Testimony as Prepared for Delivery by Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm Before the Senate Appropriations, Energy & Water Development Subcommittee

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Below is Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm's testimony as prepared for delivery today before the Senate Appropriations, Energy & Water Development Subcommittee.

Chairman Feinstein, Ranking Member Kennedy, Vice Chairman Shelby and Members of the Committee, 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 proud to lead this Department as the 16th Secretary of Energy, and I’m grateful for the support you’ve given DOE—including through the FY 2022 Omnibus legislation.

Under the Biden Administration, DOE is committed to increasing energy security, 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 —like the $3 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for battery manufacturing we announced on Monday.

And we’re committed to strengthening 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, which cost the United States $148 billion last year alone in damages from extreme weather. Then COVID-19...and now Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is costing American families right now, as they see prices rising from gas stations to grocery stores.

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

In late March, 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—coordinating 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 energy security, independence and affordability all depend on a shift toward American-made clean energy. 

It’s why we’re working with our international allies to advance alternative energy sources and boost clean energy manufacturing.

And it's why we're grateful that Congress—through the Energy Act of 2020 and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—has invested in building clean energy technologies here at home, with American parts and labor.

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

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

And we’re investing in demonstration projects for next-generation nuclear, such as the TerraPower site in Wyoming.

The $62 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is an historic 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 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and maximize its impact to lower costs and provide reliable, clean, secure American power.

For example, the LIHEAP (lie-heap) Advantage Pilot would expand access to cost-saving energy retrofits.

The request also supports our Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Science, and 17 National Labs which sharpen our nation’s innovative capacity and competitive edge.

And our budget includes funding for DOE missions that keep 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 Congressional actions—from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the 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.