So we want to thank you all you have done at the department. And at this point for your willingness to step up in a higher capacity. We have our colleagues here this evening texas and louisiana are well represented. Mister deputy secretary you should feel verydu welcome by having these gentlemenmp next to you. We will start with senator cassidy followed by senators cruz and senator kennedy to introduce deputy secretary this morning. Would like to proceed we do have a full complement here this morning and a full house behind you so the introductions do not consume the full morning but we do welcome all the good comments s comments. What a wonderful way to tell me to be brief. [laughter] its a privilegege to represent my friend Dan Brouillette eminently qualified as United States leads the world in all sorts of energy. He shared a longer showed a commitment to Energy Security and understands the importance of us Energy Exports to lower Greenhouse Gas emissions abroad. Committed to innovation to be at the forefront of groundbreaking technologies serving as the assistant secretary of Intergovernmental Affairs department of energy under george w. Bush staff director for energyy Commerce Committee and member of the Louisiana State energy board bringing a wealth of knowledge and unique perspectiveun ideally suited for the job i urge his confirmation and look forward to his role. Welcome to the Energy Committee senator crew. Im very glad to be here members of the committee it is my privilege too help introduce Dan Brouillette to the committee with apologies to my friend friends from louisiana. Texas claims him maybe we dont have to resolve that this morning many of you know he is a dedicated advocate to American Energy if you dont know him well i can tell you he is eminently qualified and will do an exceptional job as a nest Secretary Department of energy. Serving both our country and United States army proudly lives in San Antonio Texas they have raised nine beautiful children much like an army preparing to stand with their father. After he served in the military he transitioned to energy and commerce in the house of representatives 2001 through 2003 serving as the assistant secretary ofu energy from Intergovernmental Affairs serving at the mineral and energy board for three years and over the past 25 years serving as deputy secretary of energy in addition to years of Public Service he also has extensive private sector experience spearheading the team as Vice President at ford and also led Public Policy at usaa as senior Vice President where we became friends leading the team in san antonio. The expertise in relationships and gravitas the secretary of energy needs to be effective. This is a critical time as this committee knows well we are currently experiencing in a very an Energy Renaissance with United Statesrs becoming the numberr one producer of oil and natural gas on the planet surpassing both russia and saudi arabia with crude Oil Production also becoming a net exporter of natural gas a milestone not reached since 1957 strong leadership at the department of energy is needed now more than ever and a final point when it comes to tenacity we want cabinet secretaries to benc strong and able to conquer enormous challenges i believe dan possesses those characteristics number one the nine beautiful children that dan and adrian have they have homeschooled which if you want to talk about a labor of love and passion and commitment it is hard to think of anything more daunting for that matter any bureaucracy pales and compared to the joys and challenges of nine beautiful kids at home. Secondly i have the good fun to join me at game three of the world series. Here innm dc where we both unabashedly cheered for the houston astros. And the loan splashes of orange in a sea of red if you want to test the measure of a man he was willing to be surrounded by screaming fans and happily cheered on the astros we won the game but did not win the war but nonetheless he will be a aterrific energy secretary. Well said. We will now turn to our friend and colleague senator kennedy. Thanks for all of you to take up the nomination of secretary brouillette he operates basically as the ceo of department of energy and with your consent he will be elevated to the position of secretary. Dan is not from texas. [laughter] he is from louisiana which as you know is near napoleon phil when he grew up there we both grew up in small towns 211 people now theres 911 i grew up in a town called zachary which was slightly bigger when i grew up a small town is the way i have always described it its a place where Everybody Knows whos check is good and whosev spouse is not. [laughter] dan is a rock star as far as y,im concerned we have seen such a dramatic change in this world in the last 25 years i remember our Energy Policy used to be we will buy as much oil as we can from countries that hate us and through those sales we will give money to buy weapons to try to kill us thankfully the world has changed we have had a revolution of fossil fuels frankly with the federal government hanging over her its back through technology has unleashed enormous amounts of energy from shale that we alsor understand and getting into a debate about Climate Change that melting glaciers dont lie so now to look at all punitive forms of energy wind and solar and geothermal and nuclear. He gets all that. In part through his experience for go he and adrian are both veterans. He is a veteran of the service in military and in the State Government level. He is a veteran of having served the congressman in the house of which he already has a place in heaven. [laughter] and has served with distinction as deputy secretary he is a serious man. He exercises power intelligently not emotionally. And he and adrian will make a great team and he will be an extraordinary secretary of department of energy and this louisianap and has my wholehearted and unconditional support. Thank you senator kennedy. Mister deputy secretary its nice to have two different states to buy for your love and attention you have left an impression. We will not claim him but we will adopt him from alaska. Thank you. We know you have tight schedules but thank you for joining us as part of the committee and welcoming introductions. I will make brief remarksgono ad then we will swear you win and then hear your testimony which will hopefully include more formal introductions of your family we certainly welcome all of them it truly is aar testament to you and your wife to haveor them with you this morning as a treat. I for one am very glad you are here before us as the president s nominee to be secretary of energy. We have seen during your time you really have to create a solid agenda for the department to be focused on the science and technology you brought us into the world of quantum and artificial intelligence. You have been very responsive to the Committee Available to speak with members when asked to do so my senses you made a good impression on just about everyone so when it was indicated the secretary would be stepping down to me, you are the obvious choice to replace secretary perry in what he refers to as the coolest job he has ever had but i thank you share that enthusiasm for this important space bar i do appreciate your willingness to come to not only places like alaska but travel around to many of the states to see the opportunities like the state like alaska has to see firsthan firsthand. The first trip that you took following your confirmation as deputy secretary was to join me in alaska we went to the energy fair where you could see to learn about the potential for geothermal. And the blue lagoon. No no no. Thats not the blue lagoon but the springs like and further evidence with Food Security that deputy secretary and i share and i understand you and etur garage it all comes together. But you came back this past august in visited very small remote villages and we went to the lab and up on the volcano in some very important and impressive field ship