SENATOR PLACES HOLD ON DOE UNDER SEC. NOMINEE

Mike Nartker
GHG Monitor
10/25/13

Elizabeth Robinson’s heretofore smooth path to serve as the Department of Energy’s new Under Secretary for Management and Performance hit a roadblock this week when Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) placed a hold on her nomination. In a letter to Robinson, who currently serves as NASA’s Chief Financial Officer, Vitter raised questions over NASA’s seeming delay in approving contracts to build space vehicles at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, as well as over reports of NASA officials using personal emails to conduct government business. “As the Senate considers your nomination to be the Undersecretary of the Department of Energy, I think it is important to conduct a thorough review of your job performance in your current position as NASA’s Chief Financial Officer to assess what qualities and traits you will bring to your new position. With Louisiana’s economy being largely dependent on the energy sector, the undersecretary’s role will also have a significant impact on my state. I am concerned with some of your actions, or lack of actions, in performing your current duties at NASA,” Vitter wrote.  

The new DOE Under Secretary for Management and Performance position, created as part of a Department reorganization announced this summer, will oversee DOE’s offices of Environmental Management and Legacy Management, as well as several support offices. Robinson was nominated to the position in July, and after breezing through a confirmation hearing, was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in a voice vote earlier this month.