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“NOMINATION OF FEDERICO PENA TO BE SECRETARY OF ENERGY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Senate section on pages S2171-S2173 on March 12, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NOMINATION OF FEDERICO PENA TO BE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I wish to voice my support for the nomination of Federico Pena to be Secretary of Energy during President Clinton's second term in office.
Mr. Pena served ably as Secretary of Transportation during the first Clinton Administration, and I look forward to working with him as he assumes new responsibilities at the Department of Energy. The challenges at DOE are vast, and Mr. Pena's management skills and ability to work with different groups should prove very useful in responding to the complex issues which are the responsibility of the Department of Energy.
Prior to joining the Clinton Administration, Mr. Pena served as Mayor of Denver from 1983 to 1991, and as a Colorado legislator. During his tenure as mayor, Mr. Pena played an active role in reviving the Denver economy from its mid-1980s decline through a series of bold initiatives. At a time when major new international airports were not being built in this country, he gained approval for one of the largest and most technological advanced airports in the world. As Secretary of Transportation, Mr. Pena proudly participated in the dedication of Denver International Airport in February, 1995.
While he served as Secretary of Transportation, I worked closely with Secretary Pena regarding the transportation issues in my home state of West Virginia. He now moves to a department that has responsibility for a different set of issues, but issues that are very important to the current and future economic prosperity of my state. Coal is not only a major economic and employment influence in West Virginia, but coal is a critical component of our national energy picture. At the present time, and projected into the future, fossil fuels remain the dominant source for our energy supply picture. At present, fossil fuels supply 85 percent of our energy requirements. Coal is the source of 55 percent of our nation's electricity. So policies that affect coal and the role of fossil fuels in our energy picture are of great interest--not just to the states that are the source of these fuels but also to the nation as a whole because of the potential for significant disruption if abrupt changes are recommended without giving the economy a chance to prepare and adjust.
As Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I look forward to working with Secretary-designate Pena on our energy policy issues. In addition to serving as the Ranking Member on the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, I also serve on the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee--both of which have jurisdiction over parts of the DOE budget. At a time of constrained budgets and pressure to downsize the Federal workforce, we must also be attentive to the realities of our energy supply picture. Thus, I have been, and will continue to be, supportive of investments in technology development that will contribute to our using and producing energy more efficiently, as well as producing energy in more environmentally-
sensitive ways. The Department of Energy has a visible physical presence in West Virginia at the Federal Energy Technology Center facility in Morgantown, which employs some 550 persons directly and under contract. I look forward to working with Mr. Pena to ensure a continued future for this important part of our Federal technical infrastructure.
There is a need within the Administration for a strong voice on behalf of fossil energy, and particularly coal, and I believe Mr. Pena is capable of meeting this challenge. I wish him well in his new job, and urge my colleagues to support his confirmation. I yield the floor.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent we extend for 2 minutes the debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator may proceed for 2 minutes.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Thank you, Mr. President.
Mr. President, I want to say I do support the nomination of Secretary Pena. However, I think it is very important that this new Secretary take the opportunity to set an energy policy in this country that says to the American people that energy self-sufficiency is our goal. We should be able to create energy through our own natural resources, not only to create jobs in America, but also to make sure that our country is strong with energy self-sufficiency.
I am going to work with Senator John Breaux, my cochair of the Oil and Gas Caucus, to try to make sure that we take the duplication of regulation off of our oil and gas industry. Where State regulators are able to handle the issues, we should let it happen at the State level rather than the Federal Government duplicating the regulations which become costly and burdensome to our oil and gas industry. Why not put that money into new capital creations, to create new jobs in our country, rather than going through more bureaucratic morass that so hampers our businesses?
I also want to give incentives, incentives to drill and explore for our own natural resources, especially marginal drilling that is more expensive. Why not give incentives so we can create the jobs in America and also create energy resources for our country that would make us more able to be sufficient?
