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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release January 28, 1999

                 PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES ROBERT W. GEE AS 
                  ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR FOSSIL ENERGY 
                       AT THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

The President today announced his intent to nominate Robert W. Gee as Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy.

Mr. Robert W. Gee, of Austin, Texas, has served as Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs at the Department of Energy since 1997. In this position, he has primary responsibility for the formulation of domestic and international energy policy. From 1991 to 1995, he served as Chair and Commissioner of the Texas Public Utility Commission, the state regulatory agency for electric and telecommunications public utilities. He served as a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, chairing both its Committee on Electricity and Ad Hoc Committee on Electric Industry Restructuring. From 1988 to 1991, he served as an attorney with the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld in Houston. He was with the law firm of Reynolds, Shannon, Miller, Blinn, White & Cook from 1987 to 1988. From 1985 to 1991, he served as an attorney specializing in oil and gas litigation for Tenneco Oil Company. Mr. Gee served as an attorney for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 1979 to 1982, and as an attorney advisor with the Interstate Commerce Commission from 1976 to 1979.

Mr. Gee received B.A and J.D. degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.

The Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy is responsible for research and development programs involving fossil fuels - coal, petroleum, and gas. The fossil energy program involves applied research, exploratory development, and limited proof-of-concept testing targeted to high-risk and high-payoff endeavors. The objective of the program is to provide the general technology and knowledge base that the private sector can use to complete development and initiate commercialization of advanced processes and energy systems. The program is principally executed through the Federal Energy Technology Center. The Assistant Secretary also manages the Clean Coal Technology Program, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and the Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserve.

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