3 new Republican members join Energy and Natural Resources

Source: Nick Juliano, E&E reporter • Posted: Friday, January 4, 2013

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will add three Republican members this year, including two conservative freshmen, GOP leadership announced today.

Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.), two of their party’s more conservative members, will join the panel, while Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) will return to the committee after a stint on Environment and Public Works, which he is leaving. They will be taking over for Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Daniel Coats (R-Ind.).

Flake and Scott consistently supported GOP efforts to expand domestic oil and gas production and curtail environmental regulations during their time in the House. In the previous Congress, Flake also was an outspoken critic of the Obama administration’s efforts to bar uranium mining near the Grand Canyon, while Scott launched a bipartisan caucus aimed at reviewing a variety of regulations.

Alexander’s return to Energy and Natural Resources will place him in a key role this Congress as he will remain the top Republican on the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee.

Republicans on the Environment and Public Works Committee also will welcome two new members in the 113th Congress — Sens. Roger Wicker (Miss.) and Deb Fischer (Neb.), a freshman. Alexander and Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) are leaving the environment panel.

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