Obama names new top drilling regulator

[Scurrilous]

Source: CNN

<snip>

"President Barack Obama on Tuesday appointed Michael Bromwich, a former Justice Department watchdog in the Clinton administration, as the new head of a reorganized federal effort to regulate offshore oil drilling.

A White House statement said Bromwich would "lead the effort to reform the Minerals Management Service," an Interior Department agency accused of corrupt practices and poor oversight of offshore drilling in the run-up to the Gulf oil disaster.

"For a decade or more, the cozy relationship between the oil companies and the federal agency was allowed to go unchecked," Obama said in a White House statement. "That allowed drilling permits to be issued in exchange not for safety plans, but assurances of safety from oil companies. That cannot and will not happen anymore."

According to the statement, Bromwich will develop plans "for a new oversight structure, replacing long-standing, inadequate practices with a gold-standard approach for environmental and safety regulation."

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/06/15/oil.disaster.bromwich/

[Turbineguy]

1. Maybe he can get rid of

or at least name the Bush political hacks that were in charge of this mess.

[chill_wind]

2. K & R. n/t

[chill_wind]

3. Per NYT, that will be in tonite's speech, along with

other possible highlights to watch for:

TOUGH TALK ON BP

A NEW ESCROW ACCOUNT

A RECOVERY CZAR?

A WARNING THAT RECOVERY WILL TAKE TIME

THE CASE FOR A GREENER ECONOMY

AN 'I’M IN CHARGE' MOMENT

A VOW TO FIX WHAT’S BROKEN IN GOVERNMENT

A FEEL-YOUR-PAIN MOMENT


WASHINGTON — President Obama will use his first Oval Office address to the nation Tuesday night to make the case for a comprehensive energy bill that would reduce the nation’s dependence on oil, and he will name a former Justice Department inspector general to revamp the agency that oversees oil drilling, administration officials say.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/us/politics/16obama.html?adxnnl=1&src=twt&twt=nytimes&adxnnlx=1276640186-Qo5X/LXypZZGrJ8/YXIsMA

[jody]

4. Looks like "it's hard work" is replaced with "it will take time". Pogo was right

[Robbien]

5. This Bromwich guy may be okay, he stood up against

April 23, 2008: Senate Republicans Protect Justice Department from Oversight by Inspector General
http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=michael_bromwich_1

Former Justice Department Inspector General Michael Bromwich says that the Kyl amendment sets the Justice Department apart from all other agencies. The amendment gives Justice Department lawyers what Bromwich calls a “privileged status” to be reviewed by the OPR, which lacks the OIG’s independence. Bromwich says that the amendment “either has to be based on a misunderstanding of what the IG is seeking or on an attempt by people in the department to keep certain kinds of investigations away from the IG for reasons they should articulate.”


--------

So it appears the guy may at least be aware of what is right.

[chill_wind]

6. Reputation for cleaning up embattled organizations (WAPO)

While Bromwich has no significant experience with oil and gas issues, he has a reputation for cleaning up embattled organizations. In addition to serving as as inspector general for the Justice Department under President Clinton for five years, he worked as the District Metropolitan Police Department's independent monitor on the issue of excessive force and as the independent investigator for the Houston Police Department's crime lab. He also served as an associate counsel in the Iran-Contra investigation in the late 1980s.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/06/michael-bromwich-a-former-just.html

Michael R. Bromwich

Partner
Litigation

Michael R. Bromwich is a litigation partner resident in Fried Frank's Washington, DC and New York offices, where he heads the Internal Investigations, Compliance and Monitoring practice group. He joined the Firm as a partner in 1999.

Mr. Bromwich concentrates his practice on conducting internal investigations for private companies and other organizations, including investigations for Audit Committees and Special Committees; providing monitoring and oversight services in connection with litigation and government enforcement actions; and representing institutions and individuals in white-collar criminal and regulatory matters. He also provides crisis management assistance and counseling. Mr. Bromwich has served as the Independent Monitor for the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department on use of force issues (2002-present) and as the Independent Investigator for the Houston Police Department Crime Lab (2005-2007).

From 1994 to 1999, Mr. Bromwich served as Inspector General for the US Department of Justice. In that position, he headed the law enforcement agency responsible for conducting investigations into allegations involving Justice Department personnel and for auditing the Department's programs and operations. Before his appointment as Inspector General, Mr. Bromwich served as a federal prosecutor. From 1987 through 1989, he served as Associate Counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel for Iran-Contra. From 1983 to 1987, Mr. Bromwich served as an Assistant US Attorney in the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he was Deputy Chief and later Chief of the Office's Narcotics Unit.

Mr. Bromwich has published numerous articles on conducting and managing complex investigations. He is also a frequent speaker and panelist on law enforcement, oversight and criminal law issues.
Professional Associations

Member, New York Council of Defense Lawyers

Member, National Association of Former United States Attorneys

Member, American Bar Association
Bar Admissions/Licensed Jurisdictions
District of Columbia; New York

http://www.ffhsj.com/index.cfm?pageID=42&itemID=163&more=1

[Robbien]

8. In these times cleaning up

often are code words for cost/job cutting and privatization.

So it was good to see that he was against the whole Bush AG crime.

[chill_wind]

10. Yes. He's sounding good.

eom

[awoke_in_2003]

11. Good luck to him...

I do not envy him the job he is being given.

[PopSixSquish]

7. He Also Investigated the Problems with the FBI Lab in the 1990s

was one of the prosecutors for Ollie North and signed the petition to urge the Obama administration to try terrorists in civilian court early last year. He sounds like a good idea...

[chill_wind]

9. Agree. n/t