Chairwoman Kaptur, thank you so much for that introduction. And Chairwoman DeLauro, great to see you here. Ranking Member Simpson, and certainly Members of the Subcommittee, it is an honor to appear before you today to discuss the President’s 2022 discretionary request for the Department of Energy. 

It is my privilege to serve as the 16th Secretary of Energy and lead the Department in delivering technological advancements and scientific discoveries, and advancing the energy, economic, and national security of the United States.  

I am really proud to say we have accomplished a lot since January 20.

We have been focusing on our core missions around science and security. Our 17 National Labs continue to make groundbreaking discoveries, including in the fight against COVID-19. Our teams at the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) remain steadfast in safeguarding the electrical grid and our nuclear stockpile.  

And beyond that, we have jump-started efforts to build a clean energy economy that, as you have all noted, creates millions of good-paying jobs and lifts American families in every pocket of the country into the middle class.

We declared that America is back at the international table for climate action.  

We announced over $1 billion in grants, awards, and funding opportunities for clean energy R&D projects that will help us achieve a net-zero carbon future.  

We’ve set ambitious new goals to cut solar costs by more than half and add 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030—the latter of is going to support 77,000 jobs and power 10 million homes, while cutting 78 million metric tons of carbon emissions.  

We created a new Office of Energy Jobs, to ensure that the projects we support offer the highest possible potential for job creation. 

We made commitments to direct 40 percent of the benefits from clean energy investments into communities on the frontlines of climate change and on the frontlines of the energy transition. 

And already, we are following through on that commitment with investments in geothermal energy, carbon capture, and critical mineral extraction that are all create jobs in coal communities. 

And these are just the starting points in our effort to own the global market for clean energy and sustainable technologies. That market is going to reach $23 trillion—at least—by the end of the decade. 

So you better believe we are going to capture some of that market with the right strategies, and we are in the game… 

But as our economic competitors race ahead towards the same goal, we must put far more resources behind this effort. Because they see that $23 trillion market, and they are going after it, as well. 

In March, President Biden released the American Jobs Plan—a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s economic competitiveness, through infrastructure, through R&D, and through manufacturing.  

Of course, infrastructure is what keeps our economy operating effectively. And it’s not just roads and bridges. It’s not just ports and airports. It’s not just trains. But it is the electrical grid that keeps the lights on, the pipes that pump water into our buildings, and the broadband that brings the world to our children and opportunity to our businesses.  

We have to also jolt our commitments to R&D, so that it’s American researchers making the breakthroughs that drive clean energy and our future, and American entrepreneurs taking those breakthroughs to scale. 

And by revitalizing our manufacturing backbone, we can build these technologies and products right here at home, with American workers.  

So President Biden’s proposed 2022 discretionary funding request would position the entire federal government to help our country stake our claim in this can’t-miss clean energy opportunity. 

We invest $46.2 billion in the Department of Energy’s key priorities. And those priorities include:  

• Deploying cheap, abundant clean power on a modernized, secure, resilient, reliable energy grid—and creating all those jobs in the process.
   
• The priorities include quadrupling clean energy research over four years to put America at the forefront of clean energy innovation worldwide.
   
• Advancing carbon reduction and mitigation through technologies like carbon capture and storage and hydrogen. 
   
• Breaking down the barriers to increased diversity in STEM fields.   
   
• And, of course, strengthening the Department’s nuclear security mission. 

We are committed to all of that. And in conclusion, I am humbled to reaffirm my commitment to lead the Department of Energy. I look forward to our continued partnership to achieve these goals.  

Thank you for the opportunity to be here today.