Barrasso Opening Statement at Business Meeting to Consider Nominations

<>Click here to watch Ranking Member Barrasso’s remarks.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), delivered the following remarks at a business meeting to consider the nominations of:

• Mr. David Crane to be under secretary of Energy for infrastructure;
• Mr. Jeffrey M. Marootian to be assistant secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy; and
• Mr. Gene Rodrigues to be assistant secretary for the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability at the Department of Energy.

To watch the full business meeting, click here.<> 

<>Senator Barrasso’s remarks:<> 

<>“Thanks so much, Mr. Chairman.<> 

<>“If confirmed, Mr. Crane would oversee more than $70 billion in appropriations.<> 

<>“He would have authority to loan another $250 billion.<> 

<>“That’s an extraordinary amount of the American people’s money.<> 

<>“In the wrong hands, it could create an enormous liability for American taxpayers.<> 

<>“Mr. Crane is a former CEO who got fired for his poor investment strategy.<> 

<>“He’s an activist who’s called for bullying other companies that do not subscribe to his self-described ‘green dream.’<> 

<>“That dream is an ideology that would kill traditional energy – such as natural gas and coal – without a reliable, affordable or secure replacement.<> 

<>“He’s in lockstep with President Biden’s goal of ‘shutting coal plants down all across America.’<> 

<>“I must oppose his nomination.

<>“Mr. Rodrigues has a wealth of experience in the electricity sector.<> 

<>“For the past 8 years, he has served as vice president in the Energy, Environment, and Infrastructure Practice Group of ICF, a consulting firm.

<>“For 24 years before that, he served as an attorney, manager, and director at Southern California Edison, one of the nation’s largest electric utilities.<> 

<>“He has served on the boards of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the California Efficiency and Demand Management Council.<> 

<>“He understands that baseload sources of energy such as natural gas play a critical role in providing consumers with secure, reliable, and affordable electricity.<> 

<>“Mr. Rodrigues is well qualified to lead the Office of Electricity.<> 

<>“I will support his nomination.<> 

<>“I commend Mr. Marootian for his public service.<> 

<>“Unlike Mr. Rodrigues, Mr. Marootian’s background and experience have little to do with the organization for which he has been nominated to lead.<> 

<>“His skills and expertise may be appropriate for the Department of Transportation.<> 

<>“But they do not qualify him to lead the largest applied energy office at the Department of Energy.<> 

<>“I therefore cannot support his nomination.”

###