WASHINGTON – Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) today celebrates 2023 Clean Energy Champions U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D., (R-La.) and U.S. Representatives Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Jen Kiggans (R-Va.). Award recipients will be formally recognized at a private CRES Clean Energy Champion Awards Reception on Wednesday, September 27, during National Clean Energy Week (September 25-29, 2023).
“Together, these members have a strong track record of reaching across the aisle to advance policies that accelerate clean energy innovation, bolster the economy, create jobs, and clear the path towards an emissions-free future – the foundation upon which National Clean Energy Week is built,” said CRES President Heather Reams. “I want to again thank Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Bill Cassidy and Representatives Bruce Westerman and Jen Kiggans for their continued spirit of bipartisanship that gives rise to commonsense clean energy policies.”
“The United States has everything to gain by strengthening our energy sector and supporting policies that deliver clean, affordable energy Americans can rely on every single day,” said Senator Capito. “We’ve built consensus and proven this is an issue conservatives should lead on through our work supporting advanced nuclear technologies, moving the ball forward on carbon capture, and making it easier to produce energy here in America where it is done in a more responsible manner than any other country in the world. I congratulate my fellow awardees, Senator Cassidy and Representatives Westerman and Kiggans, and sincerely thank CRES for this honor.”
“No one produces energy cleaner than the U.S., especially in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico,” said Dr. Cassidy. “We can power our country and the world while making our air and water cleaner to breathe and drink and that all starts with producing more at home. It is an honor to represent an energy powerhouse and be recognized as a Congressional energy champion.”
“CRES has been a fantastic advocate for conservative energy policy, and it’s an honor to be recognized for this award,” said Congressman Westerman. “My congressional colleagues and I have worked hard as a committee and as a conference to pass commonsense policy that will advance American growth and progress, most notably our permitting reforms in the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Lower Energy Cost Act. Getting the first reforms to NEPA in nearly 40 years signed into law was a major win for 2023, but our work in Congress is far from over. I look forward to continuing to fight for energy policies that benefit every American.”
“I’m honored to be named a CRES Clean Energy Champion,” said Congresswoman Kiggans. “Coastal Virginians know how to be good stewards of the environment without sacrificing good paying jobs or harming our economy. I’m proud to represent Southeast Virginia where we are leading the way on a commonsense, all-of-the-above energy strategy that will provide American people with affordable, reliable, and clean energy!”
Each year, CRES awards federal policymakers with the Clean Energy Champion award as a testament to their work supporting commonsense clean energy and climate legislation that protects our communities as well as our economy and to celebrate their commitment to building a clean energy future for America. Click here to learn more.
Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) is the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which has sprawling jurisdiction over energy, infrastructure, and the environment. As a Mountain State native, Senator Capito knows firsthand the government needs to cut red tape, so that emissions will decrease by mining, building, and manufacturing with clean, American resources. To that end, Senator Capito introduced reforms that were signed into law this Congress which will speed up onerous and bureaucratic reviews. Senator Capito also has worked to pave the path towards meeting global climate goals and zero-emission energy generation through her support of nuclear power. The Accelerating Deployment of Versatile Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023 asserts America as a leader in nuclear energy, updates the regulatory structure around nuclear power, and streamlines the process for building nuclear reactors. The CRES-endorsed ADVANCE Act was recently included in the Senate-passed defense authorization bill.
As the Senior senator from a Gulf state, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) serves as a crucial voice on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for a balanced, all-of-the-above approach to energy development. Senator Cassidy’s support for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was key to securing new investments in American-made clean energy. He recently reintroduced the Reinvesting in Shoreline Economies and Ecosystems (RISEE) Act, which CRES endorsed because it returns offshore wind revenues to the states for coastal restoration, hurricane protection, fisheries management, and more.
Congressman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) serves as Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee where he has promoted policies to unlock American resources as a means to lower global emissions. He championed the effort to reform America’s broken permitting scheme by introducing and passing into law this Congress significant, bipartisan reforms that put shovels in the ground on clean energy projects across the country. As a career engineer and forester, Chairman Westerman has spent decades advancing scientific solutions to forestry, land management, and natural carbon sequestration. This Congress, he introduced CRES-endorsed legislation, the Save Our Sequoias Act, which preserves America’s wooded assets by unlocking their use for future generations and trap carbon in the world’s best carbon sinks: our forests.
Representing a large part of the Chesapeake Bay, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) is a champion of conservation and clean energy. She was handpicked by her peers to serve as Vice Chair of the Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee on the House Natural Resources Committee as a freshman lawmaker. Southeast Virginia offers a wealth of clean power, and Congresswoman Kiggans understands the importance of investment certainty for offshore wind, which supports local jobs and economic growth. Importantly, as a U.S. Navy veteran, she is a proud leader in the House on unleashing America’s energy resources to strengthen national security and lower global emissions. Recently, Congresswoman Kiggans introduced bipartisan legislation to boost environmental education in the Bay region, restore the health of the Bay Watershed, and preserve the Bay’s ecosystems and fisheries for generations to come.