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Catherine Cortez Masto Presses Energy Dept. Nominees On Trump’s Push To Dismantle Research Programs
Forbes Breaking News
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5/14/2025
During Thursday's Senate Energy Committee hearing, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) questioned nominees about Trump's push to dismantle energy research programs.
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00:00
Thank you. Congratulations and welcome to all of your family members who are here
00:06
as well. I appreciate your willingness to serve. Let me start with Mr. Daufermeyer.
00:14
I don't really have questions for you but I'll do it on the record, but I have to
00:17
say I am just, I appreciate your candor and your respect for the law and the
00:21
rule of law and what it means. That's very rare in this day with individuals
00:27
coming before. So I thank you. I thank you for your comments on that. Let me start
00:32
with Ms. Jereza as well as Mr. Haustudeit. The bipartisan infrastructure law is
00:42
helping Nevada become a national leader for battery manufacturing and recycling.
00:47
We also hold the capacity to support the entire supply chain in my home state. For
00:53
example, Nevada has enough lithium to supply the world for 85 years. I know
00:59
you're aware of that. However, it is unfortunate that President Trump's fiscal
01:05
year 2026 budget calls for the cancellation of over 15 billion dollars from the
01:10
bipartisan infrastructure law. And he's specifically in that fiscal year budget
01:16
targets battery manufacturers and calls these funds handouts. Now as lithium ion
01:23
batteries and related technologies continue to be used by our military and
01:29
clean energy applications, I believe we should be making them here to cut our
01:34
reliance on communist China and not dismantle and enacted DOE programs that
01:42
strengthen our global competitive, quite honestly. So if confirmed, let me ask you
01:49
what your positions would be on the dismantling of those programs that support
01:56
the research into and the support for battery manufacturing. And Ms. Jereza, let me start
02:02
with you. Sure. Thank you for the question Senator. It is in this race very
02:07
important that we continue to have the innovation that is so necessary to deploy the
02:14
new technologies that we need. And just for clarification, the Office of
02:19
Electricity has energy storage research in its budget and it is not IIJ related. And so I
02:27
expect that, if confirmed, that that research will continue. And what's really
02:33
interesting, even though I haven't been directly involved in that research, there's a
02:39
cluster effort at the Pacific Northwest National Lab where it looks at taking,
02:46
working with the Office of Science and basically going from atoms to systems to
02:51
make sure that concept of commercialization is happening. And so I'm
02:55
excited to see when we're competing with China that we come up with non-lithium
02:58
solutions. And America is poised to be able to take advantage of that. And if
03:04
confirmed, I look forward to working with you and with the others around me to
03:09
ensure that we do that. Thank you. Mr. House-DeViet. Senator, thank you for the
03:13
question. Your state of Nevada is blessed with great resource, both hard rock, clay
03:18
and brine. And it's been incredible to watch the rapid technological development
03:24
of new techniques, including direct lithium extraction. I'm not yet in the office, so I
03:29
don't know exactly what's being dismantled, what's being proposed, but I'm fully
03:32
aligned that we need to take out of the hands of Communist China, 90 plus percent
03:37
of the manufacturing of battery technology, and onshore, bring
03:40
manufacturing back to the U.S. We have the resource, we have the talent.
03:45
I agree, and let me just say, and I appreciate some of your written testimony
03:50
earlier, and even your comments about the importance of lithium extraction and
03:57
mining and its role in the future of technology, and that this country should
04:04
be leading, believing in public-private partnership. Why would we be doing that
04:09
extraction if we're not bringing the manufacturing back here that utilizes
04:14
that technology, particularly around battery and battery storage as well? So I
04:18
appreciate those comments. Let me jump back to something that's come to my
04:24
attention, and Ms. Teresa, if you would, if you can comment on this. In 2022, Congress
04:30
appropriated $1 billion to the Department of Energy for resilient energy
04:35
infrastructure in Puerto Rico, and this past December, the Department announced
04:41
$365 million in awards for energy supply projects at community health care
04:47
centers. In March, the Department wrote a letter specifying requirements to advance
04:52
these projects, but their future now appears to be at risk. So my question to
04:58
you is, can I count on you to implement these projects that will provide life
05:02
sustaining electricity to medically vulnerable Puerto Rican Americans?
05:07
Thank you, Senator, for the question. The Puerto Rico efforts are led by the grid
05:13
deployment office, and so I think that they're the ones who are leading the
05:18
efforts in the review efforts as well. And if confirmed, what I will do is I will
05:24
assess those projects and look at how does this impact not just those that are in need,
05:33
but also the entire grid. Secretary Wright and President Trump have made it clear that we need to
05:38
look at what we can do to improve or the security resilience of the grid.
05:43
Let me just ask you this, because this was appropriated by Congress. This goes into back to the rule of law.
05:48
This is appropriate Congress for a certain, for a specific reason. So how does the
05:54
administration have the authority now to redirect those funds when that really
05:59
wasn't within their jurisdiction? That is my concern. And I'm hoping that you are going to be,
06:04
when you get in this position, following the rule of law, and respecting the role of Congress,
06:09
and our appropriation authority, and where we redirect these funds.
06:14
Senator, I very much appreciate the rule of law, and if confirmed, I will comply with the law,
06:21
and we will work. I look forward to looking into this to assess the situation.
06:28
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
06:30
Senator King.
06:32
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
06:34
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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