Obama names Brennan FMC chairman

Obama names Brennan FMC chairman

Brennan

   The Federal Maritime Commission said Joseph E. Brennan has been designated acting chairman by President Barack Obama.
   Brennan, the former governor of Maine, was initially nominated to serve on FMC by President Clinton in 1999 and to serve a second term by President Bush in 2004.
   Accepting the appointment, Brennan said in a statement that he wants the FMC “to meet all of its regulatory responsibilities while always trying to minimize the cost to regulated entities and the American taxpayer.
   “Shipping statutes and regulations are meant to ensure fair competition and consumer protection,” he said, adding he looks forward to working with the maritime industry to promote fair competition and to ensure that the nation has an efficient and effective maritime transportation system capable of meeting the needs of the American consumer.
   Brennan, 74, served in the U.S. Army and graduated from Boston College and the University of Maine School of Law. He became a representative in the Maine House in 1965. He went on to serve as district attorney for Cumberland County in Maine, as a Maine State Senator, and as the state’s Attorney General.
   After serving as governor in 1979-1987, he served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives until 1991, where he was a member of the Armed Services Committee and Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee.    Upon leaving the U.S. Congress, Brennan entered private practice as an attorney in Washington before being named to the FMC.
   He will be only one of two commissioners on the five-person panel if Harold J. Creel Jr. leaves on June 30, as he announced in April, and no replacement is named.