trips so you know i will invite you back because there is more to be seen but should we confirm you as i expect we will to be at the helm of the department of energy it is an exciting time the country is a leading Energy Producer as senator cruise has mentioned and a disruptor of the World Markets providing friends and allies energy while creating jobs and prosperity at home with exciting technologies like advanced Nuclear Energy and Carbon Capture. We have the opportunity to push out the boundaries of scientific discovery to build on our staff as a Global Leader in energy we look to all the promise that National Labs provide in those committed professionals that are in pursuit of these new discoveries one of the biggest assets the Research Capabilities continue to be the envy of the world and the challenges that we meet it is no secret the president s budget request for department of energy has fallen short of the expectationsre that we have articulated in this Committee Congress has rejected the funding levels each year providing steady increases for programs some anticipating you will be confirmed i will ask you continue to fight for sufficient funding for programs to pursue these technologies to make energy cleaner and more reliable and efficient and certainly more affordable because thats what it will take to sustain energy longterms now i will turn to my colleague for his comments and will have an opportunity to ask questions throughout the morning questions after this round we will ask the be submitted by close ofhi business. Thank you for holding this hearing on the nomination i want to welcome his family and his amazing wife and their nine beautiful children i know you are both proud. And also willing to serve in this post for our great nation i enjoyed our discussion earlier this week and i look forward with us today is the director we want you to come back many more times we want to be cyberheadquarters we think we would be a terrific job so thank you to the importance the secretarys job is enormous the secretary of energy is responsible for leading science and Technology Enterprise the 17 National Laboratories with cuttingedge research and technological breakthrough to meet her energy needsan to keep strong and secure at the same time the secretary must oversee the Nuclear Weapons stockpile the people dont realize thats the purpose of the entire stockpile. The event doing this successfully for the greatest fence program in the world guarding against nuclear proliferation. The secretary is responsible for the Worlds Toughest environmental cleanups and other Cold War Nuclear weapon sites and to see the full power those that supply electricity providing dams in 34 states if thats not enough youre responsible to manage an annual budget of close to 3 billion effort to protect the Nations Energy sector from cyberattack which is uader attack every day. This is an enormous job. But i dont mister brouillette is up to the task and thank you for stepping forward as a father of nine hes bound to be a skilled manager i give adrian more credit for that a long history of Energy Issues and he has visited on more than one occasion serving as staff director energy commercea committee that the department as an assistant secretary of energy during the Bush Administration and of course as deputy secretary the past two years he knows the department in congress and Energy Issues facing the nation also demonstrated his managerial skills and as a senior Vice President of usaa that Insurance Financial services giant serving members ofse military and their families the senate has confirmed him twice before for go today i will follow up on our conversations from earlier this week about energy stsecurity. Overall the president has chosen wisely and im pleased to support your nomination thank you for holding this hearing today thank you and your entire family and your willingness to serve. Thank you to make the rules of the committee which apply to allnd nominees i ask you please rise and raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear the testimony you are about to give the Senate Committee shall be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth cracks before you begin i will ask you three questions we posed to each nominee before the committee will you be available to appear before this committee to represent devout departmental issues quick. Yes i well. Any personal Holdings Investments or interest that could constitute a conflict should you be confirmed at the office to which you been nominated by the president quick. No. Do you have any assets and blind trust quick. I do not. You may proceed again we would encourage introduction of family and welcome them to the committee look forward to your statement this morning. Thank you chairman for that kind introduction on a day like today im not sure i can remember all their names left half but i will do my best a starting from the side my daughter jackie, julia, jackie, julia, addie, my lovely wife adrian, my son christopher, sam and my oldest stephenle. Welcome to the entire crew. Members of the committee and staff have known me for a long time thank you for the opportunity to appear before you to be the secretary of energy thank you for being such strong partners for the Us Department of energy through the years and i look forward to continue to work with each of you should i be confirmed by the senate i also like to thank President Trump for his trusted me and to secretary perry for his outstanding leadership of this department over the past three years. Members of the committee as deputy secretary im proud to be a small part of the success we have seen in American Energy 17 National Laboratories play a central rolet to advance americas leadership with development and Energy Technology in Nuclear Security. This enterprise is powered by the most talented and includinginnovators 117 Nobel Laureates associated with our department seated behind me are some directors in the National Laboratory of like to recognize for their incredible leadership tom zacharia from oak ridge doctor anderson with the department of energy and Martin America ranks number three behind china and switzerland we knew america could do better so we did better we built the two fastest supercomputers now america is back at number one but there is still much more to be accomplished. We are committed to Building Three new computing machines following the leadership of this development of the National Quantum initiative with those capabilities our researchers are tackling the worlds greatest energy and scientific questions constructing the next generation of worldclass science facilities that are the incubators for the worlds cuttingedge that is the power of discovery through the power of innovation the United States is leading the world in Energy Production in america has become the worlds top producer of oil and natural gas and soon we will become a net energy exporter. But her story includes historic growth in Renewable Energy. Today america is the secondhighest generator of wind and solar energy in the world. We also making sustained progress in the as we honor the obligations of yesterday we must prepare for the threats of tomorrow and the strengths of Nuclear Security for making significant progress modernizing our Nuclear Weapon enterprise. While this progress is substantialng, we are poised to play an even larger role in developing an even Brighter Future for america. I commit to each of you today that ithat its unfortunate impat could be confirmed, i will work earnestly with each of you to address the challenges and opportunities of today and tomorrow. I look forward to answering your questions on the arctic issues in the United States we are in arctic nation and i believe that we have a significant leadership role president s bad we hades just six weeks ago at the Arctic Circle assembly, the number of National Lab Directors that were part of the conference was noteworthy and generated a buzz and level of excitement about the