Committee Reviews Four Energy Nominees
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today chaired an Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to consider four nominees for the Department of Energy (DOE). The nominees were Teri Donaldson to be Inspector General; Dr. Christopher Fall to be Director of the Office of Science; Karen Evans to be Assistant Secretary of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response; and Daniel Simmons to be Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
“I’m very pleased to have a full panel of nominees before us, and impressed with the depth of experience and qualifications that each of you bring to the table,” Murkowski said. “I appreciate your willingness to serve and your commitment to work with us.”
Murkowski thanked Dr. Fall and Mr. Simmons for traveling to Fairbanks last month to participate in the first-ever Alaska National Lab Day. She urged them to remain committed to energy innovation to help bring down the costs of new technologies to keep energy affordable, strengthen the economy, and address climate change.
Addressing Ms. Donaldson, Murkowski noted it has been several years since DOE had a permanent inspector general and said, “We will look to your leadership to root out abuses and deficiencies within the department, and to recommend corrective actions when necessary.”
Murkowski also welcomed Ms. Evans, who is the first nominee tapped to lead DOE’s new Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response.
“Everyone here recognizes the energy sector is a high-value target for cyberattacks, and our committee has spent many hours examining these threats,” Murkowski said. “Protecting our nation’s energy infrastructure is critical to maintaining so much of the American way of life. Determining how to meet the dynamic and evolving threats, and improving the cyber resiliency of critical energy infrastructure before a threat becomes a reality are no small tasks.”
Murkowski is chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. An archived video and witness testimony from today’s hearing are available on the committee’s website. Click here and here to view Murkowski’s questions for the nominees.
