Energy: 10 Staffers to Know

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Considered “even-keeled” by lobbyists, Miller said he meets frequently with a broad array of energy stakeholder groups and daily with Reid himself.

In addition to working on Nevada issues, Miller helps coordinate Democratic message and policy on energy — no small task considering the regional fault lines that surround the issue.

“That colors every decision, every political move, every policy matter,” he said. “To have a caucus-wide position on any of those things is pretty tough.”

Bettina Poirier, majority staff director and chief counsel, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
Age: 47
Birthplace: New York
Education: B.A., Columbia University; J.D., New York University

Chances are if you encounter Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in the Capitol complex, Bettina Poirier is in close proximity.

As the top Democratic staffer on the environment panel, Poirier plays a major supporting role in Boxer’s outreach campaign to line up 60 votes for a cap-and-trade climate bill. “Looking for ways to break up logjams is a key part of what we’re doing right now,” Poirier said.

While energy is technically beyond the environment committee’s jurisdiction, it’s indisputable that “cap-and-trade” will fundamentally change the way energy is produced. “She’s definitely a major player in this landscape,” one environmental lobbyist said of Poirier.

Poirier spent two years working for Boxer earlier this decade before detouring in 2003 to the other side of the Capitol to work for Dean of the House John Dingell (D-Mich.) for two years.

She rejoined Boxer’s staff in 2005 and was named the first woman staff director for the Environment Committee when Boxer assumed the gavel in 2007.

Among Poirier’s proudest legislative accomplishments is working with Senate Republicans to override President George W. Bush’s 2007 veto of the Water Resources Development Act.

It was the first veto override of the Bush presidency and cleared the way for federal funds for flood control and coastal restoration to flow into the hurricane-ravaged Gulf of Mexico region.

“Being able to make that kind of difference is a very satisfying thing,” said Poirier, who witnessed the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on a Congressional visit after the 2005 storm.

Mary Frances Repko, senior policy adviser to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)
Age: 42
Birthplace: Detroit
Education: B.A., international studies, Johns Hopkins University; M.S., natural resources policy, University of Michigan

Mary Frances Repko was raised on science. Her mother is a chemist and her father is a university physicist. Repko brings that background, along with a natural resources degree, to her Congressional job advising House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on environmental and energy policy.

“I do a lot of technical translation,” said Repko, who joined Hoyer’s staff in 2007. “I have to make value judgments about whether or not I would take a certain action, based on the science.”

Hoyer is Repko’s fifth Capitol Hill boss. Among her other jobs, she spent nine years advising Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and was legislative director for Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).

The combination of Senate and House experience, she said, helps her think through the politics of the policies under consideration.

“The House side is institutionally very different from the Senate,” she said. “I’m really learning to appreciate both of them for what each can do and the tools each has in the legislative process.”

One energy lobbyist called Repko one of the best staffers on Capitol Hill. Repko, the lobbyist said, “gives incredibly honest and useful feedback to both people who are curious about what the Hill could or should do and also to her boss and Members.”

Repko said that listening to trade groups, lobbyists and citizens is a central part of how she gathers information. “It’s been an incredibly interesting year,” said Repko, who started her career working for the World Wildlife Fund. “It’s been ’round-the-clock, nonstop.”

Lorie Schmidt, senior counsel, environment and energy, House Energy and Commerce Committee
Age: 49
Birthplace: Urbana, Ill.
Education: B.S., metallurgical engineering, Purdue University; J.D., Harvard Law School

Lorie Schmidt has a single task ahead of her: drafting an energy and climate change bill. “The most important piece I’m working on is trying to figure out how we reduce global warming pollution, while also ensuring that we have a diverse energy supply,” Schmidt said.