Political Quotes

“I thank my good friend from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) for filing this, but I must respectfully oppose the amendment. The Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations is primarily responsible for implementing and managing over $21 billion provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. I am keenly aware of the scale of that sum of money and the importance of our oversight responsibility to ensure taxpayer funds are correctly administered. That is exactly why the House bill includes no funding--and I repeat no funding--for the office to conduct new demonstrations and instead, only includes funding for program direction for staff to provide project management oversight. My colleague's amendment would eliminate that function, preventing the office from ensuring that our taxpayer dollars are being used effectively and efficiently. That would directly impact the success of important programs within the office's jurisdiction like the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. The Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program enjoys strong bipartisan support. The program is essential to the deployment of advanced reactors, ensuring our Nation's energy security and regaining U.S. leadership in nuclear energy. We can't abandon our oversight responsibilities and risk the success of programs like these. For these reasons, I must respectfully oppose the amendment, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.”