February 10,2003

Baucus Announces Finance Committee Staff Changes

Tim Punke Named as Chief International Trade Counsel; Laura Hayes as Communications Director

U. S. Senator Max Baucus today announced that Tim Punke, former Senior International Trade Counsel with the Senate Finance Committee has been promoted to the position of Chief International Trade Counsel. Laura Hayes, former Press Secretary for Senator Baucus, has been named Communications Director for the Democratic Staff of the U.S. Senate FinanceCommittee.

Tim Punke is replacing Greg Mastel, who served as Chief International Trade Counseland Chief Economist on the Democratic staff of the Senate Finance Committee throughout the107th Congress. Mastel is leaving the committee in March to join Miller and ChevalierChartered as a Principal of the firm. He will work in Miller Chevalier’s international tradepractice. Mastel previously worked in the Senate in the late 1980s and early 1990s in a numberof posts, including Chief of Staff to Senator Max Baucus.

Prior to working for the Committee, Tim Punke served as Wyoming State Director forthe Gore-Lieberman campaign, and as International Economic Policy Advisor at the WhiteHouse National Economic Council. Punke also worked as an attorney at Dewey Ballantine, LLPand clerked for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Billings, Montana.

Laura Hayes has served as Press Secretary for Senator Baucus in Washington, D.C. forthe past two years. Prior to this, she was Director of Operations for the Schweitzer for Senatecampaign in Montana and worked in the U.S. House of Representatives for former Representative Bill Luther.

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