President-elect Obama Completes His Cabinet Nominations

Last week, President-elect Obama completed his nominations to Cabinet posts, and by all measures, his will be a solid Cabinet noted for experience, achievement and moderation.

On Monday, the incoming President named Steven Chu as Secretary of Energy, Carol Browner to lead the newly-created policy council on environment and energy, and Nancy Sutley to chair the Council on Environmental Quality. The President-elect has made clear his intention to move aggressively on climate change, which will translate into a significant change of our national energy mix, and all three of these individuals share his commitment to that goal. Vigorous debates are sure to occur regarding how far and how fast we can move away from our dependence on fossil fuels, but the new President’s energy team has so far shown a willingness to listen to business concerns. The NAM has been invited to several transition discussions, and Governor Engler has laid out a solid plan for expanded nuclear energy production to Carol Browner, among others.

On Friday, the President-elect announced he will nominate Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL) to serve as Secretary of Transportation, former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk to serve as U.S. Trade Representative, and Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) to be Secretary of Labor.

The LaHood nomination symbolizes the President-elect’s commitment to bipartisanship. Rep. LaHood has served in the House for 14 years and has distinguished himself as a reliable champion of economic growth. He understands the importance of manufacturing to our economy, and is uniquely qualified to lead an aggressive campaign to upgrade our transportation infrastructure.

Ron Kirk is also supportive of the manufacturing and business agenda. In particular, he understands that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been a success, creating jobs both north and south of the borders.

On the Labor front, we appreciate Rep. Solis’ efforts on the America Competes Act of 2007, and look forward to working with her on improving our educational system and preparing a workforce for the 21st century. But of all the Obama appointments, the Solis nomination reminds us that we must be vigilant in our efforts to educate our nation's new leaders on the manufacturing agenda and the importance of growing the economy and creating jobs. In particular, we will communicate our firm and unequivocal opposition on issues that can be harmful to the economy and jobs, like the Employee Free Choice Act, which would significantly alter over 70 years of U.S. labor laws.

Now that the Cabinet has been completed (and stunningly quickly - once again demonstrating the President-elect's determination to lead in a decisive manner), the next round of Presidential appointments will be the several thousand second and third tier positions in the agencies, as well as on the White House staff. While the initial Cabinet choices are, indeed, encouraging as a representation of moderation, the deputies, assistants and other support staff will be even more important in determining the philosophical and policy direction of the new Administration. Those individuals will be the crucial gears in the bureaucratic machinery who will have significant impact on regulations and other policy proposals. Stay tuned!

Jay Timmons
Executive Vice President
National Association of Manufacturers

Senate and House Update

The last remaining House race was settled last week. In Virginia’s 5th District, the recount showed a definitive win for Tom Perriello (D) over six-term incumbent Congressman Virgil Goode (R).

When new Members of Congress are sworn in on January 6, 2009, however, the fate of the Minnesota Senate race may still be unsettled. Al Franken (D) moved ahead of incumbent Senator Norm Coleman (R) in the ballot count for the first time last week as the state Canvassing Board began reviewing challenged ballots. While Coleman’s lead had grown in the first two days of the Canvassing Board’s review, by the end of counting Friday afternoon, Franken was ahead by 251 ballots in an unofficial count. Still in question are ballots the Coleman campaign claims were counted twice, as well as approximately 1,500 previously rejected absentee ballots that must be counted by the counties by Dec. 31. There are also approximately 5,000 ballots that were initially challenged by the Franken and Coleman campaigns during the manual recount. However, the challenges were withdrawn before the Canvassing Board meeting last week and these ballots will be allocated to the candidates’ vote tallies early this week. Franken’s lead is expected to shrink as final outstanding ballots are counted and awarded but it remains anyone’s guess if it will hold.

As Election 2008 finally comes to a close, we will turn our attention to the 2010 election cycle, in particular the impact of openings created by President-elect Obama’s election and his Cabinet and Administration picks. So far, there are four vacancies in the Senate (Illinois – Obama, Delaware – Biden, New York – Clinton and Colorado – Salazar), two vacancies in the House (Illinois – Emanuel and California – Solis) and two gubernatorial vacancies (Arizona – Napolitano and New Mexico – Richardson). Additionally, we will follow the announcements of Congressional incumbents as they declare their intentions to run for re-election, pursue other office or return to private life. Stay tuned for what is sure to be another action-filled and engaging election season.

This is our final edition of Capital Connection this year. Beginning January 12, we will focus on key races in the next election cycle and move to a twice monthly format.

All of us at the NAM wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season and a healthy, happy and prosperous 2009!

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Questions or Comments? Please contact Teresa DeRoco Cupit at tcupit@nam.org

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