Political Quotes

“I have come to the floor this afternoon to encourage Senators to support the nomination that is now pending before us. This is for Mark Menezes to be the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Energy. I have had plenty of opportunity to be working with Mr. Menezes, as he has been with the Department of Energy for quite some time. He originally hails from Louisiana. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees at Louisiana State University. He has, as I mentioned, considerable experience in the energy sector and here on Capitol Hill. He previously served as chief counsel for energy and environment on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. So he has been around for a fair period of time. But more recently, for the past 3 years now, Mr. Menezes has served as the Department's Under Secretary of Energy, and in that role, he has been responsible for many programs that help drive the innovation within the Department, including for renewable energy, as well as nuclear energy. Mr. Menezes also helped create the Department's cybersecurity office, which is dedicated to protecting our energy infrastructure from what has become very sophisticated and near-constant threats. As Members may recall, the Senate confirmed Mr. Menezes to his current role by voice vote. I believe he has excelled as the Under Secretary of Energy. He has helped to set the policy direction of the Department.…”