Political Quotes

“I rise today to discuss the nomination of Norman Bay. President Obama has nominated Mr. Bay to be a commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC. The President has announced that if Mr. Bay is confirmed, his plan is to elevate Mr. Bay to the position of chairman of FERC. Over the past few months there has been much discussion about whether the President should have nominated Mr. Bay to be chairman, and I think there is very good reason to ask whether the President really should have nominated Mr. Bay at all. In my view Mr. Bay is not qualified to be a commissioner, let alone to be chairman of FERC. Mr. Bay has only 5 years of working experience in the energy sector--a total of 5 years. This is less time than the Keystone XL Pipeline has been pending with the Obama administration. During the nomination hearing, I specifically asked Mr. Bay about his lack of experience. In response, he cited his summer internship at a Department of Energy research facility during college--a summer internship during college. With all due respect, this man does not have the background, the qualifications, and certainly not the experience to take on this important role. The President has nominated Mr. Bay to replace FERC's current chairman Cheryl LaFleur. In contrast to Mr. Bay, whom the President has nominated to replace Ms. LaFleur, Ms. LaFleur has over 25 years of experience in the energy sector.…”