Personnel Notes

The two top financial regulators would have key roles overseeing the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law.

Treasury Secretary nominee Jack Lew made the rounds on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, chatting with senators about his next career step. 

Lew, who headed up the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and is President Obama's chief of staff, met with Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee, Orrin Hatch, Rob Portman (Ohio), Johnny Isakson (Ga.) and John Cornyn of Texas.

The meeting with the panel's ranking member took about 45 minutes. 

“We had a constructive conversation that focused on the economic challenges facing our nation and the critical steps that need be taken to get our fiscal house in order," Hatch said in a statement following the meeting.

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A key Senate Democrat announced Tuesday that he supported Jack Lew's nomination to be Treasury secretary.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the chairman of the tax-writing Finance Committee, said after meeting Lew on Tuesday that he hoped for "a quick but thorough confirmation process." 

The House Ways and Means Committee has shifted around its subcommittee chairs, after the retirement of two senior Republicans.

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) will take over the gavel of the panel’s Health subcommittee, after previously serving as chairman of the Trade subcommittee. 

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) will now head up the Trade panel, and Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) will assume the top spot on the Human Resources subcommittee. 

Reps. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-La.), Sam Johnson (R-Texas) and Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) will remain the chairmen of the Oversight, Social Security and Select Revenue Measures subcommittees, respectively.

The Ways and Means panel is among the more powerful on Capitol Hill, with jurisdiction over many of the issues at the center of the current fiscal debate — including the debt ceiling, the tax code, entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare and welfare programs.

The former head of the Financial Services Roundtable is joining Levick, a public relations firm.

Former Rep. Steve Bartlett (R-Texas) will be a strategic policy adviser at Levick, the firm announced.

“It’s an extraordinary time to be joining a great communications firm. With today’s accelerated impact of global communications, organizations of all types now have the capacity to drive the narrative about themselves and the issues vital to them,” Bartlett said in a statement. “The opportunity to do so is all the more critical as public confidence in our business institutions continues to be tested.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced Thursday that he would oppose Jack Lew’s nomination for Treasury secretary, saying President Obama’s choice was too cozy with Wall Street. 

Sanders, who caucuses with Senate Democrats, said in a statement that he was “extremely concerned that virtually all” of Obama’s economic team had ties to Wall Street, and that he didn’t believe Lew would fight to save key programs like Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. 

The Vermont senator, who voted against Lew’s nomination to head the Office of Management and Budget in 2010, is so far the only member of the Democratic caucus to announce he would oppose Obama's pick. 

“In my view, we need a Treasury secretary who is prepared to stand up to corporate America and their powerful lobbyists and fight for policies that protect the working families in our country,” Sanders said. “I do not believe Mr. Lew is that person.”

The head of one of the nation's top credit-union advocates is set to retire this summer after 13 years leading the group. 

Fred Becker, president and chief executive of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU), will depart July 31 and will be replaced by Dan Berger, NAFCU's executive vice president of government affairs, the group announced on Monday.

"Over the past 13 years, Fred has completely transformed NAFCU into the aggressive high-powered advocacy group it is today, tirelessly advancing credit union issues with federal regulatory agencies, the White House and Congress,” said Mike Parsons, NAFCU's chairman and president and CEO of First Source Federal Credit Union, New Hartford, N.Y. 

The year-end staff shuffle continued on Thursday with the Senate Finance Committee announcing that Capitol Hill veteran will head up the panel's policy operation. 

Amber Cottle, who has spent five years on the panel, has been tapped as the new Democratic staff director where she will lead the committee’s day-to-day operations and serve as the chief strategist for long-term policy plans as the panel undertakes a tax code overhaul next year.

"She is well respected in the business, labor, policy and academic communities and is known for her leadership and dedication," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said in a statement.

"She is also an expert negotiator, skills which will prove vital in my efforts to reform the nation’s tax system."

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Senate Democrats confirmed their committee assignments for the next Congress on Wednesday, including Elizabeth Warren as the newest member of the Banking panel. 

The Senate Banking Committee is adding three members including Warren, a harsh critic of Wall Street who edged out GOP Sen. Scott Brown in Massachusetts, whose assignment had previously been confirmed.

The panel also tapped West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who had been expected to join, along with newly elected Heidi Heitkamp, who won a close election to hold the seat for Democrats in North Dakota. 

“At a time when we our economy is still wounded and recovering ever so slowly, it is important that our community banks and local credit unions serve their customers and communities to the best of their ability,” Manchin said. 

Sen. Jim DeMint's (R-S.C.) announcement on Thursday that he will resign from the Senate opens up the top Republican position on a powerful committee.

DeMint was set to succeed Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas) as the ranking Republican on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee until he revealed on Thursday that he would step down to lead the conservative Heritage Foundation.