President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

• Christopher Hart – Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board
• John W. Leslie, Jr. – Member, Board of Directors of the African Development Foundation, and upon appointment to be designated Chairperson 

President Obama also announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

• Donald L. Pereira – Commissioner, United States Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission
• Douglas L. Stang – Commissioner, United States Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission 

President Obama said, “These fine public servants bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their new roles.  Our nation will be well-served by these individuals, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.” 

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Christopher Hart, Nominee for Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board

Christopher Hart is currently a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), where he has served since 2009.  He is also Vice Chairman of the NTSB, a position he held since October 2013 and previously from 2009 to 2013.  Prior to joining the NTSB, Mr. Hart was the Deputy Director for Air Traffic Safety Oversight at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from 2005 to 2009 and was the Assistant Administrator for System Safety at the FAA from 1995 to 2005.  From 1994 to 1995, Mr. Hart was Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  He was a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board from 1990 to 1993.  He was Managing Partner at Hart & Chavers from 1981 to 1990 and Associate Attorney at Dickstein, Shapiro & Morin from 1979 to 1981.  Mr. Hart served as the Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Environmental, Civil Rights, and General Law at the Department of Transportation from 1977 to 1979.  Mr. Hart was an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel at the Air Transport Association of America from 1976 to 1977 and an Associate Attorney at Peabody, Rivlin, Lambert & Meyers from 1973 to 1976.  He is a licensed pilot with commercial, multi-engine, and instrument ratings.  Mr. Hart received a B.S.E. and M.S. from Princeton University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. 

John W. Leslie, Jr., Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the African Development Foundation, and upon appointment to be designated Chairperson

John W. Leslie, Jr. is currently Chairman of Weber Shandwick, a position he has held since 2001.  He has also served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the African Development Foundation since 2003 and as its Chairperson since 2009.  From 1985 to 2001, Mr. Leslie was President of Bozell Sawyer Miller.  Previously, Mr. Leslie was Chairman of the Board of the United States Association for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and a participant in UNHCR Missions to Afghanistan in 1998, Kosovo in 1999, and Tanzania in 2001.  He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Chairman of the U.S. Agency for International Development Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid.  Mr. Leslie received a B.S. from Georgetown University.

President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Dr. Donald L. Pereira, Appointee for Commissioner, United States Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Dr. Donald L. Pereira is Chief of the Section of Fisheries at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, a position he has held since 2013.  He has held various positions at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources since 1983, including Fisheries Research and Policy Manager, Fisheries Research Program Supervisor, and Senior Fisheries Research Biologist.  He was a Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant at the University of Minnesota from 1987 to 1991.  Dr. Pereira joined the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission’s Council of Lake Committees in 2007, and served as its Vice Chairman from 2011 to 2013 before becoming Chairman.  He also served on the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s Board of Technical Experts from 2009 to 2013.  Dr. Pereira received a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Vermont and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Fisheries from the University of Minnesota, St. Paul.

Douglas L. Stang, Appointee for Commissioner, United States Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Douglas L. Stang is Assistant Director for Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, a position he has held since 2007.  He has held multiple positions at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation since 1985, including Chief of the Bureau of Fisheries, Supervising Aquatic Biologist, and Senior Aquatic Biologist.  Previously, he was a Research Associate at Iowa State University from 1982 to 1985 and a Graduate Research Assistant from 1980 to 1982.  Mr. Stang began his career as Fisheries Technician at the Virginia Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries in 1978.  He is a Life Member of the American Fisheries Society and served as President of its Fisheries Administration Section from 2003 to 2005.  Mr. Stang received a B.S. in Forestry and Wildlife from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and an M.S. in Fishery Biology from Iowa State University.

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Senator Mark Warner Hampton Roads Virginia Quarterly Regional Newsletter

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A week ago, I traveled 1,200 miles over five days to meet with Virginians from every region of the Commonwealth. Over the course of 30 events, town halls and roundtables in 18 different communities, I was encouraged to hear genuine optimism from a lot of people about more signs of a genuine economic recovery. Folks also noticed that, for the first time in a while, Congress now appears to be moving forward together to begin addressing some of our nation’s challenges. 

I wanted to update you about my recent work in Congress to strengthen the economy and create jobs here in Hampton Roads. As always, I would welcome your thoughts, comments and concerns. 

Thanks again for the honor of representing you in Congress. 

