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For Immediate Release
Contact: Phone: (202) 588-1000

President-Elect, Public Citizen Hit the Ground Running -Obama With Transition, Watchdog Group With Oversight

Becoming44.org to Serve as Hub of Activity on the Latest on Transition, Potential Administration Appointees

WASHINGTON

Long before Barack Obama became the president-elect, his top campaign advisors were busy identifying people and priorities for his transition team. Likewise, Public Citizen was creating a portal for useful post-election activity to ensure the public can stay informed about and engaged in the formation of the 44th presidential administration.

Becoming44.org is a successor to Public Citizen's popular WhiteHouseForSale.org, which tracked money flowing into presidential campaign coffers. This new Web site, launched the end of election week, is rich in details about Obama's transition team members, appointees and names of those rumored for Cabinet posts or other major government positions.

Designed as a blog to maximize public participation, www.Becoming44.org provides an opportunity for the public to provide oversight and sound off about potential appointees and transition team members to ensure the new administration delivers on the promise of changing the political culture in Washington.

Drawing from a variety of sources, Becoming44.org will aggregate the latest information on the transition from media and advocacy organizations and provide commentary by Public Citizen experts and allies on Obama's priorities and appointments. The site also features separate RSS feeds for the latest news and for blog entries.

"People are eager to see the change promised over the past 22 months," said David Arkush, director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch division. "At Becoming44.org, people can see who's in the running for key positions in the Obama administration, read commentary about them and weigh in themselves."

Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.

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