Spencer Abraham

Trivia

• Abraham has accepted the appointment as Chairman of the Board of Areva Inc., the US subsidiary of the French nuclear energy company.
• Abraham is now a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, an influential conservative think tank based at Stanford University.
• In July 2005, Abraham's wife, Jane, announced that after some consideration she would not be a candidate for the U.S. Senate to challenge Debbie Stabenow.
• On February 14, 2005 the Toronto Star reported that Abraham was on a short list of candidates for American ambassador to Canada to replace Paul Cellucci.
• On November 15, 2004, Abraham announced that he would resign from the position of Secretary of Energy, which took effect with the swearing in of his successor Samuel W. Bodman on February 1, 2005.
• In 1999, Abraham co-sponsored S.896, a bill to abolish the U.S. Department of Energy, which would have transferred control of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in large part to the Defense Department.
• He also chaired two subcommittees: Manufacturing and Competitiveness, and Immigration.
• He served on the Budget, Commerce, Science and Transportation, Judiciary, and Small Business Committees.
• Abraham was a consistent advocate of large-scale immigration and worked relentlessly to lessen immigration controls and regulations.
• He was the only Arab American in that chamber.

Quotes

• “There was a Republican majority of the Senate, and it tempered the nature of the nominations being made.”
• “I have authorized these negotiations in response to the physical disruption of offshore oil production and imports in the Gulf Region caused by Hurricane Ivan's destruction,”
• “We will do this by the securing, removing, relocating or disposing of these materials and equipment - whatever the most appropriate circumstance may be - as quickly and expeditiously as possible,”
• “Instead of waiting until the shortages get so acute that prices go through the ceiling and people across America confront blackouts and other shortage-inspired problems, let's start on it now with the president's comprehensive plan and we can avoid those difficulties,”
• “This administration is extremely concerned,”
• “We have been very concerned over the level of storage, but it has been going better over the last two months. The problem has been mainly on the gas side,”
• “If we face an exceptionally cold winter, it could put a strain on our capabilities and we might face new price hikes,”
• “I don't think anybody should think we're out of the woods yet,”
• “There is overwhelming unanimity that we must act in this fashion if we are to keep our economy strong.”
• “And we intend to do it not just through more supply, but also by balancing supply with conservation, with traditional energy sources against renewable and new sources,”