During Wednesday’s House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) spoke in support of initiatives at the Department of Energy.
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00:00Good morning, everyone. I am Congressman Chuck Fleishman to represent the 3rd District of Tennessee, including the great DOE reservation at Oak Ridge.
00:10I am privileged to be the chairman of the Energy and Water Subcommittee of Appropriations, and I would like to personally welcome the Honorable Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy.
00:23Before I begin my formal remarks, Mr. Secretary, thank you on several levels.
00:30First of all, thank you for stepping up, a great American entrepreneur.
00:35You have left the private sector to take on this arduous task, this important task at this time in our nation as Secretary of Energy.
00:43I would like my colleagues and friends on both sides of the dais to know that the Secretary not only has been extremely communicative and cooperative with us,
00:53he has actually visited several of the reservations, including the great reservation at Oak Ridge, been to our great national lab,
01:01seen our NNSA facility and our great legacy cleanup work that's being done.
01:06He's visited other labs, and he's met with all of our national lab directors.
01:11As most of you know, the Office of Science is near and dear to my heart.
01:16And so, Mr. Secretary, thank you for a great 100 days.
01:19Thank you for your first hearing before us.
01:22And it's just an honor and privilege to have you here today.
01:25Thank you, Chairman. It's an honor for me to be here.
01:28Thank you, sir.
01:28Mr. Secretary, you have had a busy 100 days from ending the reckless pause on LNG exports on day one
01:45to reversing extreme energy efficiency standards that would significantly increase prices for American consumers
01:53to restarting decommissioned nuclear power plants.
01:56We've already seen the Trump administration's firm commitment, which I support wholly,
02:02to reverse the harmful policies and regulatory outreach of the previous administration
02:06in order to unleash American energy dominance.
02:11The Department of Energy plays a critical role in ensuring America's security and prosperity,
02:17and I strongly support many of the department's programs and activities.
02:22However, I applaud Secretary Wright and his entire team,
02:25and they've been great to work with, Mr. Secretary,
02:27for working to find efficiencies and streamlined operations.
02:33While we still are awaiting the full details of the president's fiscal 2026 budget request,
02:39candidly, I'm concerned to see such a significant reduction for the Office of Science.
02:44However, I'm pleased to see the department plans to prioritize research in high-performance computing,
02:52AI, quantum, fusion, and critical minerals, as well as reprocessing.
03:00The national labs will continue to drive American scientific and technological leadership
03:05and ensure our nation remains at the forefront of scientific discovery and innovation.
03:10The research done at our national labs is essential to rebuilding our domestic critical minerals production capacity,
03:18expanding American energy production, enhancing our national security,
03:23and competing with our adversaries like Russia and China.
03:28In addition, my support for the important work done by our national labs,
03:32most people recognize me as a strong advocate for nuclear energy.
03:37Make no mistake, I'm an advocate for all the above energy strategy to include natural gas and coal.
03:44Because of the facets of modern society, we benefit when there is abundant affordable energy.
03:51But nuclear, in my view, Mr. Secretary, must be a foundational part of our energy strategy.
03:58So, while I'm glad to see the department plans to focus on developing innovative concepts for nuclear reactors
04:04and researching advanced nuclear fuels, I do have some concerns, candidly,
04:09with the proposed reduction to the nuclear energy budget.
04:13We're at a pivotal moment in the development of our nuclear energy technologies in the United States,
04:19the success of which are critical to regaining international dominance in the nuclear market
04:24for our own domestic energy security.
04:27The previous administration respectfully gave lip service to civil nuclear,
04:32but ultimately failed to request the funding and resources required for its success.
04:38I expect to see a resurgence in civil nuclear power under the Trump administration,
04:43and federal investment, in my view, is essential to ensure the successful demonstration
04:49of these first-of-a-kind advanced nuclear technologies for commercial deployment in the United States.
04:55I'm pleased to see the budget request include strong support for the National Nuclear Security Administration,
05:02as we know it, the NNSA.
05:04But I would like to see more resources requested in NSA's base discretionary budget request rather than it assumed via reconciliation.
05:13The global strategic environment is rapidly changing.
05:16Our nation's nuclear deterrent is vital to our national defense,
05:20and NNSA is responsible for ensuring the United States maintains a safe, secure, and reliable nuclear stockpile.
05:28We spent two decades after the Cold War deferring any decisions about the future of our nuclear deterrent.
05:35And after decades of significant underinvestment, we were left with a nuclear security enterprise,
05:41primarily working in facilities dating back to Cold War, and in some cases, the Manhattan Project.
05:47Today, we're nearly 15 years into the modernization and recapitalization of our nation's nuclear triad,
05:54an entire nuclear security enterprise.
05:57It is imperative that we fully commit to the continued modernization of our nuclear weapons complex
06:03in order to rebuild our capacity, increase our capability, and respond more quickly to today's global security landscape.
06:12We cannot take this incredible enterprise that has maintained peace and stability for 80 years for granted.
06:19Secretary Wright, once again, I appreciate you being here today,
06:24and I look forward to working together with you and my colleagues to develop a fiscally responsible bill
06:30that will strengthen our national security and advance our energy independence.