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Innovation focal point for incoming Senate Energy member
One of the newcomers to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources said he and incoming Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) see eye-to-eye on the need to spur energy innovation.
Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) told The Hill on Thursday that he has had “fairly preliminary" talks with Wyden on energy issues.
The senator-elect, who was named to the Energy Committee Wednesday, said those talks have laid the groundwork for what he envisions to be a solid working relationship.
“He certainly understands the opportunities that are inherent in a low-carbon economy,” Heinrich told The Hill in a phone interview. “One of the things our country does better than anyone else in the world is innovation. ... He intuitively gets those opportunities.”
While Heinrich enters the committee with an environmental background, he said that should not be a problem for Democratic colleagues such as Sens. Mary Landrieu (La.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.) — or, for that matter, Republicans.
Landrieu represents a state with substantial offshore oil drilling, and has sought to expand it. Manchin comes from a coal-heavy state, and has pushed back against various Environmental Protection Agency air pollution rules.
He said lawmakers of all stripes would support his three biggest priorities — securing basic research funding, and improving education and infrastructure.
Heinrich also comes from a state with two federal research laboratories. He said wants to turn those into bases for innovation to complement their current roles of promoting nuclear deterrence.
“I really think our national labs can be engines of innovation and should be broad, national security institutions on things like energy security, not just the nuclear deterrence,” Heinrich said.
