Political Quotes

“I am extremely pleased that the appropriators and this chairman have included a requirement that discretionary grants awarded by the Department of Energy must be disclosed to the House and the Senate in a timely manner, and they must include information about where these funds are going. This is a very positive step forward towards greater transparency and greater ability for this body to have oversight over agencies in the millions of dollars that are being spent on grants. Mr. Chairman, this amendment that I am offering perfects that information about those grants and their ability to be disclosed. In addition to the money, where it would go, and whom it would go towards, it is critical that we know how many entities actually competed for these awards and how the winner was actually selected, so that we know the full transparency of the process itself. Agencies have a tremendous amount of discretion, and they provide millions of dollars to grantees. It is incredibly important that Congress fulfills their responsibility of oversight. Shining a light on how these decisions will be made will allow for critical independent assessments of how the DOE spends its money. Mr. Chairman, these additions I suggest are relatively minor, but it will go a long way to giving Congress greater data on how the Department of Energy functions with their grant process.…”