Washington (December 17, 2013) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today announced the retirement of his long-time staffer and current Chief of Staff Jeff Duncan and that his current Deputy Chief of Staff, Mark Bayer, who has worked for Senator Markey for almost 15 years, will take over as the Chief of Staff in his Senate office. Senator Markey also announced today that Nancy Morrissey, a 33-year veteran of his office, will be retiring from the Hill. Morrissey has served as Executive Assistant and Scheduler in both Markey’s House and Senate offices and also worked for Markey’s first campaign for Congress in 1976. Nancy will be replaced by Sarah Butler, who has worked for Senator Markey for seven years in his Washington, D.C. and Massachusetts Congressional offices, and as the Democratic Clerk for the House Natural Resources Committee. Sarah first volunteered for Senator Markey on his 2004 Congressional campaign and began working in his Congressional office in 2006. Sarah is from Wakefield, Massachusetts and is a graduate of Boston College.
“For almost as long as I have served in Congress, Nancy and Jeff have been trusted and valued members of my staff. Their experience, loyalty, and effectiveness are unparalleled,” said Senator Markey.
“Jeff has spearheaded some of the most important initiatives in Congressional history protecting American consumers and families. From ensuring the clean-up of the country’s worst toxic waste sites, to working to end the nuclear arms race, to holding Wall Street banks accountable even before they were considered too big to fail, Jeff’s distinguished legislative accomplishments have made our country healthier, fairer, and more secure for all Americans.
“Everyone who knows Nancy knows she has been the heart and soul of my office for more than three decades. Her daily counsel has been invaluable and her sense of humor will be irreplaceable. Nancy’s mentorship and commitment to excellence is reflected in the dozens of staff members and interns who have served in our office and gone on to distinguished careers at the highest levels of government and the private sector. My gratitude to her is without measure and I wish her all the best for the future.
Senator Markey added, “I am lucky to have Mark take over as my Chief of Staff and use his decades of superlative experience to help ensure a seamless transition as we move into the new year. I also am pleased that Sarah will be taking over responsibilities for scheduling in my office. I’ve relied on her exceptional skills her to help manage critical operations in both my Senate and House offices.”
A 31-year Hill veteran, Jeff Duncan has worked for Senator Markey in various capacities for more than 28 years. From 2011 until Markey’s election to the Senate, Jeff served as Staff Director for the House Natural Resources Committee when Markey was Ranking Member. Previous to that, Jeff served simultaneously as then-Rep. Markey’s Chief of Staff and as a professional staff member on the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Jeff was Markey’s Legislative Director in the House of Representatives 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 Markey chaired. Prior to that time, Jeff worked as a Legislative Assistant for Markey. Before coming to 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 Senator Markey, including:
--As Staff Director of the House Natural Resources Committee, Jeff led the fight against the most anti-environment Congress in history in the most active committee in the Congress, preventing any rollbacks of environmental law;
--Coordinating Markey’s work as Chairman of the House Select Committee with his legislative responsibilities as Chairman of the House 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, and Rep. Markey’s investigation into the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster;
--Managing the successful action to enact the first comprehensive fuel economy standards (CAFE) since 1975;
--Staffing Markey during the four-year legislative battle that culminated in successful amendments on Daylight Saving Time and nuclear nonproliferation;
--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; and
--Regulation of electric and gas utilities.
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 will be taking over as Senator Markey’s Chief of Staff. Mark was the Chief of Staff in then-Rep. Markey’s personal office from 2011 until Markey’s election to the Senate in June 2013. Prior to that time, Mark served as Markey’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director from 2007 – 2011. 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 Markey’s appointment to the House Select Committee on Homeland Security. Prior to that time, Mark worked as a Legislative Assistant.
Over the years, Mark Bayer has been responsible for a range of legislative and oversight activities for Markey, including:
--Enactment of sweeping legislation signed into law in October 2010 to enable Americans with disabilities to use the latest telecommunications and video devices and services;
--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 December 2010;
--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;
--Coordinating the bi-partisan Congressional effort that resulted in the cancellation of the Transportation Security Administration plan to permit small knives in the cabin of passenger planes in 2013
--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; and
--Enactment of a new privacy standard for health information technology systems funded through the Recovery Act in 2010.
A native of Framingham, Massachusetts, Mark is a 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.
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