role that the United States is playing in this sector. For the levels on these arctic related issues and asco you spek to that to come to alaska to see some of the benefits that come from an Energy Producing state not only with our label and gas and fossil resources and what we host with micro grid micro grie wind ate the fine, the solar, everything we are doing to reduce our reliance on the diesel power generation. Generation. You solve the efforts of the Climate Housing Research Center in efforts to bring about greater efficiencies as you know ive been working to push for greater coordinated research and the state. For the office within this context arctic and the department of energy if you could address that, please. Madam chairman, thank you. To answer the question very straightforwardly answer simply, we need to do more, not less. You can expect from the department of energy should i be nconfirmed and increased engagementnt model me in the arctic region generally. Some of the things we have seen over the years, and we all have different perspectives. I know some of you served on the Armed Services committee and for are focused on those issues, for those of us in the Energy Business and the Energy Industry and the policy industry, we see the arctic as a model me a resource fornd critil memorable and potentially environmentally Sensitive Energy development, we see it for the purpose of not just extracting oil and gas i think its expanded beyond that much further than we could have imagined they had what i mean by that is as we move to a world of more and more Renewable Energy and the minerals we currently and rely upon are the development of this type of batteries we become dependent upon the nationstates who quite candidly do not have our interests at heart and it is potentially a resource for this type of minerals. I will tell you from where i s sit, what you can expect from us is attendance at events like the upcoming 2020 congress in iceland. We will have a strong robust presence. The doe will also help lead come into this may sound a little bit counterintuitive for those who are not familiar with iceland or places in the arctic we will lead a supercomputing congress in 2020. We are very excited about that and wee think the outreach is important. Again for strategic reasons but also for the Energy Development and our Energy Security in the United States. I am sure that we can anticipate further engagement and enhance engagement because as you know, t not just energy, it is commerce and environment and the impact we are seeing from a rapidly changing part of the globe. Very quickly on the office of indian energy. Its one of the smaller offices there in the doe t has in outsie importance in my state. A key partner for the communities that really need to work to reduce the high energy cost. Right now we have one employee that is they are in the state. Years ago because a commitment to increase that. I know that you have seen this, but i am once again seeking commitment to recognize the potential that we have and make sure that we are starting appropriately. We are going to expand the office of indian energy. We are currently in the market to higher, so that will be expanded. We will open in Arctic Office that will be fully staffed by the end of 2020, so i can give you those two commitments. I hope it demonstrates our interest in and of the strategic importance to the u. S. Department off energy. The Arctic Energy office we think is going to be the key again, only for the u. S. Arctic, but i think for the arctic as a whole. So we thank you for that. O senator mentioned. Thank you madam chair. The secretary of energy has a legitimate role in establishing and then implementing policies related to these issues and in that role the secretary helped broker a deal for the u. S. Called the ukraine is promoted u. S. Liquefied natural gas as an alternative to ukraines dependence on merchant gas. Unfortunately, those efforts have landed him in the middle of the house of representatives investigation into the president s involvement with ukraine. Can you state what role you have played in any of this work do you have any knowledge of this . In that context and position as the deputy secretary, i have helped to organize we focused on issues like the pipeline that is being built down into the northern part of germany to counter those efforts and to lessen the dependence of states like germany. We have worked very hard to offer alternatives. Part of that has been the construction of the facilities here in the United States. But its also working with countries like germany. Croatia, serbia, others in the of ukraine to develop the import facilities we have been very engaged with them. With regards to the country of ukraine have worked with them at their request to help them interconnect the electricity grid, pipeline grid and in order to do that we need to use the requirements of the Energy Package in the eu so they have sought out our Technical Expertise to do those things. My role within the department is to run the data operations and as you mentionede earlier it isa Large Organization that is approaching 40 billion of budget and well over 100,000 federal employees and contractors. So, that along with this keeps me prettyy busy. Thank you, sir. I think youve heard us talk about the appellation story before. Secretary perry and i have a Good Relationship being former governors. He said ive seen the models of the hurricane coming up the eastern channel. Do you have the same feeling of depth and commitment of the backup supply can also reinvigorating the Manufacturing Base that we could have in the middle Atlantic States . I do. Having grown up in the louisiana and survived the hurricane if you will, i know what they look like and what they feel like and it could be a very disturbing experience to have to go through one. It pains me as i told you in your office to have to suggest perhaps against the interest of louisiana that we should have an alternative and redundancy in our Storage Capacity systems. And in that regard i think appalachia presents the best opportunity in america to do exactly that. Is the area rich in natural resources, webcast, dry gas, you name it, the labour talent is incredible. E it reminds me of the places i grew up in louisiana. People are hardworking. They trained themselves while and show up every day on time and its important for these type of things because they are related to the National Security. I know you touched briefly on this with the chairman concerning over the minerals and the lack of being able to sustain that within the country. And now with the countries that have relied on those fundamentals theyly are not alws in our best interest and they could hold us in a hostage situation and be detrimental. Theres an awful lot going on in the research youve been involved with especially the last grant that we did with the deputy do you think that could be an increase to the commercial were basically to sustain the need we have in the case of the critical shortage . That is part of the work being done to address the type of opportunities in the coal industry and all others as wel. To the extent that we can continue the organdy that is currently being done, we can make these type of technologies not only commercially viable but economically viable in largescale and i think that is what we need to focus on at the department, and that is going to be my mission as the secretary, should i be confirmed by the u. S. Senate. I think theres a lot of opportunity for the coal and ai lot of opportunity for other parts of the country as well. Thank you, madam chair. Senator barrasso. Thank you for holding this hearing. I had an opportunity to meet last week and im very impressed with his knowledge, experience and commitment to advancing technology. Rgy and i think that he would make a superb victory of energy. Apartment has been a great job investing in research to advance domestic energy. What starts here in the u. S. Can change the world and