Bob Graham, a Democrat, and former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William Reilly, who served under a Republican, are the picks to lead the panel, which could be patterned after past commissions that have investigated incidents such as the 1986 explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, the people said.

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William K. Reilly is a Senior Advisor to TPG, LP, a position he has held since 2008.

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"Maybe this scandal can do something to finally clean it up, " said William O'Reilly, a Republican consultant.

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Better management would have prevented the incident, but the management problems are not confined to a one company, Graham's co-chairman, William K. Reilly, said.

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