OHIO -- If you follow Ohio politics, you’ve known about Representative Marcy Kaptur for a long time.
But the 9th District Democrat begins this new term in the House of Representatives as the chair of an important subcommittee that she says Ohio has a direct stake in.
“The purpose of our subcommittee of energy and water is to sustain life on earth,” Kaptur said in an interview with Spectrum Washington reporter Taylor Popielarz.
It’s a tall task. And Kaptur is taking it on as the first woman to ever lead the group, which is a subcommittee within the House Committee on Appropriations.
“We begin our work this Congress by looking at how much energy our nation produces and consumes currently,” Kaptur said, “how [energy production and consumption] has changed over the last five decades, and what prospects look like for the future.”
That was part of Kaptur’s opening statement at the subcommittee’s first hearing on February 7, where Kaptur formally assumed her historic role.
The 18-term congresswoman had already made history last year when she became the longest serving woman in the House.
But this new milestone comes with a homegrown responsibility.
“We have to remember that Ohio has always been a leader in the energy industry, and we changed the world,” Kaptur said. “And we want to do that again.”
Kaptur has walked the halls toward the House chamber on Capitol Hill for almost 40 years, but she made a point in one interview with Spectrum to talk about a statue that’s in the Capitol rotunda — of northern Ohio native Thomas Edison.
Kaptur said the famed inventor serves as a reminder, and motivation, for Ohio to insert itself in the future of energy innovation.
“I think it would probably be true to say that many, many of the firms in Ohio, or the inventors who are patenting, don’t necessarily see the institutions here in Washington as being a helpful partner to them,” Kaptur said. “And I think we need a little more shoulder-to-the-wheel in that arena.”
She said Ohio’s well-known natural gas supply won’t last forever, while places like Lake Erie offer a foundation for new and renewable energy systems.
But Kaptur said Ohioans have to be more willing to pitch themselves to people in Washington to get more resources and exposure.
It’s on her mind constantly, like at a recent energy innovation event or at a hearing on Wednesday her subcommittee held about the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program.
“We’ve made tremendous progress,” Kaptur said. “Our country is about 90 percent energy-independent now, compared to 40 years ago — for now. But, we have to look beyond the present, to 2100 and beyond.”
Kaptur said energy companies based on the coasts — like in Boston or California — are constantly visiting her office and other members of Congress to build relationships with Washington.
She said Ohio has a lot of hidden — and proven — potential that would be welcomed in D.C.