we are developing Energy Technologies herear at home and then pushingo get these technologies to the deployment stage, countries around the world are doing the same. If confirmed, how would you coordinate Research Efforts to ensure that the efforts are duplicates or redundant doing what other people are doing . Thats always a challenge, senator, to be honest. The department are very, very big but i will tell you that some of the unique opportunities that we have a think unique to the department of energy. I think wyoming in particular represents a unique opportunity for us to check for tes test our technologies. I cant speak this morning. Test technologies like Carbon Capture. And im very excited about the work that i see with in wyoming. I appreciate thats great work to be done in wyoming and theto school of Energy Resources and test center. Im fully on board. When we look at what is happening worldwide, we need to get the technologies that are developed and deployed as we look at china and india and if youre going to continue to grow their economies and continue to release Carbon Dioxide as they build out industrial transportation sectors. The United States cant tackle Climate Change alone. We need to work with others to find a solution to manage Carbon Dioxide without killing our economy and killing jobs. Once we find that commercial Carbon Capture solution, how can we deploy the technology to these other countries that do have growing economies like china ande india who seem to be the ones that continue to be the greatest emitters worldwide. Theres an enormous amount of technology and research and product if you will. Our job as the owners if you will of the taxpayerfunded technologyv to ensure that it gets commercialized and we take it off the shelf and put it into the market and allow the private sector to run with it, to commercialize it and have it spread around the world because as you know, sir, and as we talked about the use of some of these fossil fuels, we will continue this well into the 2040, 2050 timeframe. Our Energy Information administration is as it is known in the department o department y projects also fuels are going to power a large portion of the energy needs and if that is the case i think we have an obligation if we care about the climatee if we care about minimizing the carbon impact theyve established a working group to make recommendations to enable them to continue. I encourage the working group to make its recommendations to the president to provide immediate relief for the american uranium producers. S. Do you separate actions to preserve and strengthen our own american uraniumum production. I do, i do. The working group is very close to its final product and im happy to report you that its in the final stages of the interagency process within the executivepr branch. It will look at the entirety of the fuel cycle for the Nuclear Power from the enrichment. The front end of the cycle all the way to the back end of the cycle. We are proud of that work and we hope to share it with you very shortly. And the department o departmy Pacific Office of cyber o security, Energy Security and emergency response. It addresses Energy Related emergencies and disruptions and as we know it could devastate the Rural Communities in the country and urban areas specifically. If confirmed, how will you work to ensure that they are prepared for Cyber Attacks and have the resiliency and the robustness to protect ourselves . We have what is called the Electricity Sector coordinating council. Its made up of ceos of criminallywh larger utilities to talk about issues like cybersecurity. Part of them are almost always utilities as you all know we call it crisp. In these utilities we have heard from smaller municipals in particular the productro is too expensive. We need to violate the electricity grid, and we have done a pretty good job over the last two years of educating the small utilities and letting them know the risks they faced not only for their utility but to the extent they are connected with large utility it creates the door so they have been very sensitive and very responsive to our efforts and we hope to continue them in the course of the next two to three years. Thank you madam chair. Thank you very much, madam chair. Why dont you were deputy secretary of energy, the secretary communicated with highlevel ukrainian officials and the president s production with rudy giuliani, his personal attorney about the ukraine related matters but press reports also indicate secretary perryat pushed the Ukrainian Government to make changes at the board, the ukrainian stateownedth natural gas compa, and the reason im asking the question i as these efforts echo changes to the board that were salt chai t 56 solved by two ofe justices. Just a couple of questions here. Were you aware of any contacts between secretary perry or any other senior doe officials and representatives of nafta . Im aware that the secretary met on occasion with individuals who were asking for assistance with the restructuring if you will or the reorganization of the state owned enterprise. And its a vertically integrated company. In order for them to connect, we had conversations about their structure. Were you involved . No sir, i was not. I come at the department of energy is and e. And a secretary. I am not aware of any conversation that he had with either mr. Giuliani or others in the government about the board or the Advisory Board is associated. So, i am still a littlee bit unclear. Are you aware of the nature of any communications with them because initially you said you knew that there were communications, so being the deputy, i would be inclined to say somebody like yourself who is knowledgeable, i watched youl over the years, wit with no abot the nature of the conversation. Tell me a little bit about that. Im not aware of the conversations that the secretary had or didt not have directly. I wasnt party to that and i didnt have any knowledge of that. I am aware that within the department, there are technical experts from time to time will interact with colleagues about these type of matters but im not aware of any conversations between the secretaryry and anye there. Are you aware of any conversations mr. Giuliani has had with the department on this . I am not. If you have not had any contact. I have not. The only other thing i wanted to touch on is yesterday in the office, and i appreciated the visit you made it clear to me that because of their Important Role ine making sure there was affordableor energy in north america you would keep the idea of privatizing them off the table. I want to let you know i appreciate it and if you want to add anything to what you told me yesterdayto in the office, i appreciate the fact that you responded directly to thatcome to the question. Obviously, privatizing would hit the Pacific Northwest like a wrecking ball, and youve answered the question forthrightly and i appreciate it and i also want to hold the record open with respect to the questions i asked dealing with secretary. And other officials at the department. I know our people indicated that we were going to ask the most questions, but certainly i want to give you the opportunity if theresto additional supplementl material on that. As i said, i was particularly concerned because these press reports did come up at a time when these two indicted associates of mr. Giuliani reportedly seeking changes to the board and there seems to be some conversations that took place between the department and i will hold the record open if you would like to give me any additional information. Madame secretary, madam chair. Thank you, senator. Mr. Secretary, great to see you here. Your family is unbelievable. Thank you, sir. Just great and really fun to s,meet them. Thanks for coming by a the offi. You have a greatr track record over there. We appreciate your service and the service of your family very much. In north dakota we produce 25 Million Barrels of oil a day and second only to one of your texas. We also produce more than 3 million cubic feet of gas a day. We dont even drill for gas it just comes up with the oil. Essentially free in north dakota because weve got to get it to thee markets. Where im going with this is we need infrastructure. I mean, when i started as governor of the 2000 we produce 100,000 a day and now its 1. 