Obama Nominates Antitrust Expert Shelanski as New Regulatory Czar.

[elleng]

Source: nyt/reuters

President Barack Obama said on Thursday he would pick Howard Shelanski, an antitrust expert, as his new regulatory czar, a powerful White House position charged with reviewing regulations proposed by government departments.

Shelanski, who is both an economist and a lawyer, is currently in charge of a team of economists that reviews competition and consumer protection issues at the Federal Trade Commission.

He was described by lawyers who know him as a sophisticated analyst who has a pragmatic approach gained from spending time in the trenches of a government agency.

"In my opinion, he's a home run," said William Eskridge, law professor at Yale University, who praised Shelanski for his intellect.

The regulatory czar is formally called the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, or OIRA - a body within the White House budget office.

Shelanski would replace Cass Sunstein, a well known and often controversial author who left the White House in August to return to teach at Harvard Law School.

During Sunstein's tenure, the White House came under fire from environmental groups for thwarting regulations that were deemed to cost too much, including killing a smog rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/04/25/us/politics/25reuters-usa-obama-regulations.html?hp

[bahrbearian]

1. This is so funny.

[elleng]

2. 'Funny?'

[Fuddnik]

3. With credentials like these, who couldn't laugh?

Shelanski is an affable person who is skilful at persuasion, said David Balto, a public-interest antitrust lawyer who said he has frequently found himself on the losing end of the argument.

"He has never agreed with anything I have ever proposed!" said Balto, policy director at the Federal Trade Commission during the Clinton administration.

"He's the kind of person who knows how to work well with people of very different perspectives and reach agreement," said Balto.

Shelanski was a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He spent a decade on the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley. He also worked as the chief economist at the Federal Communications Commission and was a White House economist during the Clinton administration.

[hedda_foil]

4. He clerked for SCALIA????

Sounds like a real consumer-minded kind of guy.

[Veilex]

6. Before we develop undeserved preconceived notions, consider this:

He contributed $100 to the marriage equality ballot in california. Here's the link:
http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/contributor_details.phtml?t=1&c=3347&d=1484632402

Its not to say he's gold or a bad apple... but its one thing in his favor...if you know something we don't, please post links with verifiable information please... not suppositions.

(Edited to add link...oops)

[Cha]

9. Doesn't sound very Scaliaish to me.. thanks Veilex..

Contributions to NO ON 8 EQUALITY FOR ALL From SHELANSKI, HOWARD

Total number of records: 1
Total amount: $100

[L0oniX]

13. $100 wow ...maybe that was just political.

[Veilex]

14. Maybe and maybe not...

But until we have more concrete information, all we can realistically do is take it at face value.
If you have any information, links or citations showing it was political, please, by all means, post it
so the rest of us may make a more informed judgment based on available facts.

[KoKo]

12. He might not be so bad...Here's some snips of his work at Berkeley...

(I read the panel discussion with him on "Big Box Stores" and it was a good discussion if anyone wants to check it out. He at least is aware of the issues that concern many Dems about Walmart gouging farmers and the transition in how we eat today and how Grocery Consolidation has an effect on both rural and urban areas. It's a good read.)

------------

In the News--Berkeley Law Blogs:
Howard Shelanski in the news:

Howard Shelanski Discusses Impact of ‘Big-Box’ Grocery Stores

Daily Yonder, January 5, 2011
http://www.dailyyonder.com/price-groceries/2011/01/04/3109

“One important contributor, other than mergers and acquisitions, to the increased volume and share of the top 20 retailers over the past two decades has been the rapid growth of what are often called nontraditional grocery retailers like Walmart, Target and Costco.”


Howard Shelanski Says New Administration Will Pursue Antitrust Law Enforcement

Forum with Michael Krasny, May 12, 2009 Host Michael Krasny
http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R905120900

“I think what we see now is a clear statement by the Justice Department that it will be less concerned about the stakes of over-enforcement; that it is more concerned by the stakes of under-enforcement, and will pursue monopolization conduct more aggressively than in the past.”


Howard Shelanski Calls New UCDC Law Program “Indispensable”

The BLT: The Blog of LegalTimes, March 9, 2009 by Eric Barendsen
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/03/cali-law-interns-find-career-options-in-dc.html

“They get the opportunity to see their law degree as something that would help them be involved with policymaking, not simply litigation, not simply advocacy,” says professor and founder of the program Howard Shelanski of U.C. Berkeley School of Law.


Christopher Edley, Stephen Bundy, and Howard Shelanksi Say New Faculty Hire Will Help Boost Bar-Pass Rate

The Recorder, April 24, by Petra Pasternak
http://www.law.com/jsp/ca/PubArticleCA.jsp?id=1208947728506

“Though our first-time pass rates remain markedly higher than the overall pass rate for ABA-accredited law schools, we do not regard the 2007 results as acceptable,” Edley wrote in a memo to third-year students and LL.M.s on April 17. “We do not yet know whether those results reflect statistical variation or real changes in preparedness among our graduates.”

Howard Shelanksi noted that 82 percent is not bad compared with the overall pass rates for the California bar. But that’s little comfort to Boalt students, he added. “We want to push back up to our historic levels of bar-pass.”

“The bar is the mother of all closed-book in-class exams,” Bundy said. “I think the hiring of Kristen [Holmquist] provides a chance for us to look at the way these issues play out through the curriculum.”

Howard Shelanski Predicts Close Scrutiny of Microsoft-Yahoo Deal

TheStreet.com, Feb. 1, by Alexei Oreskovic
http://www.thestreet.com/s/microsoft-yahoo-await-antitrust-scrutiny/newsanalysis/technet/10401720.html?puc=_tscs

Howard Shelanski says that regardless of whether the Microsoft-Yahoo deal is ultimately approved, the deal’s size and complexity means it will likely prompt regulators to extend the initial 30-day review period for an additional six months…. “These firms are both major players, and there’s certainly some horizontal overlap,” says Shelanski. “There are many other markets involved here” … and each market needs to be evaluated on its own merits.
http://inthenews.berkeleylawblogs.org/category/howard-shelanski/

[freshwest]

5. Cue RW obstruction in 3... 2... 1...

[snot]

7. To my mind, "Shelanski was a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia"

means he's probably the opposite of what we need.

[Veilex]

15. The fallacy in this line of thinking is that...

There are plenty of good people out there working for other people with questionable ethics and practices. Chances are good that you yourself either are, or have worked for someone you ideologically or fundamentally disagree with... just based on the fact that your posting on this board.

I know the knee-jerk reaction is we see Antonin Scalia's name, and we immediately want nothing to do with him... but consider that a clerk is just a clerk. He has a job to do like anyone else, regardless of personal feelings. Most people will do whatever job it is they have, because they need the money... again, just like everyone else.

Its entirely probable that he is just another guy who appears to be fairly knowledgeable... and has made at least one step in the correct direction.

[mimi85]

8. Spare me...

he's just fine. Damn, you are all fine when...... this Californian is just fine. So tired of pointing fingers.

[Cha]

10. Thanks elleng. Bet, there's a lot more to Howard Shelanski than

clerking for Scalia.

[elleng]

11. Of course there is, Cha,

and clerking for a Supreme only means that one knows how to do research and write.

[snot]

16. Sorry; not so.

I agree that no firm conclusions can be drawn based solely on who employed one. But judicial clerkships are extremely competitive, and Scalia doesn't strike me as the type to go out of his way to hire someone with attitudes incompatible with his own.