Act.
Meanwhile, Real Networks, the Seattle-based streaming-media company, is searching for a director of corporate communications in Seattle. The salary ranges from the upper $100,000s to $200,000, according to those knowledgeable about the position.
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