5 million a day gone up. And weve got we need pipelines, we need lng facilities. Howd whow do we get more infrastructure to get this to market . Pacific northwest, theres just a lot of places that really want rkis energy, but we need to get it. We need infrastructure. How can you help us . One of the ways we can help us to work with our regulators that of thbut that the state anl level to get some assistance. The most efficient way to please infrastructure. We also got the developmen put f additional Pipeline Capacity in the United States. We have worked very aggressively with our partners in places like the department of energy, department of interior, at the department of transportation to let them know one of the most critical needs, what are the most critical concerns that we have as the department of energy for the placement of infrastructure, and what do i mean by that, as we talk about things like cybersecurity for instance, if you think about what the world was you know, say ten years ago, 15 years ago, 20 wyears ago, where pipeline for natural gas pipeline may have served, you know, two, perhaps three electric generation facilities for toda, today is md six or seven, perhaps eight, and if we can expand that in the electric generation world, if we could expand that and how, you know, a number of pipelines serving those seven or eight electric generation facilities, we not only allow the market, we reduce the risk of Cyber Security risk in particular with that type of development, so sharing the insight, sharing the the National Laboratories with the regulators will perhaps ease some of the topermitting that has to happens a result of these developments. So, that is our contribution to those particular problems. We want to continue that. In the cold world, we are all working to find ways to capture the carbon sequestered in and in our part of the world, texas, louisiana, other places, that is the recovery is was just a geological storage. Its technically feasible. Weve got to make it commercially viable, so we need your help, with carbon safe. We have our product. First question, you want to come up and see what we are doing out there. We would appreciate you seeing it. Its amazing stuff, great partnership, federal, state and private sector leading the technology. University dakota, erc, products that you support, protect . Sure. We need both to keep the carbon safe moving. You aresu committed to doing th. And we need to work with the tax woedits afforded by you and others. I spoke with the irs commissioner and read it yesterday i think they are committed to keep this moving. We have regulatory certainty you are committed to helping with those things as well. That is correct. The secretary sent a letter just recently as a matter of fact. We are urging them to complete their work on finalizing this. At the scientific aspect to this. As thats right. And they thought our help as well and we have provided it. I hearken back to the words of the folks like the International Energy agency in paris. He called this a game changer, and we feel strongly that it is as well, so we are going to continue. To work with the irs o finalize the rolling and were also going to work within the department of defense the to technology so that it becomes more efficient and cheaper. That is what we really need to do. That is right it is a game changer if wewh make this work e will be able to capture the co2 on things like the coalfired electric andnd others. That isnt just something that will happen in the United States, it will happen around the world. Its a big deal. And of course you are right to point on it. And then the last question is regarding the National Nuclear labs and making sure that we continue to advance that work on the plutonium pits and the other things that nobody really needs the military needs forget about is whether it is the lrs, replacing the outcomes, the icbm, all those kind of things, your commitment to doing that. We are absolutely committed to doing that. We have to sync up at the nuclear lab. We appreciate your willingness to serve. Thank you madame chair. Thank you for sitting down with me yesterday we had a chance to get to know each other a little bit over theer years. I know you have been out to los alamos in your current capacity want to extend an invitation as well to the plant it is oneofakind and its very helpful to actually get down inside that facility to understand the role that it plays. But on the transmission side of infrastructure we have got to do a better job in this country will books have been written to develop interstate transmission right now and if we carry out some of the best cheap and clean Renewable Generation in the country with the demand we have to buildwh transmission literally multiple billions of dollars worth of wind developed tomorrow and in mexico if we had a way to get it to market. What is the departments role to help facilitate transmission and not just its role but also resiliency and other issues that you have brought up today quick. I mentioned in my Opening Statement we have developed a north american resiliency model and as part of that effort also with Critical Infrastructure throughout the United States and a large portion of that is Transmission Infrastructure so what needs to be served in the event of a catastrophic eventti in our view that is reviewed by congress and others what is it we need to do for Public Safety to turn the lights on quickly whether recovering from. A catastrophic event or to maintain some level of resiliency from military installation that effort is beginning to identify huge Transmission Needs so i know you are interested in this you mentioned a couple weeks ago with the construction and development because this is critical to our Defense Network as well. Is also important for the reasons. And then those are very proud at the time and then the challenge is you cant wait. But moving that electricity arfrom your part of the world is a challenge at times. So if we see that continue development. To avoid the worst impacts of. Climate change it is clear with those Current Missions we would have to pull carbon back out of the air. R. It with those Research Efforts is something you are willing to focus on and commit to quick. Absolutely. One of my frustrations and with those standards. And not gettingwa the attention they are due. With those 19 new standards overall. Are you committed to showing doe will meet its legal obligations with efficiency standards quick. We will do that. Lastly the chair mentioned there has been a mismatch with a broad bipartisan support which we all recognize has been incredibly helpful to our natio nation. As we have discussed in the past on the branches of government. And fully aware of the budget process. Now that i find myself on the executive branch i will fight for these programs because its important to understand to haveys finals alone final say that comes over to the congress. Thats what we were to ask. A very tactical and explicit answer at the end. Innovation which we are all interested in there was a quote yesterday from Federal Reserve chair saying Energy Independence of the us is something people have talked never thoughten it would happen but it has its a great thing. Its a great thing. Its a great thing. What you have been discussing today is innovation. That the senator t focused on the coal y aspect but as we read both the us and worldwide that is important natural gas is increasingly beating out in the geology of louisiana i would think it is ideal for 45 qs thes storage of Carbon Dioxide moving in an old oil well to create more incentive to set up industry and set up in our states work out we