Obama taps Hill vet to woo Congress on Energy Dept. plans

President Obama on Friday said he will nominate longtime Democratic Capitol Hill staffer Jeffrey A. Lane to be the Energy Department’s assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental affairs.

Lane was most recently chief of staff for Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and also held that role for former Sens. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) and John Edwards (D-N.C.).

Lane was also an aide to former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). Other jobs have included work in the General Counsel’s office of the Small Business Administration under President Clinton.

Lane will be tasked with helping steer Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s proposals through Congress.

Chu ran into headwinds when dealing with the appropriations committees last year – Congress turned back his effort to kill funding for hydrogen cars and supported only a a few of the eight energy “innovation hubs” that Chu proposed in the fiscal year 2010 budget.

The department’s proposed fiscal year 2011 budget will be submitted to Congress Monday.