▶ 0:18:42Chair Lee: The meeting will come to order. Today is our ninth business meeting of the hundred 19th congress the committee on energy and natural resources. I think the ranking member and his staff working on us for the work up and all senators for being here, especially considering all the committee activity happening this morning.
▶ 0:19:09Chair Lee: As soon as we have a quorum present, which I believe will happen in the next few minutes, I will have the committee will directly devotes very we will begin by voting on the nominations of two nominees to the federal energy regulatory commission, the same nominees who testified last week. We will vote first on the nomination of laura sw and then a vote on davidett lacerte.
▶ 0:19:44Chair Lee: We will vote on three bills that have been voted unanimously out of the last congress. The bills that we will take up our -- our s. 1453, to confirm the use of certain non-federal land in salt lake city, utah, for public purposes, and for other purposes. S. 472, to amend the omnibus parks and public lands management act of 1996 to provide for the establishment of a ski area fee retention account, and for other purposes. H.r. 1043/s.
▶ 0:20:11Chair Lee: 909, to direct the secretary of the interior to convey certain federal land in arizona to la paz county, arizona. The federal energy regulatory commission determines whether americans can't afford their rooms, whether their industries can operate without black outs whether our defenses can rely on a grid that withstands strength. It performs these and many other functions that in many cases not all of us think about every day.
▶ 0:20:40Chair Lee: When it performs that duty within ferc, it prospers and when it straight from the mission, the built lands squarely on the kitchen tables of american families. That is the gravity of the task before Ms. swett aand Mr.
▶ 0:21:13Chair Lee: Lacerte. Bringing perspective combat who has led under immense pressure. These are quality that if applied can return further to the proper focus providing affordable and reliable energy for the american people. Having reviewed their records and testimony before the committee, I intend to ask about their nominations. We will also consider three public lands bills comments each have passed committee unanimously.
▶ 0:21:41Chair Lee: And the members of this committee had similar legislation they would like to advance and want you to know that I hear you and we function this way but I will hold regular market this year to advance your priorities and I will continue to attempt some of floor.
▶ 0:22:06Chair Lee: Senator reed hungry I commit good faith for the continental divide to jill and I hope you will commit to working meeting individual and noncontroversial public lands bills to the senate could extend the same offer to the rest of our democrat colleagues. If you have legislation you want to advance, my door is always open for we may not ultimately agree but we should find out where the key in and there will be many instances where that works.
▶ 0:22:36Chair Lee: I would like to speak for just a moment about on the bills we are considering that is close to home, the university of utah at research park act, an identical act was voted favorably in this committee and the last congress.
▶ 0:22:53Chair Lee: For more than a half century, research park has been an engine of growth, discovery and nearly at 600 acres east of downtown salt lake city at the university has established a hub that houses over 50 companies and employs 14 thousand people. For medical breakthroughs at the mental health institute and laboratories to advances and other intel born companies.
▶ 0:23:22Chair Lee: We work -- the work has touch lives across the state, nation and world. But in recent years the bureau of land management has questioned whether these activities remain consistent with the 1968 land conveyance that authorize them.
▶ 0:23:35Chair Lee: The uncertainty threatens the stability of the nationally recognized park that has long operated within the federal government knowledge and cooperation for the university of utah research park act removes that uncertainty and confirms that research and innovation are valid, public purposes under federal law, ensure his decades of investment are not undone by retroactive reinterpretation and gives the university the confidence it needs to keep building on a proud legacy of discovery and service.
▶ 0:24:05Chair Lee: It builds on legislation that already passed this committee unanimously in congress with technical revisions worked out in consultation with the department of the interior and has the full support of the university of utah and the utah congressional delegation and should have the support of this and I ask each of my colleagues to vote in reporting s 462 favorably.
▶ 0:24:37Chair Lee: Senator heinrich, I will turn it over to you.
▶ 0:24:40Sen. Heinrich: Thank you, Mr. chair. Before we turn to the work of this committee today, I want to take a moment to address the horrific act of political violence that we witnessed yesterday. There is no place in the non-for political violence in this country.
▶ 0:25:06Sen. Heinrich: It is absolutely and always wrong no matter who it targets come what their views may be or how deeply we disagree with them . It is not enough to condemned political violence only when it is directed at those we agree with. We must condemned political violence when it is directed at those sweet disagree with. So my thoughts are with charlie kirk's family, friends, some of whom are friends of mine during this difficult time.
