President Joe Biden's nominee for a director's position in the Department of the Interior (DOI) testified before a Senate committee last month as part of the confirmation process, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced last month.
David Applegate, nominee for Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with the DOI, spoke to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee April 28; DOE released a transcript of his testimony at that time. Applegate, USGS associate director for natural hazards since 2011, "is currently exercising the delegated authority of the USGS Director," according to a March 8 statement from the White House announcing the nomination.
Eos, a journal by the Advancing Earth and Space Science organization, reported in March that Applegate has served as de facto leader of the USGS since the start of the Biden administration. If confirmed, he will be the first Senate-approved director since former director Jim Reilly left at the end of the previous administration.
In his opening remarks to the Senate committee, Applegate expressed his gratitude for the nomination and consideration, the transcript reports. He spoke to how his early years as a congressional science fellow working in California's Death Valley informed his interest in how science can assist policy-makers.
"Thus began my role in understanding the importance that providing excellent science has for decision-makers and the American people," Applegate said to the committee.
When speaking of how his 20 years with the USGS supported the agency's mission to gather and disseminate science-based information, Applegate referred to the USGS as "a science answer factory for our Nation and our planet," the transcript records. He praised the agency's scientific approach as "world class," according to the transcript, and testified its expertise in interpreting data creates "real-time situational awareness of extreme events to long-term assessments of natural hazards and resources."
"And the USGS, like me, is committed to delivering that science so that it reaches everyone who needs it, when they need it, in a form they can use," Applegate testified. "Scientific integrity and independence is critical to the mission of USGS and it is a mission that I believe in and will foster, if I have the honor of being confirmed for this position."
As of May 2, the Senate Committee had not taken any further action on Applegate's nomination.