Regards, 
Mark R. Warner

Working to Restore Military Retirement Benefits 

I have been working with colleagues in the Senate to repeal and replace the proposed cut to military pensions that was included in the Bipartisan Budget Act, which recently passed with overwhelming bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate. The recent spending bill repealed those cuts for disabled military retirees who were medically retired, but other military men and women were understandably concerned about this mid-career change in pension policy. Our service men and women deserve much better than seeing their pensions arbitrarily cut by lawmakers in Washington. Senators did not have an opportunity to vote on amendments to the budget agreement first approved by the House, so I immediately introduced legislation to replace the COLA cut for military retirees by closing a loophole that some companies use to avoid paying taxes. The proposed cut to military pensions is not scheduled to take effect until 2015, so I can assure you there will be plenty of time and many opportunities to reverse these pension cuts that unfairly single out Virginia military families. 

Virginia Chosen to Lead Drone Research & Testing 

After months of working with the Federal Aviation Administration, I was proud to announce the selection of a Virginia partnership to spearhead a research effort to help map the future of drones in commercial airspace. Following the grant announcement, I organized a roundtable in Norfolk with partners from NASA-Langley, NASA-Wallops, Lockheed Martin, the U.S. Navy, private drone companies and Virginia Tech to discuss possible economic benefits for manufacturing in Virginia. It’s my hope that this partnership will also be able to help sort out the legitimate public concerns about privacy and air safety as we move toward a safe and responsible integration of unmanned aircraft. 

Fighting for Virginia’s Volunteer Emergency Responders 

Beginning last fall, I started hearing from many volunteer fire and rescue departments in Virginia who had concerns about some confusing language in The Affordable Care Act. The Treasury Department was not being especially helpful in clarifying whether or not volunteer first responders, who typically have health coverage through their full-time employers, would be required to be counted as full-time employees by their volunteer departments. Such a mandate could have required volunteer departments to significantly cut their membership ranks, and that certainly was not the intent of Congress. I wrote to the Secretary of the Treasury last month, asking him to settle this confusion once and for all, and I am pleased the IRS now has made it clear that volunteer first responders do not count in ACA’s requirement that employers with 50 or more workers must provide health coverage or face penalties. I’ve said all along that there will be issues like these that arise with health care reform, and we should work in a bipartisan way to fix them. In this instance, I am pleased we were able to protect those who protect us. 

Better Protections for Consumers 

At nearly $700 billion in sales each year, prepaid cards are one of the fastest growing parts of the financial industry. However, issuers of prepaid cards currently are not required to provide the same level of consumer protections offered by most other gift cards and credit cards. I introduced legislation earlier this month to change this, so that technology doesn’t outpace smart consumer protections. Additionally, following the recent Target data breach affecting at least 70 million customers, as well as data breaches at other high-profile U.S. companies, I will chair a hearing in the Senate Banking Committee next week to examine whether companies and financial service providers are taking all actions necessary to safeguard consumer data. I’ll also look at whether stronger industry-wide cybersecurity standards are needed. 

Returning to Normal Order in Congress 

Congress recently passed a bipartisan spending bill that will ease the harshest effects of last year's automatic sequester cuts. This legislation is an important step toward normal order in the Senate, and the first appropriations bill passed since 2009. It included almost $487 billion indefense spending to advance our nation’s security and military readiness, and to provide support for our troops and their families, and fully funded ship-repair and shipbuilding accounts. A list of additional Virginia priorities that were funded through the appropriations bill is available here. 

This two-year budget agreement should help Virginia families, employers and community leaders move forward with more predictability and confidence. While I’m pleased that, at least in the near term, we will not be lurching from crisis to crisis, I believe we still need to have a comprehensive and thorough conversation about our nation’s deficit and debt.

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State, University Leaders Welcome FAA Decision to Test Unmanned Aircraft

English: Wasp IIII small unmanned aircraft system (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

RICHMOND – State and university leaders in Virginia and New Jersey welcomed the Federal Aviation Administration’s approval today of their proposal to operate a test site to integrate unmanned aircraft into the national airspace.

With plans for the University of Maryland to join the partnership, efforts to introduce the safe and responsible use of unmanned aerial vehicles to the nation will be well-represented in the mid-Atlantic.

“We expect unmanned aircraft systems will be extremely useful for agriculture, utilities, search-and-rescue missions, disaster response and a number of applications that will generate jobs, industry and add millions of dollars in revenue to state economies,” said Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell.

In September, McDonnell, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, and Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland expressed their commitment to jointly support test-site infrastructure in a letter to the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Today's announcement brings the next frontier of aerospace research and development to New Jersey, and is an exciting opportunity for our state,” Governor Christie said.  “The cutting-edge research opportunities will create new jobs and spur STEM education, while building upon our deep roots in this arena. The entire state, and especially southern New Jersey, will benefit in the years to come from this important national award.”

The FAA has until 2015 to develop regulations aimed at limiting the privacy and safety concerns associated with unmanned aircraft. Congress called for the establishment of six national unmanned aircraft system research and testing sites through the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012.

