David R. Thomas Named Director of FTC's Office of Congressional Relations

The Federal Trade Commission today announced that David R. Thomas, most recently Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs in the Office of the Vice President, has been named Director of the Commission's Office of Congressional Relations (OCR). In his new position, Thomas will manage OCR's day-to-day operations and will serve as the FTC's main staff liaison with members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and their respective staffs.

In more than two years as Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs in the Office of the Vice President, Thomas served as senior liaison between members of Congress and Vice President Gore, coordinated the Vice President's activities on Capitol Hill and traveled with the Vice President to coordinate congressional involvement in several domestic and overseas trips, including the 1997 United Nations Convention on Climate Change in Kyoto, Japan.

Prior to his appointment as Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs, Thomas served as legislative assistant within the Office of the Vice President for almost four years, before which he was a staff assistant in the Washington, D.C., office of U.S. Senator Howard Metzenbaum. A 1993 graduate of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, he also previously worked for the Vice President when Gore was a member of the U.S. Senate.

Copies of this news release are available from the FTC's web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357); TDD for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. To find out the latest news as it is announced, call the FTC NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710.

FTC File No. P950101
(Dave Thomas.wpd)