On August 13, APGA sent a letter to the Chairman, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Ranking Democrat, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), in support of the President’s nomination of Bill Cooper to serve as General Counsel at the Department of Energy (DOE). It is the role of the DOE General Counsel to, among other things, determine DOE’s authoritative position on any question of law and to provide legal advice, counsel, and support to the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary, and program offices. Given their role in establishing appliance efficiency standards, APGA has worked closely with DOE over the past several years. APGA staff and members know Bill Cooper well. As an attorney, he served as counsel to public natural gas systems in Tennessee. He has also spoken at APGA conferences in the past in his capacity as a House Energy and Commerce Committee staffer and also when he served as head of the Center for LNG Export.
In the letter, APGA states that Mr. Cooper “possesses over 30 years of legal and policy experience which would greatly benefit him in the role of General Counsel.” The letter also communicates that Mr. Cooper’s “work on the House Energy and Commerce and House Natural Resources Committee has provided him with the skills and knowledge to help the Department of Energy meet its mission of advancing the national, economic, and energy security of the United States.”
A Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee confirmation hearing on Mr. Cooper’s nomination has been scheduled for Thursday, August 16. You can see a copy of the letters that APGA sent in support of the nomination on the APGA website. For questions on this article, please contact Dave Schryver of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-2742 or by email at
dschryver@apga.org.