▶ 0:25:36Sen. Heinrich: The first two items on today's agenda are the nominations of Ms. laura swett and Mr. david lacerte. Members need knowledge and expense with the agencies they regulate.
▶ 0:26:02Sen. Heinrich: The commission's independence, bipartisanship and members expertise have always been part of its strength. They have contributed to it than detracting from the making of the good energy policy, and I believe Ms. swett has the necessary qualifications. She worked at ferc for five years at the law of and is a senior advisor.
▶ 0:26:30Sen. Heinrich: She has spent the last five years practicing energy law at respected firms. In normal times I would have supported her nomination and I have told her this but these are not normal times. This administration is issuing illegal stop work orders on fully permitted projects.
▶ 0:26:51Sen. Heinrich: They are creating a grid crisis and killing good union jobs and raising electricity prices in until they are willing to comply with the letter of the law, it will be difficult for me to support their nominations. Mr.
▶ 0:27:07Sen. Heinrich: Lacerte has little or no expense with the complexities and markets or with the intricacies of our laws good as the supreme court said in 1935, the work of art independent regulatory commissions demands people who have knowledge of both regulatory requirements and the practical affairs of the industries they regulate. A commissioner seat is not a place for on the job training or to acquire the knowledge and experience that Ms.
▶ 0:27:37Sen. Heinrich: Swett has spent acquiring. For this reason I will be ennobled on these nominations. We have three public land bills on today's agenda. While I am glad to see an effort to move legislation out of this committee, this agenda was not the result of collaboration or even consultation between the majority and minority as has been the long-standing practice on this committee.
▶ 0:28:04Sen. Heinrich: The energy and natural resources committee has a long history of bipartisan cooperation going back decades including the four former chairs and ranking members who still serve on this committee. I have always admired the bipartisan way this committee has functioned under that past leadership, in no small part because it has allowed us to get a great deal done.
▶ 0:28:30Sen. Heinrich: Although it has never been easy, this committee has produced landmark legislation again and again for the 2009 and 2014 public land packages, the dingle act, the 2020 energy policy act, the partisan -- the bipartisan infrastructure act and more.
▶ 0:28:49Sen. Heinrich: As a member I have been glad to partner with senator lee, chairman lee on geothermal policy with senator murkowski on sportsmen's issues and to improve the continental divide that connects the two states and on the hard rock mining cleanup. Unfortunately, this tradition of bipartisan collaboration and cooperation has been hitting some rocky waters.
▶ 0:29:13Sen. Heinrich: In a stark departure from past practices of this committee under both democratic and republican leadership, the agenda for this business meeting was not the product of negotiation. Instead, it was dictated by the chairman along with no consultation on what the priorities of the minority is and where the common ground might be good I've talked with past chairs and past ranking members of this committee and confirmed this is not how this committee has operated in the past. I get it.
▶ 0:29:43Sen. Heinrich: Life in the minority means often don't get your way but in my experience, the majority at least ask you what your way looks like. Instead it seems the chairman intends to run this committee unilaterally.
▶ 0:29:57Sen. Heinrich: Unfortunately, I am afraid that endangers the long track record of accomplishing big things so I'm glad to support s 909 to convey federal land and asked for 72 to provide for the establishment of the ski area at retention account so I understand there are a stew -- a few technical details that need to meet forked out before it moves to consideration by the full senate.
▶ 0:30:27Sen. Heinrich: I'm not able to support fast 1453 today and will be asking for a roll call vote on it but hope to be able to support it on the floor if we confront a pack forward for the democratic priorities as well. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 0:30:40Chair Lee: Thank you very much, senator heinrich. I appreciate that and have served on this committee the entire time I've been on the congress and I am aware of the long bipartisanship that we have continued and will continue to perpetuate. Consultation is not the same as offering the full authority.
▶ 0:31:04Chair Lee: We have consulted and didn't always agree on what was an appropriate fit for this one but I commit to continue to work with you in consultation on the future of markups to move as many bills forward as we can. It will always be in the order that both of us would prefer but we will endeavor to make that our objective.
▶ 0:31:30Chair Lee: I do want to be clear, these are bills that cleared the republican side months ago that we are talking about and so one can ask why haven't they passed the senate? Sometimes things don't pass after they passed out of committee.
▶ 0:31:49Chair Lee: Is that sometimes arise on the floor have been blocked and sometimes a broken process in the senate either in committee or on the floor or mixture of the two can result in.
