GOP Promises Cassidy Seat on Energy Committee

Senate Republicans just put a hole in a campaign claim of Senator Mary Landrieu (D – LA), who has been saying that her Republican opponent, Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), will not be able to get onto the chamber’s energy committee as a freshman senator.

According to the Associated Press, Republicans promised Cassidy a seat on the Senate’s energy committee if he beats Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu in Louisiana’s runoff election next month.

“The question is, do you want somebody on the committee or do you want a rookie that has no seniority and is likely to not even get on the committee,” Landrieu said when she began her runoff campaign, the AP reported.

However, a statement from incoming Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would appoint Cassidy to the Energy Committee, which Landrieu currently chairs until the new Congress is sworn in.

“I’m confident Dr. Cassidy will use this position to succeed where Sen. Landrieu failed,” McConnell said, noting Cassidy’s support for building the Keystone XL oil pipeline and his rejection of the administration’s efforts to establish more regulations on carbon emissions. “Louisiana will have a senator that will use his clout to support energy jobs, not President (Barack) Obama,” McConnell said.

Although the Louisiana Democrat supports the Keystone pipeline, Republicans took jabs at Landrieu for being ineffective as chair of the Energy Committee to further the future of the project from her Senate position. Additionally, according to the AP, her criticism of Obama’s plan to cut Co2 emissions did not change the administration’s proposal, which calls for her home state of Louisiana to cut its emissions from power plants by almost 40 percent by 2030.

Cassidy said he would use his promised Committee position to “stand up to President Obama, to deliver a floor vote on the Keystone XL pipeline and to protect Louisiana’s energy industry.”

“Sen. Landrieu made much of her seat on the energy committee, but failed to use that seat to stand up to President Obama’s assault on our energy economy,” Cassidy said in a statement.