Bush announces recess appointment of manufacturing czar

Manufacturing News, Source : TheManufacturer.com
Published : 02 Aug 2004 14:48

President George W. Bush announced that he plans to appoint Albert Frink Jr. as assistant secretary of commerce for manufacturing and services—also known as the “manufacturing czar”—during the US Senate recess, thus avoiding the sometimes contentious Senate confirmation process.

The appointment will be one of 20 recess appointments that were announced, including Deborah Majoras as Federal Trade Commission chairman, Jon Liebowitz as another member of the five-member FTC, and Jonathan Dudas as under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the US Patent and Trademark Office.

The Bush administration had nominated Frink, owner of carpet manufacturer Fabrica International, in May. The nomination had been long awaited by those in the manufacturing sector since Bush brought it up in a Labor Day speech in Ohio last year. The Senate confirmation process had begun, with Frink already appearing before a Senate committee.

Frink’s nomination came after the administration’s first choice for the post, Anthony Raimondo, CEO of Behlen Manufacturing, withdrew himself from nomination after the presidential campaign of US Senator John Kerry (D-MA) pointed out that Raimondo had previously laid off 75 workers after announcing the construction of a manufacturing plant in China.

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