Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu is presenting herself as a leading voice for Louisiana on energy issues in the U.S. Capitol, but Bloomberg says an analysis it has conducted shows her outspokenness and perseverance in legislative forums is relatively new, emerging in the 10 months since she took over the chairmanship of the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee.
Between January 2009 and this week, Landrieu didn’t speak or submit written testimony or questions at almost 70% of the energy committee hearings, according to the analysis of congressional records, videos and transcripts. Her attendance at 137 of the 200 hearings of the full panel or her subcommittees during that six-year period cannot be confirmed through public records.
In her uphill battle against her Republican runoff challenger Rep. Bill Cassidy, the three-term incumbent has made her clout a centerpiece of her re-election campaign, telling voters she will use her experience and plum committee assignments to work for the state.
“We need seniority in the Senate. We need muscle,” she told supporters on election night. “The Louisiana voters know they can count on me.”
Since taking over the committee’s chair in February, Landrieu has delivered on that promise, speaking at all 10 full committee hearings in Washington. Landrieu also hosted two field hearings in Louisiana, during which she touted the benefits of her position.
But Landrieu hasn’t always been so vocal on the energy panel. From 2009 to 2010 she was silent at or skipped 65 of 87 hearings. From 2011 to 2012, she didn’t say anything at or didn’t attend 50 of 66 meetings. And from 2013 to 2014, her presence was undetectable at 22 of 47 sessions. Bloomberg reports some of those hearings covered important issues for her coastal state, including the potential for oil spills, gas prices, the Department of Energy’s budget, nominations of key energy regulators, the implementation of the stimulus bill, and the current status of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Landrieu campaign officials argue that if the senator missed a hearing, it was because she was chairing or participating in another committee meeting or was handling other important Louisiana business. Many of the meetings she skipped, they say, had little relevance to Louisiana. Read the full story.
