Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

David Jeremiah Barron, of Massachusetts, to be United States Circuit Judge for the First Circuit, vice Michael Boudin, retired.

Mark G. Mastroianni, of Massachusetts, to be United States District Judge for the District of Massachusetts, vice Michael A. Ponsor, retired.

Indira Talwani, of Massachusetts, to be United States District Judge for the District of Massachusetts, vice Mark L. Wolf, retired.

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Steven Anthony – Member, Railroad Retirement Board
• Susan McCue – Member, Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation
• Deb Miller  – Member, Surface Transportation Board
• Catherine Ann Novelli – Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, Department of State 

President Obama said, “It gives me great confidence that such dedicated and capable individuals have agreed to join this Administration to serve the American people. 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:

Steven Anthony, Nominee for Member, Railroad Retirement Board

Steven Anthony most recently served as Senior General Counsel and Secretary for the Norfolk Southern Corporation from 2007 to 2012.  Previously, Mr. Anthony was a Washington Representative for Norfolk Southern from 1997 to 2007.  He was General Counsel of Norfolk Southern from 1981 to 1997.  From 1978 to 1981, Mr. Anthony was Secretary and General Counsel of the Illinois Terminal Railroad.  He was a General Attorney at Illinois Terminal Railroad in 1976.  Mr. Anthony received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Missouri and a J.D. from the University of Tulsa.

Susan McCue, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation

Susan McCue is President of Message Global, a strategic advocacy firm she founded in 2008.  In 2006, she became the founding President and CEO of the ONE Campaign.  From 1999 to 2007, Ms. McCue served as the Chief of Staff for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.  Previously, from 1997 to 1998, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  From 1992 to 1997, she was Senator Reid’s Communications Director.  Ms. McCue was Press Secretary for Senator Tom Harkin’s 1996 Senate campaign.  She began her career as a research assistant for reporters at the National Journal and The New York Times.  Ms. McCue is also a Member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, and the Council on Foreign Relations, and is the Vice Chair of Humanity United.  She received a B.A. from Rutgers University.

Deb Miller, Nominee for Member, Surface Transportation Board

Deb Miller is a Senior Associate for Cambridge Systematics, Inc., a position she has held since 2012.  Prior to this, Ms. Miller served as Secretary of the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) from 2003 to 2011.  From 1998 to 2003, she was a Senior Planner for the HNTB Corporation.  Ms. Miller was the Director of Planning and Development at KDOT from 1986 to 1997, and she served as Special Assistant to the Kansas Secretary of Transportation from 1984 to 1986.  From 1980 to 1984, Ms. Miller served as a Policy Aide in the Office of Governor John Carlin.  She was a Management Development Trainee at Southwestern Bell from 1978 to 1980 and the Executive Director of the Associated Students of Kansas from 1977 to 1978.  Ms. Miller received a B.A. in Sociology from Kansas State University.

Catherine Ann Novelli, Nominee for Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Department of State

Catherine Ann Novelli is Vice President of Worldwide Government Affairs at Apple, Inc., a position she has held since 2007.  Previously, Ms. Novelli was a partner at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, LLP from 2005 to 2007.  From 1991 to 2005, she served at the Office of the United States Trade Representative and from 1997 to 2005, she was the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Mediterranean.  From 1985 to 1991, Ms. Novelli served in the Office of the General Counsel at the Department of Commerce.  From 1982 to 1985, she practiced law in the Washington D.C. office of Debovoise and Librman.  Ms. Novelli received a B.A. from Tufts University, a J.D. from the University of Michigan, and a LL.M. from the University of London.

FACT SHEET: Additional Humanitarian Assistance for Lebanese Host Communities and Refugees from Syria

The United States commends the government and people of Lebanon for hosting and supporting nearly 800,000 Syrian refugees who have fled the Assad regime’s brutal violence.  The United States is committed to supporting Lebanon’s efforts to provide protection and assistance to those who have fled Syria, in conjunction with UN agencies and non-governmental organization (NGO) partners.

Today, President Obama announced that the United States is contributing nearly $340 million in additional humanitarian assistance to support those affected by the crisis.  This brings the U.S. total regional contribution since the beginning of the crisis to nearly $1.4 billion.

As part of that announcement, the United States will contribute more than $74 million to support humanitarian assistance efforts in Lebanon, bringing the total contribution for Lebanon to more than $254 million in support to Syrian and Palestinian refugees and the Lebanese communities that host them.

Additionally, this year the United States is funding more than $62 million in development assistance programs in Lebanon that support the modernization of the public education system and water infrastructure, improve local governance, and increase economic opportunities.

