Binz Bows Out

WASHINGTON — Upon report today that Ron Binz has formally withdrawn his name from further consideration to serve as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, AEA President Thomas Pyle released the following statement:

“Ron Binz was the wrong nominee at the worst possible time for American consumers. His record of radical advocacy and regulatory bias was too much to overcome, even for Harry Reid’s rubber-stamp Senate. His performance during the confirmation process left much to be desired, in the end proving the nominee too inartful and potentially untruthful for the Senate to confirm. Going forward, the White House would be well-advised to nominate only the most impartial and balanced regulators to serve on independent commissions. Senator Harry Reid would be well-advised to stop pushing his controversial hand-picked candidates. And Tom Steyer would be well-advised to stop hiring lobbyists and expensive public relations firms to promote anti-carbon zealots for the nation’s top energy posts.

“Senators Lisa Murkowski and Joe Manchin, specifically, are to be commended for their careful approach to the Binz nomination. Every Senator who put America’s working families ahead of Harry Reid’s and the White House anti-coal, anti-natural gas agenda have served their constituents well throughout this process.

“The American Energy Alliance was joined by principled consumer advocates to oppose this nomination, and today we look forward to working together with policymakers to ensure that just and reasonable electricity prices continue to be the top priority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Stopping the Binz nomination was about more than a single regulator or a single commission. It was about American consumers and promoting affordable energy solutions for our nation’s ratepayers. The Obama Climate Action Plan is about restricting access to America’s vast resources of coal and natural gas, which together supply approximately two-thirds of our nation’s affordable electricity. Ron Binz was only a part of that plan, and today’s announcement in no way means that the White House is backing down. The American Energy Alliance will continue to monitor these developments and redouble our efforts to promote just and reasonable energy policies at every turn.”

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