Pallone Applauds Energy Department's Clean Energy Progress at Energy Budget Hearing with Secretary Granholm

Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) had the following opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, at today's Energy, Climate & Grid Security Subcommittee Hearing titled, "The Fiscal Year 2025 Department of Energy Budget" with Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm:

I would like to start off by welcoming Secretary Granholm. It’s great to have you once again before the Energy Subcommittee.

It’s exciting to see all the hard work pay off from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Together, these laws are expected to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions in the United States to 40 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. These two laws are growing and modernizing our economy for the future, cutting costs for working families, and advancing clean energy projects across the country – all while tackling the climate crisis. Over the coming years, they are expected to create millions of new good-paying American jobs.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is at the forefront of implementing these landmark laws, and new funding announcements are coming out nearly every day. Since the Inflation Reduction Act passed, companies have moved forward with over 500 new clean energy projects, leading to over 271,000 new jobs already.

I am also pleased that the Biden Administration, unlike the previous Trump Administration, is finalizing energy efficiency rules that help Americans save money and reduce emissions. Recently finalized energy efficiency standards for residential refrigerators and freezers could save families more than $36 billion over 30 years, while avoiding 101 million metric tons of carbon emissions. Of course, Committee Republicans continue to target these standards, passing ridiculous bills that are nothing more that gifts to their corporate polluter friends that will raise prices for middle class Americans.

I’m also excited that we are bolstering American manufacturing with massive investments in domestic manufacturing for clean energy and our domestic workforce. Republicans continue to ignore the fact that other countries around the world, including China, are investing in clean energy and ensuring their ability to compete in the global market.

Madam Secretary, under your leadership, we have seen investments of over $120 billion in battery manufacturing and supply chains, and over $35 billion in electric vehicle assembly plants. The private sector is responding to the Administration’s actions and it’s great to see American companies leading the transition to clean energy.

I also want to thank DOE again for its work to examine the impacts of exports of liquified natural gas. The law requires DOE to only approve LNG exports if they are in the public interest, and the studies the DOE had been relying upon were too outdated, particularly considering the tremendous growth in LNG exports we’ve seen over the last eight years. The Administration’s temporary pause on approvals of new exports will give DOE time to determine the impacts of LNG exports on consumer costs, the climate, and the frontline communities that host export facilities.

Turning to the budget, DOE’s fiscal year 2025 budget builds on the impressive progress of the last three years with additional investments of over a billion dollars more than fiscal year 2024 enacted levels, while staying true to the budget deal that President Biden struck with House Republicans last year. These are important and necessary investments to make sure that we continue on the path we’ve created to transition to clean energy and decarbonize our grid.

The investments proposed in the President’s budget are all the more important when you look at the Republican alternatives. Republicans are determined to roll back historic funding for clean energy, strip DOE of its ability to establish efficiency standards, and repeal limits on pollution emissions from power plants and vehicles. They want to double and triple down on coal, oil, and gas – putting polluters over people. And, according to plans like the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, they want to push aside qualified civil servants and replace them with hardline conservatives. Think tanks linked to the Trump campaign have called for the dismantling of DOE offices that manage anything relating to clean energy – they would gut the department and turn it into a fossil fuel advertising agency.

That’s not the right way forward. Instead, I look forward to hearing about how the President’s budget builds on the progress we’ve made over the last few years.

And with that, I yield back the balance of my time.

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