Political Quotes

“I share some of my colleagues' concerns about the excess spending at EERE, particularly in light of the billions in increased spending provided in past appropriations bills, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. EERE still has billions in unobligated funds, and that is exactly why this bill, the bill that we have before the House, includes a large reduction to this account. However, in my view, respectfully, my colleague's amendment would go too far to practically eliminate the EERE account. This would impact the important work performed by the national labs and universities to implement the research and development goals of EERE. These goals include advancing energy efficiency solutions for the manufacturing of cement, steel, and iron; creating and improving battery technologies; and developing critical mineral alternatives. While I am a supporter of EERE, I also recognize fossil fuels are going to be an important resource for many years to come. However, I don't believe these two accounts need to be at odds with each other. I personally favor an all-of-the-above approach to meet the Nation's future energy needs. That approach includes strategic reductions to EERE that prioritize research activities like the goals I mentioned earlier. My distinguished colleague's amendment, in my view, upends that strategy and goes too far, respectfully. For these reasons, I must oppose the amendment and urge my colleagues to do the same.…”