Oversight Democrats Tout DOE’s Efforts to Combat Climate Change and Invest in Clean Energy in Hearing with Sec. Granholm

Washington, D.C. (May 24, 2024)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, led Committee Democrats in highlighting the Department of Energy’s (DOE) efforts to tackle the climate crisis through historic investments in clean energy in a hearing with DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

“Climate change is the defining crisis of our time.  And we know that burning fossil fuels is, by far, the leading factor in contributing to climate change—a fact that fossil fuel companies knew about decades ago, but suppressed,” said Ranking Member Raskin in his opening statement.  “We must break free from the carbon trap, which will require significant effort and investment into the clean energy transition.  The Department of Energy, I believe, is doing that thanks to funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.  Because of these historic investments the American people have made, the U.S. is on track by 2030 to double the amount of clean energy we generate, and to cut emissions by 40% to 50% compared to 2005 levels.” 

At the same time that the United States is producing more oil and gas than ever before, DOE is making historic, necessary investments in clean energy and related jobs.

• In response to a question from Rep. Summer Lee about the size and scale of investments under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and how those investments brought opportunities to disadvantaged, low-income, and marginalized communities, Secretary Granholm explained that the Department of Energy is responsible for approximately $98 billion in funds for energy efficiency and clean energy, and that in implementing those projects: “We’re seeing that double the amount of job creation and benefits are going to disadvantaged communities than the rest of the population, relative to size, so we’re excited about that and we’re excited about the incentives that have been built into the tax credits to locate in disadvantaged communities because that too is causing much more investment in communities that might not have seen it otherwise.”
   
• When asked about record-high U.S. production of oil and gas, Secretary Granholm testified, “We are the world’s largest exporter of liquified natural gas.  We are the world’s largest producer of oil—crude oil—as well.”
   
• Responding to a question from Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton regarding investment in clean energy jobs, Secretary Granholm stated that: “So far, it’s about 800,000 jobs that have been created as a result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, with the projection that it will be 1.5 million.  We’ve created over 15 million jobs, over 15 million jobs have been created since this president took office, more than any president in any term in American history, and part of that has to do with the focus on clean energy and the opportunity that it brings to employ people.”

Investing in clean energy is critical to addressing the climate crisis.

• After stating that “You can’t” combat the climate crisis without transitioning to clean energy, Secretary Granholm responded to a question from Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost about the consequences of falling behind other countries when it comes to clean energy, stating: “Our allies, our economic competitors out there, they’re all vying for a piece of this from an economic point of view.  They see the fact that this is a $23 trillion global market, this clean energy.  All of these countries are going to need the products to be able to get them to their goal.  So, we have a friendly competition with our allies and our adversaries about who’s going to get those jobs, and so on the jobs front—this is very important and it’s why the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have been so impactful—that we've got 600 factories so far that have announced that they are expanding as a result of those incentives in the United States, making us competitive globally.  So, from a global competition economically, it's vital.  Obviously, we’ve got to do our part from a climate change perspective as well.  All of the countries do.  So, we’re working on both fronts, and actually, one complements the other and it’s a win-win.”
   
• Rep. Ayanna Pressley made clear that:  “The climate crisis is real.  The planet isn’t warming, as many experts have cited.  The planet is burning.  It is on fire.  And the Department of Energy is essential to mitigating its harms while ensuring a healthy environment with clean air for all.  Policymakers at all levels of government have a responsibility to do everything we can to transition from dirty fossil fuels.” 

Republicans spread false narratives about the Administration’s “War on Energy” and plan to work with Big Oil to reverse crucial clean energy regulations brought forth by the Administration.

• When asked by Ranking Member Raskin if “climate denialism is dangerous to the future of our country,” Secretary Granholm was unequivocal in her response, stating, “Of course it is.  It’s dangerous to us as humans.  It’s dangerous to our economy as well.  The opportunity in clean energy is enormous across the country.”  
   
• Ranking Member Raskin also made clear that Republicans—led by former President Donald Trump—are in the pocket of Big Oil.  Mr. Raskin told the Secretary: “Recently, the ex-president just went before a whole bunch of oil and gas executives and essentially demanded that they give his campaign a billion dollars, because he was going to release a rash of regulations reversing climate progress and reversing the policies of your administration.  He promised to auction off more leases for oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and has been repeatedly trending chanting at rallies, ‘drill baby drill.’”
   
• Rep. Lee corrected false narratives about climate change and economic security being peddled by those on the other side of the aisle, explaining: “As we’ve heard today, my Republican colleagues would like to use this hearing to bolster this narrative that the Biden Administration is enacting a war on energy, and we recognize that that is falsely promoting this idea that combating the climate crisis is somehow mutually exclusive with promoting economic security.  But we know that this is a decades-old myth that’s been used to excuse the unmitigated polluting of frontline communities, especially, communities like mine.”