Witness Panel 1

• David Hill

  General Counsel

  U.S. Department of Energy

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  Witness Panel 1

  David Hill

  STATEMENT OF DAVID R. HILL
  Nominee to be General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Energy
  Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
  United States Senate
  July 12, 2005
  Mr. Chairman, Senator Bingaman, and members of the Committee, I am
  deeply honored to appear before you today as the President’s nominee to be
  General Counsel of the United States Department of Energy.
  I want to express my thanks to President Bush for nominating me to serve in
  this position, and to Secretary Bodman for recommending me to the
  President. If I am confirmed, it would indeed be a privilege to serve as the
  Department’s General Counsel under the leadership of President Bush,
  Secretary Bodman and Deputy Secretary Clay Sell.
  I would like to introduce my wife Kristina Hill, who is here with me today,
  along with our three beautiful daughters, Anna, Margaret and Julia. I want
  to publicly thank Kristina for her constant support and encouragement,
  which have allowed me to serve in my present position at the Department of
  Energy, and will allow me to continue to serve.
  I also would like to introduce my sister Carolyn J. Hill. My parents Ronald
  and Shirley Hill, who still live in Smithville, Missouri where I grew up, and
  my brother Roger W. Hill, could not be here today. I do want to express my
  thanks to my parents, to whom I am forever grateful for everything they
  have done for me.
  I currently serve as Deputy General Counsel for Energy Policy at the
  Department of Energy. In that position, which I have held since March
  2002, I have had the opportunity to work with many of the Department’s
  programs and with senior officials at the Department and throughout the
  Administration. I also have worked with the staff of this Committee and of
  some of the Committee’s Members on a variety of matters. I look forward
  to continuing to work with the Committee, in my present position and in the
  position of General Counsel should I be confirmed, toward the goal of
  completing work on the pending comprehensive energy bill, and then in
  carrying out its many important provisions.
  In my current position at DOE, I have provided legal advice and analysis on
  a variety of statutory, legislative, regulatory, administrative and policy
  issues. In performing those duties, I have worked with many of the career
  lawyers at the Department. If confirmed as DOE’s General Counsel, I
  would have the honor of leading an organization with very high professional
  standards and a strong commitment to public service.
  Most of my legal career prior to joining DOE was spent in private practice.
  I was a partner at the law firm of Wiley, Rein & Fielding here in
  Washington, D.C., and subsequently was a partner at Blackwell Sanders
  Peper Martin in Kansas City, Missouri. Early in my career I was an
  associate at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, D.C. My work in
  private practice spanned a broad range of regulatory, litigation and corporate
  work.
  I also served as associate counsel on the staff of the U.S. House of
  Representatives Committee on Agriculture from 1991 to 1993, and began
  my legal career as a clerk for Judge James K. Logan of the U.S. Court of
  Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. I received my law degree from the
  Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois, and my
  bachelor’s degree from the College of Agriculture at the University of
  Missouri at Columbia.
  I have a deep respect for both the importance and the difficulty of the
  missions that Congress and the American people have entrusted to the
  Department of Energy. Each of the Department’s four strategic goals –
  which focus on defense, energy, science and the environment – involve
  activities and responsibilities that present difficult and interesting legal
  challenges. While the solutions to these challenges are rarely easy or
  uncomplicated, I believe that our success in addressing them is critical not
  only to the safety and security of the American people, but indeed to the
  safety and security of people throughout the world. If confirmed and
  appointed as DOE’s General Counsel, I am committed to doing everything I
  can to work both within the Administration, with this Committee and with
  the Congress to help the Department succeed in carrying out its missions.
  In closing, I want to again thank President Bush and Secretary Bodman for
  the trust they have placed in me. I also want to thank the Committee for
  holding this hearing and considering my nomination to be the Department of
  Energy’s next General Counsel. It would be an honor and a privilege for me
  to serve the American people in this position.
  Mr. Chairman, that concludes my prepared statement. I would be glad to
  answer the Committee’s questions at this time.

