[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 75 (Thursday, May 5, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2353]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Nomination of Kathryn Huff

  Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, 2 days ago, it was my unhappy task to 
notify the Senate that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
had deadlocked on another nomination and on 3 important public land 
bills, with all 10 Democratic members voting for each bill and all 10 
Republican members voting against them.
  I strongly believe that the Senate works best when we work together, 
find common ground, and reach a consensus and that we fail the American 
people when we don't.
  So it is with great pleasure that I come to the floor today to speak 
on the nomination of Dr. Kathryn Huff to be the Assistant Secretary of 
Energy for Nuclear Energy. I am very pleased to say that Dr. Huff's 
nomination is one thing Democrats and Republicans on the committee 
agree with completely. We reported her nomination last week without a 
single dissenting vote. I urge my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans 
alike, to vote to confirm her today.
  My friend John Barrasso is ranking member, and we work very close 
together, and this is one that we found total unanimity that she is the 
right person at the right time in the right place for this job.
  Dr. Huff is extremely well qualified for this important position. She 
has the academic training as a physicist and in nuclear engineering. 
She holds degrees in physics from the University of Chicago and nuclear 
engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has extensive 
postgraduate experience as a research assistant at Argonne and the 
Idaho National Laboratories and as a postdoctoral fellow at Berkeley. 
She has extensive professional experience as a professor at the 
University of Illinois for 5 years before joining the Department of 
Energy.
  She joined the Department of Energy a year ago as the Principal 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy. She served as the Acting 
Assistant Secretary for nearly a year prior to her nomination. She has 
very clearly demonstrated her ability to handle the job through her 
performance as the Deputy and Acting Assistant Secretary over this past 
year. She also showed her firm grasp of nuclear issues facing the 
Department at her confirmation hearing.
  In short, Dr. Huff has earned the strong bipartisan endorsement of 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. I urge all Senators to 
vote to confirm her today. It shows that when we get the right person 
who is qualified for the job, basically, we will come together.
  I would advise any administration to look deeply at the person you 
are bringing before us to make sure they fit those requirements. This 
is a carbon copy of what I would continue to find--people such as Dr. 
Huff to fill these very, very, very important jobs. It takes that type 
of dedication, but it takes the type of knowledge and experience that 
Dr. Huff has.
  I urge total adoption of this by all Members of our Senate, 100 of 
us.