have a recommendation to pursue this but how do you ramp up the gas research and Development Aspect post enactment cracks back i would like to take a closer look. Thank you for taking time to meet with me in your office. I heard bits and pieces of the Natural Gas Industries interest in this but you made it perfectly clear the impact and Revenue Streams and what the future could look like t. I must tell you that i am not fully understanding all aspects but i understand clearly what you want to go and i support that. So i would like to study it more not only your office but the National Laboratoriesik to talk to noaa also steve ashby and other laboratories as well and then to incentivize this to come to the market. So what are the barriers to the Carbon Capture technology cracks is that something we have to explore further quick. We are now waiting on the rule of 45 q if we could establish some certainty so we can do a lot. And the Appropriations Committee have been very supportive of our work so we have to have certainty with the tax law. The International Energy agency imagine our project with Greenhouse Gas emissions. Must be related to expanding populations in asia and africa and thegr fact so now it occurs to me if the eu and us reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions converting from coal to natural gas why should we not build in that natural gas capability cracks for industrial processes. Both the market loss as well as the overall increase of Greenhouse Gas emissions. So what can we do to promote liquefied natural gas instead of the coal fire that is built so its our technology and cleaner burning quirks to make having a chief commercialization officer. And to share more broadly. Also the policy that says wait and Energy Industry with consequences not just for jobs using coal instead of gas. And then just to go on beyond that transferability with an industrial policy. Thats with the department of energy looking at us commerce to adopt a National Industrial policy thats what Congress Wants to do we would be supportive of t that if we sell the natural gas around the world as a potential and replacing of other parts of energy then attach it to have the bestof of both worlds. O offset the emissions. When senator barrasso said we cant tackle Climate Change alone. Into hope the pair on the president will rejoin the paris climate accords the only International Standards one molecule coming from carbon is just as much is anywhere coming from anywhere else in the world. And with those other signatories to the paris accord everybody tries to claim you today if your ancestors hadd gone west or south and then you would be from maine. [laughter] so now i know how to pronounce your name because manywe people of similar extraction in the northern part of our state. And i dont know if you do more than research. With the department of energy. So i just want to have you reassure me that your commitment will be to a strong and vigorous. These are very important in the National Interest in my view. One of the things i would like to work with this committee of mine is the research we are currently doing. We have a tremendous organization to see the next generation of the renewables and then for these to take for granted. And to think of these in a slightly different way. We have thought about Battery Storage is filling a gap if the sun doesnt shine. And then to think in a more broad context. With a National Security issue. Oak ridge has a relationship with university of maine thats very beneficial to both sides its very exciting. Im looking forward to it. And to have positive benefits in the economy neighbors and friends when those lng levels rise ton a critical level then to have prices domestically. And i am in the consuming business. And the low price of natural gas is a competitive advantage i would hate to see us lose that this happened in australia. G is this something you have an interest or a concern i forget what the acronym stands for off the top of my head but with the increased production to have a dramatic impact on price with that expanded export capacity. And then just want to keep an eye on it. With 100 worth of exportt capacity now you say we have double domestic prices per i think this is something that should carefully be weighed because of t the effects on the us economy. Im out of time but but the methane associated with extraction of natural gas it is 84 times as potent as natural gas and it serves as a Greenhouse Gas. 25 percent is methane. I am worried we are not adequately controlling that. And that we need to Pay Attention to. I will respond. Thank you Ranking Member first i want to invite you to montana and to see firsthand the issues that you had that moch that we have a big sky country. For one of those true states that does offer an Energy Portfolio. So then the Missouri River is formed in montana with lots of water. Oil,gas,wind,solar,geothel , powers our state. And also with a booming tech sector. Ar and quantum computing optics and then enter on icbms house in montana. So if you come out we will talk more about these issues on the ground. And then as it relates to the Energy Portfolio hydropower makes up in montana and it keeps the lightss on and the heat on in the wintertime. We also have a growing wind and solar generation and strong potential for geothermal. However montanas balanced Energy Portfolio has gone under attack with premature force closuress of units and then reaching across the northwest with extreme radical group and but also about the livelihood and the tax base of the Coal Community that relies on the power plant in the coal mine that feeds it. And then with that baseload supply in montana one possibility is the advancement of Carbon Capture technology laid out in bipartisan effects. Will you work with me in the committee to protect and grow baseload power to maintain a secure and balanced Energy Portfolio cracks. It has been the policy of this administration to pursue the all of the above Energy Strategy the reasons for doing that the most important forces that view with Energy Security with allies across the world its very important we continue to produce energy from all sources in the United States the other reason its important is that until we are able to develop Battery Storage that is longerlasting capacity for some respects it is important the baseload power exists because withoutes it if we are objective and candid the adoption of renewables into the grid is very difficult so its important where the generations can remain online down the road the other resilience model that we are working on with the Critical Infrastructure throughout the United States i can commit to you at the department of energy we will look at these types of facilities to see if they fit that potential model that there is anything we should be concerned about with the loss of that institution for the military installations you have identified in your state. Mister brouillette i appreciate the balanced and common sense view managing portfolio and risk Going Forward i support these options when is called intermittent because it doesnt blow all the time until we solve the problem of storage will have a challenge that relates to a these renewables and technology will solve them but thank you for hearing my concerns today and i look forward to being the next secretary of energy. Mister brouillette congratulations on your nomination thank you for meeting with me this week in my office. As you well know and to play a role want to ask a couple of questions as itit relates obviously with respect to Yucca Mountain do you the fuel crack. Thank you for the kind words the policy question before us is really a policy question to make a esdetermination as we have discussed in the past im obligated to follow the law and i am also obligated for money that hasnt been appropriated in those directives given by the congress. Then until the Congress Makes a decision nothing will happen. Thank you for your response. So our bill would require