U.S. Humanitarian Assistance

The United States supports UN partners, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the World Food Program (WFP), the UN Population Fund, (UNFPA), and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to provide a range of assistance to refugees and to the Lebanese host communities that have generously received them.

These contributions provide rent support, essential household items, and food vouchers, as well as primary health care consultations, emergency medical care, and trauma counseling services for survivors of gender-based violence and those who have experienced horrific violence inside Syria.

The United States supports the work of UNHCR to provide basic humanitarian assistance, including medical services, food, clean water, warm clothing, blankets, and shelter to those in need throughout Lebanon, including in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, the north, the south, and Mount Lebanon.  Living conditions for refugees have deteriorated in many communities; improving the quality and quantity of available shelters is a priority for humanitarian partners in coordination with the Government of Lebanon.  From January to July of this year, UNHCR has also supported primary health services for 65,800 Syrian patients in Lebanon.

More than 50 percent of Syrian refugees in Lebanon are children, and more than 200,000 are school-aged.  U.S. funding supports UNICEF’s efforts to educate Syrian children in Lebanon, providing remedial courses, language instruction in French and English, tutoring, and after-school activities to thousands of Syrian and Lebanese students throughout the country.  UNICEF is also partnering with NGOs and communities to protect children and women from domestic violence and to give children safe spaces to play and learn. 

The United States is also supporting the critical assistance that UNRWA provides to Palestinian refugees who have fled Syria by providing cash assistance, essential household items, primary and emergency health care, and education for Palestinian students in UNRWA schools. 

U.S.-funded partners are addressing the health care needs of conflict-affected Syrian refugees by expanding the availability of comprehensive primary health care services in northern Lebanon, Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon.  The program helps refugees to make informed health decisions through the provision of preventive health services and education, mental health counseling, and other protection-related activities.  The United States funds an NGO that meets with Syrian refugees as they register with UNHCR in Tripoli, in order to help identify specific protection concerns, and to refer those with special needs to appropriate service providers in the Akkar and Tripoli areas.  U.S. funding also supports primary counseling programs for Syrian refugees struggling to overcome the violence they have witnessed and to adapt to a new, temporary home. 

U.S. Development and Economic Assistance to Lebanon

The United States’ development assistance program to Lebanon – totaling more than $62 million this year – continues to support needs in sectors that are directly affected by the Syria crisis.  The United States is committed to working with our partners in Lebanon to provide assistance that directly assists the Lebanese communities hosting refugees from Syria, and alleviates strains on public services across Lebanon. 

For example, one current U.S.-funded project helps to rehabilitate public schools around the country, including in areas hosting Syrian refugees.  This project improves the physical infrastructure of the schools, provides technology equipment for student use, and improves teaching methods that benefit Lebanese students as well as Syrian students enrolled in Lebanon’s public schools.  Another U.S.-funded project works with local water establishments to improve access to clean drinking water in communities across Lebanon.  This project rehabilitates pumping equipment, installs chlorination systems, and provides technical training and expertise to local water services in order to provide potable water to all residents of Lebanon.

Finally, a U.S.-funded program works with local Lebanese partners in vulnerable communities to reduce volatility resulting from the Syrian crisis.  Quick impact program activities include rehabilitation of Lebanese-owned buildings sheltering Syrians and equipping health and educational facilities.

FACT SHEET: U.S. Humanitarian Assistance in Response to the Syrian Crisis

President Obama announced today the United States will provide $339 million in additional U.S. humanitarian aid to support those affected by the ongoing crisis in Syria. This new announcement brings the total U.S. funding for humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people to nearly $1.4 billion since the crisis began. The United States is providing food, clean water, shelter, medical care, and relief supplies to over 4.2 million people inside Syria, as well as to the more than two million refugees across the region. The United States remains the single-largest contributor of humanitarian aid for the Syrian people.

Civilians in Syria are paying the heaviest price for the struggle to end the rule of the Assad regime.  The U.S. government is working through all possible channels, including United Nations agencies, international and non-governmental organizations, and local Syrian organizations to reach the millions in desperate need of aid inside Syria and throughout the region. 

Today’s announcement will also bolster the enormous hospitality of the citizens and governments of the region providing protection and assistance to the children, women and men displaced by the violence.  The United States recognizes the heavy economic and social strains that hosting this vulnerable population places on local communities and national governments.  We urge all governments to increase their contributions to the international humanitarian effort for survivors of Syrian violence and urge governments to keep their borders open to those fleeing the violence.

Today’s announcement will support the activities of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Program (WFP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and international  and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), both within Syria and for the regional refugee response in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, and Egypt.

