2009.09.23: September 23, 2009: Headlines: COS - Tanzania: Congress: Budget: Roll Call: Tanzania RPCV Pat Bousliman is on the professional staff of the Senate Finance Committee
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2009.09.23: September 23, 2009: Headlines: COS - Tanzania: Congress: Budget: Roll Call: Tanzania RPCV Pat Bousliman is on the professional staff of the Senate Finance Committee
Tanzania RPCV Pat Bousliman is on the professional staff of the Senate Finance Committee
Bousliman began working for Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) in 1997 after serving in the Peace Corps in Tanzania. The job was expected to last a few short months but has grown into a 12-year career that shows little signs of stopping.
Tanzania RPCV Pat Bousliman is on the professional staff of the Senate Finance Committee
Tax and Trade: 10 Staffers to Know
Here's Who to See on Tax and Trade Issues
By Kate Ackley and Jay Heflin
Roll Call Staff and CongressNow Staff
Sept. 23, 2009, 12 a.m.
[Excerpt]
Pat Bousliman, professional staff, Senate Finance Committee
Age: 39
Birthplace: Helena, Mont.
Education: B.A., University of Montana
Bousliman began working for Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) in 1997 after serving in the Peace Corps in Tanzania. The job was expected to last a few short months but has grown into a 12-year career that shows little signs of stopping.
"I thought my stay on the Hill would be relatively short-term," Bousliman said. "But I loved the work, and I've been here since."
Bousliman worked in Baucus' personal office for two years before joining the Finance Committee as a health care staffer. In 2006, his specialty changed to energy and transportation, where he works on issues like renewable energy tax breaks as well as the Highway Trust Fund and appropriations for aviation. He is currently focused on climate change.
"Generally, it's climate legislation and energy tax incentives," he said of his workload. "The climate bill is the big goal, but the tax code has become more and more important to energy policy in the last few years."
Bousliman hopes to prepare a cap-and-trade bill before world leaders meet in Copenhagen later this fall to spell out rules for reducing carbon emissions. The meeting is expected to take place in December, but it is unclear whether Congress will approve a climate bill before then.
"I think you could view energy tax incentives to continue regardless, as a way to transition to a carbon-constrained economy," he said.
Bousliman admits to having a few unreturned phone calls to advocacy groups, but lobbyists say he is the go-to guy on energy.
"He skillfully manages the energy tax and climate change portfolio - issues that require a thorough understanding of tax, energy policy, state interests and politics," one lobbyist said. "No one understands how all this comes together better than Pat."
However, those calling on Bousliman better bring ideas for how to pay for their incentives.
"Given the fiscal situation, I think people are going to have to be creative about offsetting the costs of their proposals," he said. "There are a lot of great ideas for energy tax incentives out there, but finding ways to pay for them is increasingly challenging."
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Headlines: September, 2009; Peace Corps Tanzania; Directory of Tanzania RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Tanzania RPCVs; Congress; Budget
When this story was posted in November 2009, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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| Memo to Incoming Director Williams PCOL has asked five prominent RPCVs and Staff to write a memo on the most important issues facing the Peace Corps today. Issues raised include the independence of the Peace Corps, political appointments at the agency, revitalizing the five-year rule, lowering the ET rate, empowering volunteers, removing financial barriers to service, increasing the agency's budget, reducing costs, and making the Peace Corps bureaucracy more efficient and responsive. Latest: Greetings from Director Williams |
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