doe secretary to get consent from state and local communities including thed governor or government as well as tribal communities. And i would be happy to provide you a direct answer. From the Savannah River site working through secretary perry as codified with the site in 2021. And then committed to have that agreement. And then we will honor that agreement. And then to be notified that doe violated to ship mislabeled waste to the site. Duringng the meeting you said it was completing a report of the shipping policies and procedures. What can you provide me the people of nevada will not violate its contracts with the state or allow to be missed transported from one facility to another crack. As we talked about immediately following bad instant incident i called you and the governor and the delegation of the incident. Following our conversations the secretary directed me within the department within 30 or 45 days away. The first draft of a complete report. But what i continue at this point in time is that we have found very minor deficiencies Public Safety and what we found has never been at risk. Will that be made public quick. It will. So between Yucca Mountain and the waste sent to the test site as secret plutonium shipments is there a reason to trust doe at this point. So if confirmed what steps will you take to improve communication and trust with the state of nevada quick. I appreciate your concerns i have family there someone very sensitive to these issues as well. I can give youou my personal commitment i will spend personal time on these issues and be available to you and your staff and work diligently to apply the skill sets that i think i bring to the table to look at these types of processes within the department of energy to ensure they are robust and follow proper procedures and following regulations we are all guided by within the department itself. Part of that is mapping out or changing the culture of some of these organizations i will give you my personal commitment i will make every effort to do that. Thank you. Thank you chairwoman good to see you again arizona is really leading in these technologies with the above all Energy Strategy that we appreciate the departments commitment to that we have a hydropower generated by the grand canyon dam and the Nuclear Plant and growing solar array with sunshine and wideopen states we are now number three in arizona with the opportunity to grow but as mentioned we still need breakthrough technologyd Arizona Research institution so we just want to get your perspective working with universities and the private sector specifically because we will head a point we cannot go much further with these energy initiatives. You are absolutely right i look forward to working with you shall i be confirmed to figure out these tough problems. We are very interested to develop the talent we need to hire over the next five or ten years we can see that to a number of different avenues maybe we could do one in arizona but recently here at the national Renewable Energy in boulderr colorado working closely with the university of colorado boulder with the program focused on Renewable Energy thats a partnership with the lab itself i would like to explore opportunities like that as well to build a pipeline of talent coming into these areas to work on these tough Problems Technology itself we discuss some of it but there is another i effort again not in arizona but on the west coast that we call the story age launchpad with the specific it is a fantastic operation and opportunity we have to develop technologies not just smaller what you see in their homes but we are very excited about that. Great. Like to invite you to arizona as well. For these universities to participate in these initiatives also with the supply chain people advocate for green energy and then say you must be pro mining because those materials come out of the ground and then i get a blank stare that copper we produce more than 55 percent that Raw Materials like cobalt and others are critical to build other things so we cant have green tech without mining and american mining also technology to have the greenest environment is something that should be supported at recycling has to be part of this as well keeping up with my fellow arizona senator to keep up wwith recycling so your perspective on the supply chain to make sure we have a secure supply chain. You are correct. I mentioned that earlier as one of the opportunities we see for the mining and coal and copper industry these are Critical Minerals that we are not only dependent upon but reliant upon these newer technologies if we have opportunities to look at those residuals that we can extract from that portion of what we need we will have every opportunity to do exactly that the lessening of dependence on nationstates and i say this on the record of never been so nervous in all of my life to be standing in front of a pilot and a tank commander the stress is very high. [laughter] we are glad to provide that support overhead biomass is Something Else that arizona is leadingn on now be try to manage it with an issue of wildfires and watershed but the stuff normally that is thrown away aso biomass to generate energy we love you to work with us on tha that. Thank you madam chair i ask the following of every nominee that appears before any committee that i sent have you ever made unwanted request for sexual favors or commit any verbal or physical harassment quick. No maam smeared facing discipline or angled into a settlement relating to this conduct. No maam. Each nominee under oath is available to appear before this committee to represent positions with issues of concern to congress. And then refusing to comply for subpoena with ukraine to house of representative inquiry will you comply with subpoenas duly issued by congress quick. As part of the job i would make myself available if i would receive a subpoena to the u. S. Congress of course i would concert on consultble with the council assuming it was properly served in the opportunity to be representative by executive Branch Counsel i would make myself available. And these were duly issued so to acknowledge the duty of individuals for everyone who serves in the federal government that has a responsibility with these fraud violations of law i hope you acknowledge the contributions of whistleblowers. I do i fully support the whistleblower laws on the books we have begun the process to review the contracts in the department of energy and i ensure the whistleblower provisions that were passed by congress are included. You are protecting whistleblowers should you be confirmed he would protect them from retaliation as under the whistleblowerfi protection act. You are coming up with something to your department quick. We have instituted guidance and training within the department of energy we have also reviewed all contracts to ensure whistleblower protections that congress intended is part of the contracts that we have. It must cause you some concern there are calls for exposure of the whistleblower with what happened with ukraine. There was a lot of discussion of the importance of Battery Storage and hawaii has a commitment to become 100 percent sustainables a Battery Storage is a big deal for us. So with theba breakthrough of storage through the department of energy quick. I certainly hope so. Im looking forward to that talking about the importance of battery cin storage to use al of the sources and to be reliant on fossil fuels and that requires Battery Storage. The republic of the Marshall Islands are allies and then the department of energy signed a, memorandum to conduct a radio chemical and acyl an analysis from the waste containment site in the republic of the Marshall Islands it also has a strict integrity on the site of radioactive debris the people of the Marshall Islands would like to know about the scale of problems and of the effects to human health and the result from a compromise the study is very important if confirmed as secretary will