▶ 0:32:06Chair Lee: Sometimes popular bills that have already earned unanimous or near unanimous support with nothing controversial in them have been deliberately held back, not because they weren't flawed or because they lacked merit but because they provided because holding an provided leverage over other senators in public plan states. They will put on the shelves until they can be tied to measures that themselves could possibly never pass on their own.
▶ 0:32:31Chair Lee: Instead of moving legislation when built at a time, the merits of each bill for each similarly situated clump of bills, we waited in some instances until the end of congress and funneled dozens together, stapled them to must pass legislation.
▶ 0:32:50Chair Lee: While there can be a time and place for that, it shouldn't necessarily be the norm and shouldn't be the exclusion of also passing less controversial bills one at a time or in small groups when they are placed together in like-minded similarly situated categories. So at times, what should been straightforward lawmaking process become one of leverage and collusion were bills were stopped because they were unpopular but because they were popular in some and wanted to use them as leverage.
▶ 0:33:21Chair Lee: And good ideas when this happens, being forced to carry the baggage of bad ones. The practice has at times been particularly abusive or particularly impactful with regard to public land states. Senators from public land states have been told to accept massive packages that sometimes seem more like a ransom note than anything and the message is clear, take everything or lose a few vision that your constituency genuinely and uniquely needed in many cases because you are a public land state.
▶ 0:33:53Chair Lee: Members are pressured to vote yes or risk being blamed for syncing the entire deal. This sometimes happens but it is politics as more cynical moment and I am determined to avoid this practice as much as humanly possible while -- while I am chairman of the committee.
▶ 0:34:16Chair Lee: When the committee operates in the manner I have described that translates into that practice on the floor to whatever degree that it does, it damages the legislation and erodes the faith the americans have in their institutions. It tends to reduce debate into theater because decisions were already made some or else behind closed doors. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure we work intently -- it differently and my chairmanship.
▶ 0:34:46Chair Lee: We will meet more often and move bills individually where we possibly can, provide a venue where senators can bring amendments and raise objections and vote on pieces of legislation and not bloated packages stitched together to manufacture leverage. This is something we need to forward with. I appreciate your comments on the political violence.
▶ 0:35:09Chair Lee: This one hits particularly hard, not only because I am a longtime friend of charlie kirk's and have known him over a decade and consider him a dear friend. I talked to him regularly and sometimes several times a day when we are interacting on a particular issue.
▶ 0:35:27Chair Lee: Our last text exchange with him just a short time before his tragic death yesterday, which is the other reason why this hits home particularly heavy with me that this occurred at utah valley university, just a couple of miles from where I grew up in a couple miles from where I now live.
▶ 0:35:50Chair Lee: This is, in utah valley university is a place where I spent countless hours at countless events for as long as I remember since I was a teenager. This is a safe place and not the kind of place you expect something like this to happen and it is truly tragic.
▶ 0:36:11Chair Lee: In any event I deeply appreciate your insightful heartfelt remarks on that and share your view that there is no place for political violence and we have to move away from that and I pray for the family members and other doubloons who are grieving today.
▶ 0:36:38Chair Lee: We are expecting the arrival of senator tom cotton who is now or should be walking in any moment. As soon as he comes in we will call the role and it looked like he is just about to enter. Let's give it 68 seconds and we will begin.
▶ 0:37:01Chair Lee: What we will do is when senator cotton arrives we will turn first to the nomination of Ms. laura swett to serve as a commissioner on the federal energy regulatory commission. After the vote on that we will move into a roll vote on Mr. david lacerte who has also been nominated.
▶ 0:37:29Chair Lee: They were here last week and we held their confirmation hearings. Apparently there was a motorcade of some sort that interrupted traffic and lead it hard for colleagues to get here. Want to clarify, notwithstanding his important status of the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee, it was not his motorcade. We now have a quorum can we will now turn the nomination of Ms.
▶ 0:37:59Chair Lee: Laura swett for a commissioner. The clerk will call the role. >> >> aye. Mr. lee Mr. >> aye. Cotton. >> Mr. mccormick. >> Mr. cassidy. >> Ms. murkowski.
▶ 0:38:29Chair Lee: >> Mr. heinrich. >> Mr. wyden. >> Ms. cantwell. >> Ms. cerrone. >> Mr. king. >> Ms. cortez masto. >> Mr. hickenlooper. >> know, by proxy. >> Mr. gallego.
