U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, made the following statement announcing his opposition to Norman Bay to be Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

"Norman Bay is a close ally of Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Obama - and I'm concerned he will serve as a rubberstamp for the President's new unworkable cap-and-trade rule that will drive up electricity prices and hurt our economy," Vitter said. "The President has completely circumvented Congress with his job-killing rule, and our last defense against his agenda is opposing his handpicked political nominees, especially for a supposedly independent agency, and so I encourage my colleagues to reject Mr. Bay's nomination."

On June 12, 2014, U.S. Reps. Bill Cassidy, Charles Boustany, Steve Scalise, John Fleming, and Vance McAllister from Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) a letter encouraging her to oppose Bay's nomination. Click here to read their letter.

Norman Bay, Director of the FERC's Office of Enforcement, is expected to be considered by the ENR Committee tomorrow morning.

At the last Business Meeting held by the ENR Committee, which was the first led by Sen. Landrieu, Democrats passed the nomination of Rhea Suh to be Assistant Secretary of Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The nominee was approved despite her previous comments calling natural gas development a "threat."

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