Boehner taps Energy Committee vet for adviser role

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has tapped a top attorney with the House Energy and Commerce Committee to be an adviser, signaling plans to continue moving energy bills in the next Congress.

Boehner on Friday said that Maryam Brown will join the Speaker’s office as energy policy adviser, having served as chief counsel to the subcommittee on Energy and Power.

“As chief counsel to the Energy and Power subcommittee, Maryam Brown has worked tirelessly to secure House passage of numerous American Energy Initiative bills aimed at reining in excessive regulations and promoting projects like the Keystone pipeline to help put Americans back to work,” Boehner said.

The American Energy Initiative is the House GOP’s catch-all name for a series of bills that moved through the chamber over the last two years.

They include measures to expand oil-and-gas leasing, scuttle or scale back EPA air pollution rules that opponents call economically harmful, and other measures.

Brown’s earlier congressional experience includes time as counsel on energy and environment for the Senate Republican Policy Committee. She has also worked for the oil company ConocoPhillips.

“Her experience and expertise will be a critical asset to our House majority in the next Congress as we continue advancing an agenda focused on expanding American energy and creating jobs. I’m proud to welcome her aboard,” Boehner said in a statement.