• The Honorable James Rispoli

  DOE

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  Witness Panel 1

  The Honorable James Rispoli

  PREPARED STATEMENT OF JAMES A. RISPOLI, NOMINEE TO BE
  ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT OF THE
  DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
  BEFORE THE
  COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
  UNITED STATES SENATE
  July 12, 2005
  Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Senator Bingaman, Members of the Committee.
  It is a privilege for me to appear before you today as the President’s nominee to
  be the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management at the U.S. Department of
  Energy. I would like to introduce my wife, Carol, who is here with me today. Since our
  marriage some 36 years ago, she and our two children have supported me in my service
  to our country, as I was for 26 years a career military officer, mostly as a Civil Engineer
  Corps officer in the United States Navy. Without the support of Carol and our two
  children throughout those years, I am convinced I would not be here before you today. I
  thank the President and Secretary Bodman for their support, and I am honored to have
  been asked by them to serve in this position. I pledge to you, Mr. Chairman, and to the
  members of this Committee, that if confirmed to this position, I will work closely with
  you and all of the Congress in addressing the many issues that we face in the
  environmental management program.
  My formal education is as a civil engineer, educated as such to the Master’s
  degree level. I also earned an advanced degree in business, and from my earliest days of
  practice I have had a special interest in environmental issues as related to engineering and
  construction. I have managed facilities as the public works officer and environmental
  officer at naval installations. Additionally, I have served as the Navy’s manager of
  environmental cleanup for all its ashore installations, a position similar to the one for
  which I have been nominated at the Department of Energy. I have first hand experience
  in the Federal sector as an engineer in leadership positions , a manager of environmental
  programs, and as a contracting officer. Complementing that Governmental experience, I
  have served as a senior officer in two engineering firms that specialized in environmental
  cleanup.
  I understand that the environmental management challenges of the Department of
  Energy are formidable, as I have been involved over the past several years with the
  capital projects in the Environmental Management portfolio. I welcome the opportunity
  to begin working to address these challenges if I am confirmed. With that said, it is my
  view that with proper leadership and management, the professionals who work in this
  program, both Federal and contractor, can deliver success. We can do this with the use
  of industry standard practices for project management such as defining projects, with
  achievable targeted schedules, milestones and costs. I believe that by reinforcing the
  application of industry standard practices for these projects, we can manage them with
  better effectiveness and reliability. For example, we will be able to project future
  resource needs across the planning horizon with greater credibility. And we will be able
  to better manage to improve success in delivering on our commitments. I look forward,
  if confirmed, to leading this organization. I hope the Committee will find that my
  background qualifies me for this position, and has given me the leadership and
  management tools for the task at hand.
  I am committed to safety, and in my view, safety and environmental cleanup are
  inexorably joined. I believe that the cleanup of our sites can not be accomplished without
  superior safety performance in our daily work. Only by operating safely can we achieve
  the goals and schedules we have set. This is paramount, because the whole purpose of
  the cleanup of these sites is for the safety and security of our citizens, communities and
  nation. At the same time, I know that I need to learn and understand the strengths and
  weaknesses of this environmental cleanup program. I know that we have had successes
  and we have had setbacks, and that the setbacks have resulted in public disappointment
  and disappointment in the Congress. If confirmed to the position of Assistant Secretary, I
  will take this mantle of responsibility; I will do so with a clear motivation to improve our
  performance, to succeed, to deliver, and to be honest with you and all the stakeholders in
  the development of expectations and the execution of plans for this program.
  I know a number of people throughout the Environmental Management
  organization. I have great respect for them and the challenges they face, and overcome,
  every day. I look forward, if confirmed, to meeting the many more Federal and
  contractor employees who are engaged in these efforts, to understand fully how they have
  set their targets, and how they are managing their projects so that they will meet these
  targets.
  I commit to you, the Members of this Committee, and the other Congressional
  Committees, that if I am confirmed I will communicate openly with you, the States, and
  other stakeholders. My entire career has been built on honesty and integrity, and I fully
  expect to bring an open and forthright approach to all my dealings with the constituents
  and stakeholders of this program. I intend to devote my full energies and my leadership
  and management experience to deliver results for the American people.
  Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I will be pleased to answer any
  questions you may have. Thank you.

• Jill L. Sigal

  DOE

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  Witness Panel 1

  Jill L. Sigal

  TESTIMONY OF
  Jill Lea Sigal
  Nominee
  Assistant Secretary
  Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs
  United States Department of Energy
  Before the
  Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
  United States Senate
  July 12, 2005
  Mr. Chairman, Senator Bingaman, and members of the Committee, I am honored
  to appear before you today as President George W. Bush's nominee to serve as the
  Assistant Secretary of Energy for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. I would
  like to thank the President for nominating me and the Committee for considering my
  nomination.
  I am here today with several members of my family - my husband Bob Muth, our
  wonderful four-year old son Harrison, my sister Pam and my brother- in-law Paul
  Kraszewski. I would like to thank them for their tremendous love and support which I
  have depended upon while serving at the Department of Energy.
  There is one member of my family who is not here today - my mother, Nancy
  Sigal. She passed away last week. My mother taught me many things including
  compassion, inner strength and to never give up in the face of adversity. She embodied
  these qualities throughout her life. I will strive to maintain her high level of integrity and
  compassion in my life's endeavors.
  I would like to express my deep appreciation to Secretary Samuel Bodman for his
  support and his confidence in me. I have worked closely with the Secretary since mid-
  December through his nomination process and for the last five months at the Department.
  It is a tremendous privilege for me to work on a daily basis with someone of Secretary
  Bodman's character, integrity and intellect.
  I have had the privilege of serving in the Department of Energy's Office of
  Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs since July 2003. I started in the office as
  the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment and Science, then became the Principal
  Deputy Assistant Secretary and I was named Acting Assistant Secretary in January of this
  year.
  In my work, and in my life, I am guided by several principles. Among them are:
  honesty, integrity and loyalty. If I am confirmed, these are the principles by which the
  Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs will be guided.
  If confirmed, I commit to you to -
  - always provide information in a frank and timely manner;
  - always be responsive to Members of Congress and their staff; and
  - always be willing to meet with this Committee, other Members of Congress and
  Congressional staff.
  During my tenure at the Department of Energy, and in my previo us experience in
  the private sector, I have worked with members of this Committee, as well as other
  members in both the Senate and the House, on a wide array of energy and environmental
  issues. Should I be confirmed, I look forward to continuing the working relationship with
  this committee and Congress
  In addition to our work with members of Congress and congressional committees,
  the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs works on a daily basis with
  Governors, state legislatures, tribal go vernments and other stakeholders. With major
  facilities in many States across the nation, employing thousands of federal and contractor
  employees, it is also critically important that our office maintain open communications
  with these stakeholders.
  If confirmed, I will draw upon my experiences, both in my 20-year career, as well
  as well as in life, to do my very best to meet your highest expectations. It is indeed an
  honor and a privilege to testify before you today. This concludes my statement and I
  would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you.