▶ 0:39:00Chair Lee: >> no. By proxy. >> on this will the nays are are 12 and the the ayes are --
▶ 0:39:39Chair Lee: Eight. >> will now move to Mr. lacerte. We will now call the role. >> Mr. mccormick. >> Mr. mccormick. Mr. justice. >> Ms. heidi smith. >> Mr. holden. >> Mr. heinrich.
▶ 0:40:10Chair Lee: >> Mr. wyden. >> Ms. cantwell. Mr. king. Ms. cortez masto. Mr. kick in the bird. -- Mr. hickenlooper. >> Mr. padilla. >> no, by >> proxy.
▶ 0:40:46Chair Lee: On this boat the ayes are r 12 and the the nays are?
▶ 0:40:59Chair Lee: We will on s 1453 to confirm the use of certain non-federal land in salt lake city, utah, for public purposes, and for other purposes. >> Mr. daines. >> Mr. mccormick. >> aye, by proxy. >> Mr. cassidy. >> aye..
▶ 0:41:31Chair Lee: >> this -- Ms. murkowski. Ms. cantwell. >> no. >> no, by proxy. >> Ms. cortez masto. . Mr. padilla. >> yes, by proxy.
▶ 0:42:02Chair Lee: >> on this bill, the ayes are r 16 and the nays are .
▶ 0:42:35Chair Lee: In the next bill this is also with s 909.
▶ 0:43:00Chair Lee: We are voting on the house version because it has passed unanimously and I want to acknowledge editor gallego quest for his work on this bill. >> we are going to vote by was on both bills.
▶ 0:43:22Chair Lee: Yes. For these bills, all those in favor say aye. The ayes have it and will be reported favorably to the senate. At this time I'm happy to recognize in a senator that wants to be heard on these nominations or bills that will be reported today.
▶ 0:43:52Sen. Murkowski: Thank you, Mr. chairman. I am glad we are able to advance the nominations for these nominees. It is important that the ferc have a full complement.
▶ 0:44:08Sen. Murkowski: They've got a lot of work in front of them and we recognize that and having had the opportunity to consider the qualifications and their commitment to what I think is a pretty hard task, I appreciate we are advancing them and I would certainly urge that as we are working through the stack of nominations on the senate floor at as chairman you impress on our leadership the imperative of
▶ 0:44:41Sen. Murkowski: Filling out these positions. I also think you for it working to advance some of these lands at bills that we haven't moved today before the committee and I appreciate your offer to work to advance other land legislation. I think we recognize as we look to the individual bills we are working through, so many of them are so very parochial and unique to our districts.
▶ 0:45:15Sen. Murkowski: You had the nonfederal land in salt lake city that this morning I'm happy to move out on that but I do recognize that for many they look at this and say this is a small ball stuff. This doesn't merit the time certainly on the senate floor. I have three alaska related measures that we are hoping to get a hearing and ultimately to markup. This is our land entitlement finalization.
▶ 0:45:44Sen. Murkowski: The alaska exchange oil spill recovery act of 2025 and alaska native landless equity act, a bill that has been around for a long time and this committee has heard process on it before.
▶ 0:46:02Sen. Murkowski: So I look forward to the opportunity to be able to move down but I also appreciate that the leader has a hard time trying to get attention to small bills like this when we are all competing for floor time. So I appreciate what you shared about how packaging can be an awkward and I think sometimes a situation where it.
▶ 0:46:31Sen. Murkowski: Most of the stuff that is in it but we don't like a couple of the others and I wish that there was an easier way to advance it and I wish that we had a process that was more streamlined that we can advance some of these measures but know that I commit to you as chairman into the ranking member to trying to work to advance these measures because they deserve the due consideration.
▶ 0:47:01Sen. Murkowski: They may be small ball in the construct of the united states senate but for our communities and for our regions, it is everything. It is an economy. It is opportunity and it really is empowerment for our local areas.
▶ 0:47:21Sen. Murkowski: So know that my commitment is to be working hard to try to advance, not only my priorities for the shared priorities of colleagues and equally important those that are not blessed to be able to serve on this committee. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 0:47:40Chair Lee: Thank you. I want to thank all the members of the committee and the staff for their participation today. On behalf of the committee, I am pleased to extend my congratulations to both nominees we voted out and work forward to working closely with each of them and once they are confirmed by the full senate, look forward to moving bills forward on a bipartisan basis and particularly in light of your comments, I think you captured it well.
▶ 0:48:13Chair Lee: In any event, the meeting is adjourned. Thank you.