Washington, DC – Yesterday, the United States Senate passed the organizing resolution giving Senate Democrats control of committees and officially appointing Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Senator Manchin served as Ranking Member of the committee in the 116th Congress and has been a member of the committee since being elected to the Senate in 2010.

“I am incredibly proud of everything we accomplished for the people of West Virginia and the entire country during my tenure as Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the 116th Congress. Working in a bipartisan way, we secured the enactment of laws to update our national energy policy for the first time in 13 years through the passage of the Energy Act of 2020. We also permanently reauthorized and provided full, mandatory funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and made monumental investments in our National Park system and other public lands by passing the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act and the Great American Outdoors Act –the most sweeping conservation legislation in a generation. We also passed historic legislation for West Virginia by designating the New River Gorge as a National Park and Preserve, which will promote the beauty and historical significance of the New River Gorge,” Senator Manchin said. “I am proud of the Committee’s productive, bipartisan work last Congress, but our work is never done and with a new administration incoming there is no shortage of work to do to advance a cleaner energy future while ensuring no worker is left behind and our energy independence remains uncompromised As we begin this new Congress, I would like to welcome our new Committee members, Senator John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, who will bring valuable perspective and experience to the Committee. I look forward to working with Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY) and every committee member to build upon the accomplishments of the 116th Congress, quickly consider and confirm the nominees that come before our committee, and get to work on the energy and natural resources issues facing West Virginians and Americans everywhere.”

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