Letter to Mary Landrieu, Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee - Budget Hearing

Letter

The Honorable Mary Landrieu
Chair
U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
304 Dirksen Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chair Landrieu:

To begin, we would like to formally congratulate you on receiving the gavel of this important committee. We look forward to working with you in a constructive and bipartisan manner.

As members of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, we write you to respectfully request hearings on President Obama's FY2015 Budget for the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Forest Service. Specifically, the Committee should request that each of the respective Department/agency heads appear before the committee to testify.

Passing a budget is one of Congress' most important and fundamental responsibilities; it is the framework by which Congress has executed its constitutional authority to appropriate funds. As you know, the individual Senate authorizing committees' oversight role is a critical component of the budget process.

It is important to note that the majority of the authorizing committees have conducted hearings on the President's budget; however this committee has not held one hearing. We have an obligation to the American taxpayers to complete our oversight before the Senate proceeds with drafting the twelve annual regular appropriations bills.

We respectfully urge you to hold budget hearings as soon as possible. Please do not hesitate to contact us for assistance in fulfilling this request. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,