Murkowski Secures Commitments from Key Interior and Energy Nominees
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), former Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR), this week secured important commitments for Alaska from Deputy Secretary of Interior nominee Katharine MacGregor and Deputy Secretary of Energy nominee James Danly. Both committed to assist the Alaska Congressional Delegation on efforts to develop Alaska’s immense resources and to follow the law in notifying Congress of any substantial restructuring efforts at either Department.
Click here to watch the Senator’s full line of questioning.
The full transcript of Murkowski’s comments is below.
TRANSCRIPT
Murkowski: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome to both of you. Ms. MacGregor, I enjoyed our conversation. I am looking forward to you being back and fixing a lot of things. Many of the issues we spoke about in my office related to federal lands, better consultation with Alaska Natives, restoring what we do with our multiple use lands, addressing natural hazards like wildfires, and producing more of our energy; there is a lot to do.
Mr. Danly, you have been before this committee multiple times as well. I’m looking forward to working with you to help address some of Alaska’s energy challenges, everything from microgrids to geothermal to advanced nuclear. I want to follow on the comment that was made by the Senator from Arizona [Senator Gallego]. I just came from a critical minerals discussion this morning, and as I look to our opportunity to be able to access these great resources that we need, I realize that until we figure out how to deal with power in some of these remote areas, it’s going to be really hard to do. I look at the small modular reactors and the advancements that can come from here bring a real opportunity.
I want to address a couple questions to both of you, hopefully they should be very quick and easy. I know that you are not in the building yet, I get that, but we all watched as we have seen this effort to reduce the size of government, certainly within the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior. I have been concerned, and have expressed concern about how many of these employees have been treated in this process.
I would ask that you both commit, if you are confirmed, that you will abide by the statutory requirements to notify Congress of any plans to reorganize, restructure, or implement reductions in force. I am also the Chairman on the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee that has oversight here. We have sent letters to the Secretaries themselves with regards to the requirement in law of advance notification. And then just from my perspective as a Senator who represents a state that has a lot of public lands and a big federal presence, we have a lot of engagement and interaction with you. So, I would just ask again if I can have your commitment that you’ll be transparent with us about what is coming, and to abide by the statutory requirements to notify.
MacGregor: Senator, I can commit to obey all federal laws when it comes to efficiency efforts that we’re working on.
Murkowski: Thank you.
Danly: I also commit to following the law for all of the efficiency efforts.
Murkowski: Thank you. I have had the opportunity to talk with you Ms. MacGregor, but certainly my colleagues on the committee here know that we’re facing a situation in Alaska with declining production in Cook Inlet with regards to our natural gas, and in facing what I think is really an unforgivable direction, and that would be the prospect of liquified natural gas imports, potentially from Canada. So, I would ask that you both work with me and the delegation to advance Alaska projects and support development of our resources so we can avoid reliance on energy imports. For a state that has as much as the state of Alaska has, there is no good reason we should be relying on Canada to keep our lights on. Do I have that commitment from both of you?
MacGregor: You sure do, and I was just as shocked when you informed me of that and I look forward to working with you on those issues.
Murkowski: Thank you. Mr. Danly?
Danly: It’s crazy to think that Alaska would be importing energy. I absolutely commit to working on that with you.
Murkowski: You both know we have an awful lot to offer there.
Ms. MacGregor, I want to take you back to some of our greatest hits from when you were in the first Trump administration. Some of the alphabet issues you worked on, ITRs, PLOs, we have got to be making progress with that. Certainly, the President’s executive order is going to help us there. But I also raised with you the issue of BIA probate, and the extraordinary backlog that we’re dealing with. It should not take five or 10 or more years to resolve these probate cases, and I would just ask that you put a priority on these issues so we can deal with something that has not only impacted us so greatly in Alaska, but so many other parts of the country as well.
MacGregor: I am so grateful that you raised that issue. I had never even heard of it before, but the first thing I thought is if it’s impacting you and the people of Alaska, it must be impacting so many more on this committee and in other parts of the [country], so I look forward to working with you on that.
Murkowski: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, my time has expired.
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