Washington, D.C. - The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee will hold two full committee hearings next week.   

The full committee will hold a hearing on Monday, May 1 at 2:30 p.m. in Dirksen 366 to receive testimony regarding the economic and environmental issues associated with coal gasification technology and on implementation of the provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 addressing coal gasification.

Invited Witnesses Include:

Panel 1

The Honorable David Garman
Under Secretary
U.S. Department of Energy

Panel 2

Mr. J. Brian Ferguson
CEO
Eastman
Kingsport, TN

Dr. Antonia Herzog
Climate Center Staff Scientist
NRDC
Washington, DC

Mr. William F. Bruce
President
BRI Energy, LLC
New Smyrna Beach, FL

Mr. Bill Douglas
Vice President
Econo-Power International Corp.
Houston, TX

Mr. Bill Boycott
General Manager
Agrium U.S.A., Inc.
Kenai, AK

The full committee will hold a hearing on Thursday, May 4 at 10:00 a.m. in Dirksen 366 to consider the nomination of Dirk Kempthorne to be Secretary of the Interior.

Kempthorne is finishing his second term as Idaho’s governor. Before that, he served a six-year term in the United States Senate. As a senator, he wrote, negotiated and won passage of a substantial revision of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

As governor, Kempthorne worked to develop consensus on management of Idaho's and the West's natural resources. He worked with his colleagues in Oregon, Washington and Montana to develop an historic bipartisan agreement on a state-based solution for returning salmon runs in the region.

Following the devastating wildfires of 2000, he worked with fellow western governors and federal officials to fundamentally change the approach to forest health and wildfire management.

Under Kempthorne’s leadership, Idaho has developed wolf and grizzly bear management plans aimed at delisting the endangered species and protecting state's rights by giving the state management responsibilities.

Kempthorne began his political career as mayor Boise. In 2003, his gubernatorial colleagues elected him as the Chairman of the National Governor’s Association. He has served as President of the Council of State Governments and Chairman of the Western Governors Association. He serves on the Executive Committees of the National Governors Association and the Republican Governors Association. U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige appointed Governor Kempthorne to the National Assessment Governing Board and U.S. Secretary Tom Ridge appointed him to the Homeland Security Task Force.