While much of the testing to date has been conducted under defense programs, continued work on the integration of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace will be implemented through a combination of federal, state and local government resources, along with academic institutions and private industry.

New Jersey and Virginia submitted a joint proposal led by Virginia Tech as the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, which unites academic, industry, state government and economic development organizations. The University of Maryland, College Park, was the lead agency in the Maryland application for an FAA test site, bringing together a similar consortium of groups and test ranges.

After submitting the applications, the three universities agreed to work as a united team to enhance the region's competitive position in the event that either or both proposals were selected by the FAA.

More recently, the Commonwealth of Virginia announced it will award $1.0 million during fiscal year 2014 in Federal Action Contingency Trust (FACT) funds to Virginia Tech to operate an unmanned aircraft systems test site. In the introduced budget, Governor McDonnell recommended an additional $1.6 million over the next two fiscal years for this project.

The funds will take the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership from its current “volunteer” status to a fully functional and revenue-producing organization, capable of competitively analyzing and testing unmanned aircraft systems for industry and government.

“With our partners, we firmly believe we can introduce this new technology the right way,” said Jon Greene, interim director of the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership and an associate director of Virginia Tech’s Institute for Critical Technologies and Applied Science. “Separately the team members have flown unmanned aircraft systems for thousands of hours, and now we have joined together to conduct unmanned aircraft systems research, development, and test and evaluation activities.”

In addition to expertise, the mid-Atlantic region contains both uncongested and restricted airspace, land and water terrain, and access to sea-level and high altitudes. The region also has an extensive agricultural base, which is considered the primary growth area for unmanned aircraft systems technology.

Integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems into the national airspace could add more than $13.6 billion to the nation’s economy by the end of the decade, reaching as high as $82.1 billion by 2025, according to the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.

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GVLN - Protect Privacy From Drones At Home, Lawmakers Say

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By JOAN LOWY | Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Before thousands of civilian drones begin flying in U.S. skies, Congress should take steps to protect the public's privacy and prevent terrorists from hacking or jamming signals that control the aircraft, lawmakers said Thursday.

House members from both parties said at an oversight hearing that they're worried about potential privacy and security threats as the use of small unmanned aircraft becomes widespread. The Federal Aviation Administration forecasts an estimated 10,000 civilian drones will be in use in the U.S. within five years.

Even Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, co-chair of bipartisan group of lawmakers promoting greater domestic use of drones, acknowledged that legislation to protect privacy may be necessary.

There is tremendous demand to use drones at home for all kinds of tasks that are too dirty, dull or dangerous for manned aircraft. Drones also are often cheaper than manned aircraft. The biggest market is expected to be state and local police departments.

Industry experts predict the takeoff of a multi-billion dollar market for civilian drones as soon as the FAA completes regulations to make sure they don't pose a safety hazard to other aircraft. But the agency's focus and expertise is safety, not security or privacy.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of a House Homeland Security subcommittee, complained that no federal agency has been willing to tackle the issue of drones and privacy. He said Department of Homeland Security officials refused a request to testify at the hearing, saying regulating civilian use of drones wasn't the department's responsibility.

McCaul said he is considering seeking a subpoena to force officials to testify at a future hearing or asking the White House to issue an executive order requiring the department take responsibility for the matter.

"This is an evolving field and we have thousands of these things that could be deployed in the sky," McCaul said. "I think it's incumbent on the Department of Homeland Security to come up with a policy ... Local law enforcement does need that guidance."

Homeland Security officials didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.

Among the dangers, witnesses said, is that the signals used to guide civilian drones can be hacked or jammed, causing them to crash.

Military drones use encrypted GPS signals for navigation, which protects them from hacking, but the GPS signals used by civilian drones don't have that protection, said Todd Humphreys, an assistant professor of orbital mechanics at the University of Texas-Austin.

In an experiment, Humphreys said he and his students were able to successfully hack the signals of a sophisticated drone, getting it to change altitude or position through "spoofing" — sending the drone incorrect information on its location. He acknowledged that it would be very difficult for an ordinary person to spoof a drone, although it might be within the capability of a terrorist or criminal network.

GPS signal jammers available for sale on the Internet for as little as $50 could also be used to cause a civilian drone to crash, said Gerald Dillingham of the Government Accountability Office.

Michael Toscano, president of the Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International, pointed out in written comments submitted to the committee that government and industry officials have long been aware that spoofing is a concern for any technology that relies on GPS for guidance and timing, not just unmanned aircraft.

"That said, the industry takes the potential for spoofing very seriously and is already advancing technologies ... to prevent it," he said.

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