Belfer Center Colleagues Impact Policy in D.C.

Climate and energy policy, economic reforms, and defense planning - these are among the plethora of issues Belfer Center colleagues are currently tackling in Washington, D.C. Following is a sampling of work underway by John P. Holdren, Lawrence Summers, and Michèle Flournoy. For more about Belfer colleagues in Washington, see http://belfercenter.org/governmentappointees.

John P. Holdren (On leave from Belfer Center faculty and Board of Directors)

"John Holdren, the president's top science adviser, is playing a key role in shaping the Obama administration's strategy to combat global warming." ("Obama's Science Adviser Urges Leadership on Climate,"Yale Environment 360, Aug. 14, 2009)

Holdren is working on the passage of a U.S. energy bill and preparing for December's international climate meeting in Copenhagen. He told the National Journal in an interview on September 24:"It would be a benefit if we could get a bill before Copenhagen because the world does look to the United States to finally become a global leader on this issue. We're already in the process of becoming a global leader with the huge investments in the Recovery Act and clean energy. But we need a bill. And it's not a prerequisite for success in Copenhagen but certainly would help."

Lawrence Summers (On leave from Belfer Center faculty and Board of Directors)

"No one is indispensable. But at this moment, Larry comes very close," said David Axelrod, Mr. Obama's top political advisor. ("Summers, contender, to stay put," Wall Street Journal, Aug. 26, 2009)

A Consumer Financial Protection Agency is one of the many proposed financial reforms with which Summers, director of the National Economic Council,is involved. He noted in a recent White House blog entry: "Among the President's proposals, the greatest opposition from Wall Street has been reserved for...a unified, independent agency with just one mission: To protect the American consumer from fraud and abuse.... It will take on the old ways of treating consumers: predatory lending, inappropriately high credit card rates, and exploitative overdraft fees.... Now is an appropriate moment for financial institutions...to consider their duty by recognizing that the status quo is not acceptable."

Michèle Flournoy (Former research fellow, Belfer Center International Security Program)

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Flournoy testified before the House Armed Services Committee in October on the issue of replacing former President Bush's proposed plan to place 10 large ground-based interceptors in silos in Poland.

Flourney said the 30 ground-based interceptor missiles to be deployed in the U.S. by the end of 2010 will address the threat that Iranian intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) pose to the U.S.  "The very real threat of short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles - that is developing faster - must be dealt with sooner," she said. "Iran's priorities and capabilities may change in ways that we can't predict. So our new approach does not discount the potential future threat of an Iranian ICBM."