The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last Wednesday voted out the nomination of New Mexico attorney Suedeen G. Kelly for a seat on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, setting the stage for the full Senate to now act on her appointment and that of the Republican FERC nominee, Joseph T. Kelliher.

The committee’s action “should be a positive step because the Senate has both a Democratic and Republican nominee for FERC before it, a balanced slate,” said an energy industry legislative analyst. But “there are potentially some problems that could arise that have nothing to do with the qualifications of either nominee.” He fears a senator who is disgruntled over the ongoing energy bill negotiations may try to block one or both candidates.

Both Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), the ranking minority member on the panel, want a “quick vote” on the two FERC nominees, the legislative expert said. Bingaman, in fact, has indicated he would like to see a vote on Kelly and Kelliher, a senior policy advisor at the Department of Energy, within the next few weeks, but he admitted the situation was “unpredictable.”

No senator has tried to block Kelly’s nomination — at least not yet. However, Kelliher’s nomination to the Commission has been in limbo since last March when at least two Democratic senators placed holds on it, which essentially froze the process and prevented the full Senate from confirming him until the senators’ concerns were met. A hold against one nominee could threaten the nomination of the other candidate, given that the Senate wants to confirm the two as a package deal.

The legislative analyst said he expects Bingaman will urge his Senate Democratic colleagues to release any existing holds on the Kelliher nomination, clearing the way for confirmation of the two nominees. If the Senate doesn’t vote on the FERC nominees before it adjourns this fall, President Bush would be able to make his own recess appointments to the Commission — essentially bypassing the Senate, he noted.

With the ranks thinned at FERC, someone — either the Senate or the president — needs to act quickly. The five-member Commission is down to three members, with one of them serving on borrowed time. Commissioner William Massey’s term expired at the end of June; he currently is serving out a grace period that is due to end when Congress adjourns for the year.

If confirmed by the Senate, Kelly would fill out the remaining term of former FERC Chairman Curt Hebert Jr., who left the Commission in the summer of 2001. That term would expire on June 30, 2004. In addition to being an attorney, Kelly is a professor of law at the University of New Mexico School of Law. Kelliher is seeking the seat formerly held by Commissioner Linda K. Breathitt, who departed the agency in December. His term would run until June 30, 2007.

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