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SACRAMENTO – 08/21/07 – California State Assemblyman Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley), (left) has been appointed to serve on the Assembly Select Committee on International Trade.

The focus of the committee is “to further California's economic viability and maintain healthy economic relationships with the state's international trading partners.”

Assemblyman Van Tran (R-Costa Mesa) was named as the select committee’s chairman.

“I look forward to working closely with Assemblyman Cook on the many objectives we will work to accomplish. Cook's extensive career and educational background will serve him well in this new committee role,” said Tran, commenting on Cook’s appointment.

"I'm very excited to be named to this committee,” Cook said. “International trade is a critical part of our economy. Over $300 billion of foreign trade is conducted in this state every year, much of it passing through the Inland Empire on rail and trucks. As the Inland Empire representative of this committee, ensuring the safety of the goods coming through our ports and towns will be one of my many goals.”

Cook is a former educator and a decorated career US Marine Corps officer.

His Assembly district – the 65th – encompasses several cities in Southern California's Inland Empire region including Banning, Beaumont, Big Bear Lake, Calimesa, Cherry Valley, Hemet, Twentynine Palms, Winchester, Yucaipa, Yucca Valley, and other parts of Riverside, and San Bernardino counties.

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