[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 137 (Monday, August 3, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4661-S4662]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Nomination of Mark Wesley Menezes

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I have come to the floor this afternoon 
to encourage Senators to support the nomination that is now pending 
before us. This is for Mark Menezes to be the Deputy Secretary of the 
Department of Energy.
  I have had plenty of opportunity to be working with Mr. Menezes, as 
he has been with the Department of Energy for quite some time.
  He originally hails from Louisiana. He earned his undergraduate and 
law degrees at Louisiana State University. He has, as I mentioned, 
considerable experience in the energy sector and here on Capitol Hill. 
He previously served as chief counsel for energy and environment on the 
House Energy and Commerce Committee. So he has been around for a fair 
period of time.
  But more recently, for the past 3 years now, Mr. Menezes has served 
as the Department's Under Secretary of Energy, and in that role, he has 
been responsible for many programs that help drive the innovation 
within the Department, including for renewable energy, as well as 
nuclear energy.
  Mr. Menezes also helped create the Department's cybersecurity office, 
which is dedicated to protecting our energy infrastructure from what 
has become very sophisticated and near-constant threats.
  As Members may recall, the Senate confirmed Mr. Menezes to his 
current role by voice vote. I believe he has excelled as the Under 
Secretary of Energy. He has helped to set the policy direction of the 
Department. He has worked with many of us on issues that are important 
to our States and to the country as a whole.
  I am also confident that Mr. Menezes will be a great second-in-
command for Secretary Brouillette. We held Mr. Menezes's nomination 
hearing back on May 20. This was our first hearing that we had held 
after several months lost due to the pandemic.
  Mr. Menezes did, not surprisingly, very, very well. He demonstrated 
his knowledge of the issues; he showed us that he understands what it 
takes to help lead the Department; and that enabled us to report his 
nomination to the full Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support.
  So we are sitting here now--it has been nearly a 2-month delay--and I 
am very pleased that we are about to vote on Mr. Menezes's nomination. 
It is really key. It is very important that

[[Page S4662]]

Secretary Brouillette has his leadership team in place, and Mr. Menezes 
has demonstrated that he has the knowledge and the experience needed to 
succeed as Deputy Secretary.
  So I appreciate, and I have shared this with Mr. Menezes, his 
willingness to serve our country in a new and a higher capacity, 
particularly as we seek to harness the Department's capabilities to 
overcome and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
  I thank the majority leader for bringing up his nomination. I would 
urge every Member to vote in favor of it on cloture today and on 
confirmation tomorrow.