President Joe Biden’s three nominees to FERC are set for a floor vote as soon as next week with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) filing cloture on them June 5.
Energy expert Judy Chang, FERC staffer David Rosner and West Virginia Solicitor General Lindsay See all comfortably cleared the Energy and Natural Resources Committee on June 4, with leaders urging swift confirmation to maintain a quorum on the commission. (See related story, Senate Energy Committee Advances Biden’s FERC Nominees.)
Two of the nominees would fill two open seats, and Chang would replace outgoing Commissioner Allison Clements, who congratulated them on their swift movement through the confirmation process in a post on X.
“As my term is ending, I intend for the June open meeting to be my last,” Clements posted, along with a screenshot of the Senate Cloakroom’s X feed showing Schumer’s cloture motions. “More to say then, but for now — it has been my highest privilege and honor to serve.”
Clements’ term ends June 30. A quick confirmation would maintain FERC’s quorum after Clements leaves, meaning it will be able to continue its normal business and vote out orders.
In addition to the leadership of the ENR Committee, several groups had also called on the Senate to move quickly to confirm the three nominees.
“It is vital that FERC [have] a full suite of commissioners as it goes through the rehearing process on Order 1920 and moves towards implementation,” Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition Chair Paul Cicio said in a statement.
The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, which represents the pipelines regulated by FERC, also called for swift approval of the nominees.
“With a pending vacancy in a couple of weeks, the agency could lose quorum, which would eliminate the commission’s ability to approve construction of critical energy infrastructure projects, including natural gas pipelines and storage facilities,” INGAA CEO Amy Andryszak said in a statement. “INGAA urges the Senate to act swiftly to avoid this loss of quorum by scheduling votes to confirm the nominations of Rosner, See and Chang with bipartisan support.”
