Senate Democrats weigh Feinstein's Energy-Water panel successor
This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by JudyM (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).
Source: Roll Call
Posted April 8, 2024 at 1:06pm, Updated at 5:54pm
It’s not just House Republicans with some seats to fill on that chamber’s Appropriations Committee. Senate Democrats as soon as this week are poised to shuffle their own slate of Appropriations subcommittee leaders due to the Energy-Water Appropriations vacancy created by the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., last year. Some appropriations insiders are betting on Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., to take on the role, though no decisions have been made and there are other possible scenarios.
Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., stepped into the Energy-Water subcommittee chair role on an interim basis in October, to see out the rest of the fiscal 2024 process. With that finally over, Senate Democrats are expected to move quickly to fill the slot on a more permanent basis with the fiscal 2025 cycle getting underway.
Murray already chairs the Military Construction-VA subcommittee on top of the full committee. She was able to take on the Energy-Water panel as well last year in part because the bill had already been written and reported out of committee before she assumed the reins. But having full-time responsibility for two subcommittees as well as the full committee would be a major lift. In addition, Senate Democrats’ rules already preclude a full committee chair from running one subcommittee if another, more junior panel member wants the slot, let alone two subcommittees.
That’s where Heinrich comes in: New Mexico has a major Energy Department footprint, including the Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories — employing roughly 30,000 in the state — as well as an office in Albuquerque. New Mexico also has unique water issues given the state’s geography. Longtime Sen. Pete V. Domenici, R-N.M., for years was the top Energy-Water Republican. Heinrich said Monday that he would hold off on making his intentions known.
Read more: https://rollcall.com/2024/04/08/senate-democrats-weigh-feinsteins-energy-water-panel-successor/
= new reply since forum marked as read