INSIDE SYRIA:  Nearly $161 million

This increased aid will provide life-saving medical care and supplies, funding for shelter construction, and critical support for water, sanitation and hygiene projects to help those affected by the crisis in Syria. In addition, our new assistance will provide counseling and additional protection programs to help the most vulnerable, including women, children, persons with disabilities, and the elderly. 

Of the 6.8 million people in need of assistance inside Syria, around 420,000 are Palestinian refugees. Support for UNRWA inside Syria is helping deliver emergency relief, health, and education services to this displaced population.

This new funding will also support the WFP operation working to provide food assistance to 3 million Syrians across all 14 governorates.  This additional support will provide WFP with nearly 122 metric tons of Nutributter, a highly-fortified nutritional supplement formulated to help prevent malnutrition in children.  Through NGOs able to reach parts of Syria that WFP cannot, U.S. assistance will provide additional household rations for food insecure families and flour to bakeries that make daily bread for the community.

LEBANON:  More than $74 million

This new assistance will help support the needs of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and their host communities with shelter improvements for families hosting refugees and quick impact projects to improve local services in affected areas, as well as vocational training and educational classes to benefit Syrians and Lebanese in need.  U.S. support to WFP provides Syrian refugees in Lebanon with food vouchers that are redeemable in local shops and allow refugee families to tailor food purchases to their needs.  In addition, U.S. funding supports women and children’s health with the distribution of hygiene and baby kits to thousands of highly vulnerable refugees and host community members.  U.S funding will ensure that efforts to provide playgrounds and other safe spaces for more than 325,000 refugee children in Lebanon will continue.

The number of refugees now living in Lebanon includes more than 45,000 Palestinians from Syria.  Like all arrivals from Syria, Palestinians face difficult circumstances in Lebanon, where living and social conditions are extremely challenging and needs exceed the available assistance.  Additional U.S. support to UNRWA in Lebanon provides needed aid, including cash, relief supplies, education, and medical care, to Palestinians in camps and cities, as well as to the communities where they live.

JORDAN:  More than $48 million

Our additional support to Syrians in Jordan provides life-saving assistance including high-quality blankets, heating stoves, and fuel vouchers.  As winter sets in, this new U.S support will assist vulnerable households with winterization materials and shelter rehabilitation kits.  For Syrians living in camps, the increased funding provides access to clean water and fresh bread and other food assistance, and ensures that camp infrastructure projects continue.  The new funding will continue to support food vouchers for refugees living outside of camps.

Approximately 75% of Syrian refugees in Jordan live on the local economy.  Today’s announcement ensures water and sanitation projects, mobile clinics, and immunization campaigns benefiting Jordanian communities continue. 

IRAQ:  More than $24 million

Increased U.S. humanitarian aid supports the work of UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, UNFPA, and IOM, and other international organizations, in responding to new needs after the influx of more than 63,000 Syrian refugees into northern Iraq since August 15.  It also continues to ensure that refugees residing in Iraq prior to August have access to services and that their needs are met.  In addition to registration, shelter, education, and healthcare activities, the additional support will help provide newly-arrived refugees with basic life-saving items such as blankets, sleeping mats, and plastic sheeting. 

The new funding will allow WFP to provide additional food aid to Syrian refugees through food vouchers and, where necessary, in-kind food assistance.  U.S. assistance also ensures that new camp construction efforts continue, while providing for 150 quick impact projects to expand aid and services.  It will also work to mitigate to gender-based violence (GBV) and provide assistance to survivors of GBV.

TURKEY:  More than $25 million

The new U.S. government funding assists in addressing the humanitarian and protection needs of Syrian refugees in Turkish camps and cities.  For example, WFP provides refugees with electronic food vouchers that allow families living in camps to purchase nutritious food items to meet their daily needs, while UNHCR is providing tents, blankets, mobile registration centers, and kitchen sets and other equipment to permit refugees to prepare their own food.  Funding for UNICEF and other aid partners will provide Syrian children and youth access to safe education and recreation spaces and provide educators with training and educational resources.  Other assistance will help provide support to vulnerable and trauma-affected urban refugees.

EGYPT: Nearly $6 million

The increased funding helps provide cash and housing assistance to Syrian refugees and promote self-sustainment through entrepreneurship, vocational and technical skills training.  To help address the educational needs of Syrian children in Egypt, the additional assistance provides support for school enrollment and promotes lifelong learning through adult literacy classes.  This new funding also provides additional support for food vouchers for food insecure refugee families.             

For more detailed information on the U.S. government’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria, please visit: http://www.usaid.gov/crisis/syria.