Mr. President, it is very important that the new Secretary come with the full support of the Senate. I hope that he will be committed to a strong energy policy for our country and that he will also take seriously the requirement that we work for the new alternative MOX fuels that will, I hope, come from the nuclear weapons that we are in the process of dismantling. I hope he will take the opportunity to visit Pantex in Amarillo to see what can be done with this great MOX fuel opportunity, to use the aging nuclear weapons in our arsenal.
In supporting this nomination, I would like to briefly discuss two issues of importance to my State of Texas and the Nation.
Mr. President, a healthy and competitive oil and gas industry--
capable of producing adequate and affordable energy supplies--is crucially important to the U.S. economy and to the welfare of the American people. This is especially the case at a time when U.S. companies and workers face growing competition in the global economy.
As cochairman, of the Congressional Oil and Gas Caucus, I am concerned that U.S. policy, taken as a whole, has overtly encouraged increasing oil imports over expanding domestic production. I look forward to working with Secretary Pena to reverse this trend and to create conditions that foster a competitive and healthy oil and gas industry.
This year, I will be working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to continue our goal of reducing or eliminating redundant or unnecessary regulations on this industry. For example, there are many regulatory requirements to address the same concern imposed at both the Statese co- and Federal level. Where possible, we should eliminate one level of identical regulations, which have destroyed jobs, raised consumer prices, and sent American business to foreign countries. I look forward to working with Secretary Pena on these objectives.
I believe in most cases the State regulations should be given the greater deference.
I will also be working with my colleagues to provide tax incentives which encourage oil and gas drilling and production, especially for marginal wells and formations which are difficult to develop.
I know all the members of the Congressional Oil and Gas Caucus look forward to working with Secretary Pena on these issues and to ensure that Government policies which affect the oil and gas industry are the result of sound and informed decision making.
Mr. President, I would like to turn briefly to a second and final issue of concern to Texans and the Nation--the continued transformation of our Nation's nuclear weapons complex and the important work being performed at he Pantex Plant near Amarillo, TX.
Our victory in the cold war signaled the end of the arms race, but it has focused our current efforts on arms reductions. A benefit from these reductions is the potential energy source of special nuclear materials from dismantled weapons.
Just a few months ago, Department of Energy officials announced their intention to process excess plutonium into mixed-oxide, or MOX, fuel for use in commercial nuclear reactors.
Pantex has been the Nation's premiere nuclear weapons production site since 1951. Today, it is the only authorized site to assemble and disassemble weapons. Currently, the plant stores all the plutonium removed from dismantled weapons.
The 3,400 workers at Pantex played a key role in our cold war victory and their expertise in safety and security handling and storing plutonium should not be ignored as the Department searches for a MOX fuel fabrication site. The excellent safety record, cost savings and efficiencies established at Pantex over the last 40 years make it the ideal candidate for new DOE work.
As DOE proceeds with its assessments of potential sites, I invite Secretary Pena to visit Pantex so he can see firsthand the world class facilities and professionals available to the Department of Energy near Amarillo and in the Texas Panhandle.
I also ask Secretary Pena to take a close look at the safety and reliability of our nuclear stockpile. I am concerned that with an end to our nuclear testing, computer modeling alone will not be sufficient to maintain our deterrent nuclear capability. I hope that together with the Secretary of Defense, Secretary Pena will take a close look at how we manage and maintain this critical capability.
I look forward to working with Secretary Pena on these and other important issues. The next Secretary of Energy has a great opportunity to give our country an energy policy that values energy sufficiency for our country.
I thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of Secretary Pena. I yield the floor.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 30 seconds.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. DOMENICI. Regarding soon-to-be-confirmed Secretary of Energy Pena, I want to tell the Senate I know him and his family very well, in particular his wife, who went to school with my children. We are good friends. I do not support him on that basis only. I think he is ready to undertake this very difficult job. I wish him well.
I think we can work together to make the Department of Energy a better department under his administration. I look forward to working to that end. I yield the floor.
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