Washington, D.C. – Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the Ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee and a senior Democratic member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today announced that Jeff Duncan, his current Chief of Staff, will become the Committee’s Democratic Staff Director, and that his current Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director, Mark Bayer, will take over as the Chief of Staff in his personal office.

A 28-year Hill veteran, Jeff Duncan has worked for Rep. Markey in various capacities for almost 26 years.  For the last four years, Jeff has served simultaneously as Rep. Markey’s Chief of Staff and as a professional staff member on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.  Jeff was Rep. Markey’s Legislative Director from 1995 to 2007.  From 1988 until 1995, Jeff served on the staff of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance, which Rep. Markey then chaired.  Prior to that time, Jeff worked as a Legislative Assistant in Rep. Markey’s personal office.  Before coming to Rep. Markey’s office, Jeff worked for two years for the Congressional Arms Control and Foreign Policy Caucus.  

Over the years Jeff Duncan has been responsible for staffing or overseeing numerous legislative, oversight and investigative matters for Rep. Markey, including:

• Coordinating Rep. Markey’s work as Chairman of the Select Committee with his legislative responsibilities as Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, including his work on the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act, which passed the House in May of 2009;
• Managing the successful action to enact the first comprehensive fuel economy standards (CAFE) since 1975;
• Staffing Rep. Markey during the four-year legislative battle that culminated in successful amendments on Daylight Saving Time and nuclear non-proliferation;
• Creation of the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve;
• The first successful passage of an amendment establishing a moratorium on underground nuclear testing which lead to the end of all underground testing in the United States;
• Successful House passage of amendments to cut funding for nuclear backpack bombs, nuclear artillery shells, and nuclear depth charges;
• The House investigation into the Salomon Brothers Treasury auction bidding scandal, which culminated in enactment of the Government Securities Act Amendments of 1993 to tighten federal regulation of trading in Treasury and other government securities;
• Blocking legislation aimed at weakening environmental protections in the Superfund law, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, and the Atomic Energy Act;
• Regulation of electric and gas utilities under the Public Utility Holding Company Act, and investigations into utility compliance with that Act.

 
Mr. Duncan is a 1980 graduate of the University of Delaware, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and with Distinction, and was named to the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies.  He majored in both political science and history.  Subsequently, Jeff undertook graduate study in political science at the Johns Hopkins University.

Mark Bayer, who will be taking over as Rep. Markey’ Chief of Staff has worked for Rep. Markey for almost 13 years.  Mark has served as Rep. Markey’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director since 2007.  From 2002 to 2007, Mark served as a senior policy associate focusing on corporate governance in the aftermath of the Enron accounting scandal and homeland security following Rep. Markey’s appointment to the Select Committee on Homeland Security.  Prior to that time, Mark worked as a Legislative Assistant in Rep. Markey’s office.

Over the years, Mark Bayer has been responsible for a range of legislative and oversight activities for Rep. Markey, including:

• Enactment of sweeping new legislation signed into law in October, 2010 to enable Americans with disabilities to use the latest telecommunications and video devices and services, including smart phones for accessing the Internet, closed captioning for online video, audio descriptions of television programming, audible television program guides, and  telecommunications equipment for making calls over the Internet;
• Leading the successful multi-year effort to pass amendments and conduct oversight of U.S. aviation security policy, resulting in enactment in August, 2007 of the first-ever law to require all air cargo carried on passenger planes to be screened;
• Managing the successful effort to enact legislation establishing the first national strategy for preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease - the National Alzheimer’s Project Act - signed into law in January, 2011;
• Coordinating the activities leading to enactment of the Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act signed into law in October, 2010 to increase the ability of individuals with rare disorders such as Cystic Fibrosis to participate in clinical trials;
• Leading the successful legislative strategy to improve the quality of health care for Medicare beneficiaries with multiple severe, chronic diseases, culminating in enactment of the Independence At Home demonstration program in the Affordable Care Act;
• Passage of one of the few successful arms control amendments on the House Floor in 1995, which prevented the Department of Energy from moving forward with the so-called “triple-play” nuclear reactor to produce tritium for nuclear weapons;
• Investigation of potential conflicts of interest and improper activities by the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission prior to his resignation in 2002;
• Enactment of a provision in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 creating a demonstration program to improve the quality of life for homebound Medicare beneficiaries who are permanently and severely disabled;
•  Enactment of a new privacy standard for health information technology systems funded through the Recovery Act in 2010.

A native of Framingham, MA, Mark is a 1992 graduate of Cornell University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and was named to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.  He majored in government and history.  Mark graduated from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, receiving a Master in Public Policy in 1998. 

Rep. Markey also announced today that Michael Goo will conclude his work for Congressman Markey, stepping down from his final post as Staff Director and Chief Counsel to the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and accepting a position as the Associate Administrator for the Office of Policy at the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. As Associate Administrator, Michael will report directly to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and head the Office of Policy which is EPA's principal policy office.  Michael came to the Select Committee in 2009 from the Natural Resources Defense Counsel, and he has previously worked for the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

In addition, Rep. Markey announced that Joel Beauvais, who worked for him on the Select Committee staff since 2007 and on the House Energy Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Environment since 2008, has also gone to the EPA, where he will be serving as Special Counsel to the Office of the Administrator.

“I want to thank Michael and Joel for the excellent work they have done for the Select Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee during their time on the Hill”, said Rep. Markey.  “Joel and Michael played an important role in helping to draft the Waxman-Markey bill and secure its passage through the House, and I have no doubt that both of them will do great work over at the EPA.”

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