January 19,2007

Grassley Announces Finance Committee Republican Staff Changes

WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, today announced that Mark Prater will serve as Deputy Staff Director for the Republican staff of the Finance Committee. Prater also will retain his previous title of Chief Tax Counsel, which he has held for 13 years. Prater joined the Finance Committee staff, as tax counsel, in 1990. He served as tax counsel through 1993 and then was promoted to chief tax counsel. As Deputy Staff Director, Prater replaces Ted Totman, who is retiring after 23 years of professional staff work in the U.S. Senate. Totman helped to lead the Finance Committee on the Chairman’s staff from 2001 to 2007. He was Staff Director of the Special Committee on Aging from 1997 through 2000. He began working for Grassley in 1983 on the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, Subcommittee on Aging.

Grassley also announced the appointment of Stephen Schaefer as Chief International Trade Counsel on the Republican staff of the Finance Committee. Schaefer has served as International Trade Counsel since 2003. Prior to joining the committee staff, Schaefer served as a legal advisor to former ITC Commissioner Lynn Bragg, and previously as a law clerk to Judge Richard Goldberg of the U.S. Court of International Trade.


Finally, Grassley also announced the promotion of Claudia Bridgeford to International Trade Policy Advisor. Bridgeford joined the committee staff in June 2005 as International Trade Policy Assistant. Prior to that Bridgeford worked as an international trade analyst for the law firm of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg.


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