ENERGY & NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE CONSIDER DOI, OSMRE NOMINEES

To watch a video of Senator Manchin’s opening remarks, pleaseclick here.

Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a business meeting to consider pending nominations. Ms. Katharine MacGregor, nominated to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior, previously passed out of committee by a recorded vote of 14-6. In December, the Committee held a hearing on Mr. Lanny Erdos’s nomination to be the Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) at the Department of the Interior, but did not vote on him. Both Ms. MacGregor and Mr. Erdos passed out of the committee by voice vote today.

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Ranking Member of the Committee, has previously expressed his support for both nominees and reaffirmed that support today.

“Both nominees are well qualified and are currently serving in their positions on an acting basis. Both have demonstrated their ability to do the jobs for which they have been nominated. I voted for Ms. MacGregor when the Committee reported her nomination last November and I will do so again this morning. I also support Mr. Erdos’s nomination to head the Office of Surface Mining. I am especially anxious for the Senate to confirm his nomination because of the great importance of his office to coal mining states like West Virginia,”Ranking Member Manchin said. “Again, I will vote for both nominees and urge my colleagues to do so as well.”

To watch the meeting in full, please click here. 

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