the department complete this report and submit it to the committee on time quick. I will commit that we will submit whatever report we are committed to on time like the opportunity to review i am not familiar with that and perhaps i could respond in writing. That would be fantastic. The United States is now conducting since 1992 that is a big part of the secretarys responsibility and to be briefed from the directors of lost almost with these advances the doe has made to maintain that nuclear arsenal. And we are in the process to provide their assessment to us with a stockpile so i have been briefed i look t forward to hearing that within the next week and a half. He and we need to be assured those safety issues that are involved. Thank you look forward to working with you on these and other matters. Thank you madam chair for being here. I was wondering if you remembered our conversation with your priorities to remember what they were quick. Cybersecurity. [laughter] all this time we still remember that. First i want to go back to hanford also to the chair in the Ranking Member working on our energy bill the very robust provisions for dod to play a role in cybersecurity and we hope you will help to make bad a reality we have an education shortage issue in the doa doe to play a big role. Every committee has a hearing on cybersecurity but then they realize it is the grid and then to play a more robust role. And that we appreciate this but other officials we need to have the right budget and fy 20 funding level was below the compliance budget level. Im sure you know very well the challenges we face as a state and we have milestones to be met and there is a legal obligation by the department of energy to meet those milestones. We have engaged with the state and have notified them we are very much committed to the program we have currently established. And we had this conversation to a half years ago. We should clarify that was it last week weoso had that conversation. [laughter] and you pointed out at that time that you were concerned the new administration comes in. And that cleanups dont have been on time. We have chosen not to do that. And then to the progress we have already made. And then to remove the last radioactive waste from the columbia river. And and to bring discipline to the operations. I want to give you my commitment im committed to these operations. It is the highest within the program raking right at the top of the high priority list if i confirmed as secretary i will be there quite often. Thats good news for everybody in the northwest in the nation becausete o obviously it is a complex cleanup problem. But the point of responsibility is dire and challenging so thank you for that commitment. So to have great exceptional work for the workforce developed to make sure there is a safe procedural process you committed to working with the facility quick. Sim. And with the importance of processes and procedures and that remains paramount. There are a lot of priorities with the start up with the waste facility. Talk about that for a second. That is part of what i said earlier that we would focus our efforts to get that process started. The balance of the facilities that the administrative buildings would have to support that but we made that our priority we have to do that first and lets do something and get something started and show that it works to do what we need to do in this complex facility. Thank you. I knew you would be back to clear the deputy secretary. You did not disappoint. Mister deputy secretary i was with mister perryty and with a Small Modular Reactor it was a good gathering of International Leaders in this area and the secretary articulated a position for the us role in this space and then i could follow him. With comments of what we are doing legislatively with this potential. And what we do with this legislation that most of these would require and that it is not currently produced here so what it is we need to do for o this opportunity here in this countr country. I know this is something the department is looking at in addition to Everything Else that we are working to help facilitate. But in my opening comments it shouldnt be unusual or odd the secretary from the producing state like texas or someone like me would be interested for advanced nuclear and what it provides. Ad hopefully the department considers the advanced Nuclear Fuel Program look like to know that is a priorityld of mine and certainly has a new will continue that as well. What we willum advance at the department of energy it is a very high priority for us with that particular reactor or that piece of equipment allows us to test materials and to utilize process so they can qualify to get that regulatory process and also conduct a pilot project. We think thats important but to get to a place with small micro reactors Small Modular Reactors have a very Bright Future we are excited about their path forward throughout the regulatory process. Thats what you showed me much more easily like louisiana theres onlyi 200 maybe theres more alligators than people but if we can get those reactors into those types of areas to get them with a clean and reliable source of power and to reduce Carbon Emissions throughout the world so that something i do want to continue should i be confirmed and i must say for the record thank you for allowing us to borrow the doctor who has been great with legislation. We are working this together its a great package. Just briefly i want to make a statement and talk about history anda energy and where we are as a people and our nation to defend ourselves to be the superpower of the world. The first time i grandparents ever received electricity and they had a refrigerator than a washing machine. And then to think seven. 5 billion without any energy access. And then we take for granted but then the threat for how susceptible we are to be the cutting edge with the ability to stay ahead of the rest of the world. And other nations you want to challenge our status with a geopolitical tool and Holding People hostage that is under your purview. I just want you to know we want you to do well and succeed and come to the committee and not look at us as democrats or republicans but americans want our countryit to prosper. And then to have the same opportunities in life and i wish you well. Godspeed. Thank you sir. Well said. You have fielded a range of issues from the arctic to nuclear and waste issues and energy storage, lng and you have articulated very well from a policy perspective and its quite clear that it is very substantive with the promise that it can hold not only for this country but for as they look to our leadership. I am a little concerned however you have made commitments to visit alaska virginia arizona maine wyoming nevada. I am a little concerned you will not have time for your day job here but we will work with you as you seek to gain better understanding and appreciation what all of our great states have to offer in these important areas. Thank you to your family for joining you here today. I have never seen such well behaved young people sitting behind their father no squirming provided catch a little bit of a nap and i am with you on that. [laughter] but i also want tosngp recognie your national lab family that you have here. It is extraordinary tactic to the country they are a tight knit group from the state of alaska it is also a testament to your dedication to the job. Based on what i have heard today you will have strong support moving out of this committee and to move you through the Committee Process as rapidly as possible secretary perry announced he will be departing december 1st and we would like to have a seamless transition as we move you forward to assume this very important position as secretary of energy so thank you for being here and your time and leadership and vision. We are adjourned. [applause] [laughter] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]
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