Senate Energy Committee bids farewell to Landrieu

Senators on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee used its Wednesday meeting to bid farewell to its chairwoman, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).

Landrieu held the gavel for less than a year, rising to the top of the panel after Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) became chairman of the Finance Committee.

{mosads}But that and her 18 years in the Senate left a mark on energy policy and on her home state, her colleagues said.

“You have been a true leader, and I am very, very grateful for what you have given the United States Senate, what you have given your state and what you’ve given the American people,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the top Republican and incoming chairwoman of the committee.

Murkowski thanked Landrieu for “your leadership on energy issues, on focusing on the things that are not only important for the people of Louisiana, but for the people of this country when it comes to accessing our energy resources.”

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the likely ranking member in the next Congress, said she could not imagine the Energy Committee without Landrieu.

“Obviously, your leadership on all sorts of energy issues is going to be missed,” she said. “But we’re going to miss most the fact that you really made us think every day about America’s energy future.”

The Wednesday meeting is likely the last in the committee for Landrieu, who on Saturday lost a runoff reelection fight against Rep. Bill Cassidy (R).

Landrieu had hoped to vote on the nomination of Colette Honorable to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, so the full Senate could approve her before recess.

Honorable had an easy nomination hearing last week. But the panel didn’t have a quorum Wednesday for the vote.

Instead, senators talked about Landrieu.

“Those of us who used to be in the cheap joke business hear people’s laughs, and you have one of the most genuine laughs,” said Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), a former writer and actor for Saturday Night Line. “It says a lot about you as a human being.”

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) often agreed with Landrieu, since both their states rely heavily on energy industries.

“I’ve never found a person more intent on finding a balance between the economy and the environment,” Manchin said.

“Mary, you’ve done an unbelievable job,” he said. “And I truly believe the people that are the greatest losers are the people of Louisiana right now.”

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said Landrieu was an “incredible advocate for her constituents.”

He specifically thanked Landrieu for her help with his failed energy efficiency legislation that he crafted with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).

Landrieu spoke as well, and went through each of the hearings she has chaired in her brief time at the helm of the committee.

But she highlighted her work to direct money from offshore oil and gas drilling and direct it to states. She tried to reform the Land and Water Conservation Fund by giving it a sustainable revenue stream, and sponsored successful legislation to make it easier for Gulf Coast states to receive money.

“We’ve had Republican and Democratic governors from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton agree that that’s what should be done. We just haven’t been able to get it done in that specific way,” she said of the conservation proposal, which was one of her first priorities.

“I just hope that as I leave this committee, it’ll be something that you’ll continue to work on.”