During a Senate Energy Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) spoke about agencies that he considered to be 'under attack' by the Trump administration.
00:00to ranking member, Senator Heinrich, for his opening statement.
00:05Thank you, Chairman, and welcome to Ms. Swett and Mr. Lissert.
00:11Most of the offices under our committee's jurisdiction do not have statutorily required qualifications.
00:19The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is, however, an exception.
00:23Its organic act requires that members of the commission be, quote, individuals who by demonstrated ability, background, training, or experience are especially qualified to assess fairly the needs and concerns of all interests affected by federal energy policy.
00:42The reason for this distinction is simple.
00:46Much of the commission's work is quasi-judicial.
00:49Like our courts, FERC must be impartial and nonpartisan.
00:54Office and bureau heads, deputy secretaries, assistant secretaries in both the interior and energy departments may take their lead from their secretaries and their secretaries from their president.
01:06Commission members do not.
01:08The commission was established as an independent regulatory commission whose members serve fixed terms not at the pleasure of the president.
01:16And their performance of the commission's functions is not subject to the supervision or direction of the administration.
01:24The commission was designed to serve no president, no political party, and no political agenda.
01:30Its job is to serve the public interest, fairly and impartially, guided by our laws and the Constitution, not by political whims from the White House.
01:40The independence of our independent public institutions from the Federal Reserve to the Smithsonian Institution is under attack by this administration.
01:51And destroying the independence of the Federal Energy Commission would do irreparable damage to public confidence in the commission's decision-making,
02:01to regulatory stability, and to our energy security.
02:04Consequently, our job this morning is not only to understand Ms. Sweat's and Mr. LeCert's ability to assess fairly the needs and concerns of all interests affected by federal energy policy,
02:18but also to assess their commitment to FERC's independence.
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