The Donald Trump administration’s pick to be deputy secretary of energy, told a Senate panel Wednesday that if confirmed his focus would be on easing federal regulatory approval for new infrastructure and electricity projects.
In his prepared testimony to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, James Danly also said keeping the Department of Energy’s National Laboratory system at the forefront of science and engineering would be a top priority.
“I believe my prior roles as general counsel, commissioner, and chairman at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission give me a unique and important vantage point on how to achieve the president and the secretary’s shared vision of ensuring affordable, reliable and secure energy for the American people,” Danly said.
“We face an acute need to build all kinds of infrastructure throughout the country, but the federal permitting regime has become nothing short of an impediment to that development,” Danly said in the testimony. “Infrastructure projects take longer to build and are increasingly expensive or—worse—never get developed in the first place.”
President Trump nominated Danly Jan. 22. If confirmed, Danly would serve as the right hand to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. A recording of the hearing webcast is available online.
