Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm Testimony Before the House Committee on Energy & Commerce and the House Appropriations Energy-Water Subcommittee

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Below is Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm's testimony as prepared for delivery today before the House Committee on Energy & Commerce and the House Appropriations Energy-Water Subcommittee.

[...] It’s an honor to appear before you today to discuss the President’s FY 2023 Budget request for the Department of Energy.  

I’m grateful for the support you’ve given our Department—including through the FY 2022 Omnibus legislation. And I applaud your work to ensure secure, reliable, clean and affordable energy for all Americans. 

It’s an effort I am proud to play a part in as the 16th Secretary of Energy.  

Under the Biden Administration, the Department of Energy is committed to increasing energy affordability and resilience. 

We’re committed to securing the clean energy supply chains needed to reduce our reliance on unabated fossil fuels and increase our energy independence. 

And we’re committed to enhancing America’s competitiveness by accelerating scientific discovery and innovation. 

These commitments are reflected in our budget. And a look around the world shows that this is the right focus, with the right priorities, for this moment in history.   

Right now we face a trio of crises: climate change, COVID-19’s effect on supply chains, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The first of those crises cost the United States $148 billion last year alone in dealing with extreme weather events. The second two crises are costing American families right now, as they see prices rising from gas stations to grocery stores.  

Let me be clear: the department is using every tool available to increase oil supply.  

That’s why late last month, President Biden authorized the release of 1 million barrels per day from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the next six months—180 million barrels total—coordinated with international allies and partners who committed to release another 60 million barrels. I appreciate Congress’s support of President Biden’s ban on Russian energy imports.  

We’re also working to offer relief to American families, including through $3.5 billion for the Weatherization Assistance Program provided in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

But ultimately, these crises tell us that global security, energy independence and energy affordability all depend on a shift toward American-made clean energy.  

Fortunately, Congress—through the Energy Act of 2020 and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—has invested in our ability to build clean energy technologies here at home, with American parts and labor.  

I’m grateful to the members of the Committee for the faith they have placed in our department to oversee many of these investments—and the new offices and ambitious clean energy goals that come with them. 

We’re hard at work implementing this legislation. Most recently, for example, DOE began accepting applications for the $6 billion Civilian Nuclear Credit program, to keep existing nuclear energy online and maintain this reliable, secure source of clean baseload power. 

The $62 billion investment from the infrastructure law is an historic long-term investment in projects that will serve our Nation for decades. But it is not, on its own, sufficient to address the nation’s energy challenges.  

That is why our request includes base year funding for efforts to complement the Infrastructure Law and maximize its impact to lower costs, make us energy secure, and provide us with reliable, clean American power.  

The request also supports the Department’s innovative capacity within our Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Science, and 17 National Labs to maintain America’s competitive edge. 

And our budget includes funding across a range of DOE missions that have kept our country safe—from environmental management to nuclear security. 

I am proud of DOE’s work to confront our nation’s most pressing challenges. And I reaffirm my commitment to lead this extraordinary Department as we implement Congress’s legislative actions—from the Infrastructure Law and Energy Act to those still to come, including the Bipartisan Innovation Act and President Biden’s full agenda for building a better America. 

Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I’m happy to answer your questions.