'Open-Ended Contracts With No Accountability': Mike Lee Rips Biden Over Clean Energy 'Pet Projects'

Forbes Breaking News

During a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) spoke about clean energy policies pursue by the Biden Administration.

Transcript

00:00Energy underpins everything we do – our jobs, our security, and our livelihoods.

00:08And today we're going to evaluate nominees tasked with strengthening every link in America's

00:13energy chain.

00:15They're being considered for positions that affect whether we can mine our own resources,

00:21whether we can reclaim what's been left behind, develop next-generation energy, and

00:27do all of this while defending our interests abroad.

00:32Each of these offices controls vast sums of taxpayer resources, and each touches a critical

00:38role in America's energy strategy.

00:42And each has, under the Biden administration, drifted from its core mission.

00:48The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement exists to enforce the law, not

00:52slow walk permits or bog down states in endless red tape.

00:56The Office of Environmental Management was created to clean up Cold War-era nuclear waste,

01:01not to fund open-ended contracts with no accountability.

01:05The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has lost its way, chasing pet projects

01:10and overreaching appliance mandates, instead of focusing on early-stage R&D for dispatchable

01:17clean sources like geothermal and hydro.

01:20And the Office of International Affairs, it has to understand the stakes.

01:25Energy can be used as a weapon in the hands of our adversaries.

01:29We need people who know how to use American resources to strengthen our position, not apologize

01:34for it.

01:35We need nominees who are ready to streamline permitting, cut waste, rein in overreach, and advance

01:42an energy strategy that actually works for the American people.

01:46So today, we look forward to hearing from our nominees.

01:50Will abandoned mines be restored or tied up in bureaucracy while states wait for Washington

01:56to act?

01:57Will nuclear waste be secured and repurposed or left to sit while federal contractors bill

02:03overtime?

02:05Will EERE be a research hub or a political slush fund?

02:09And will our international engagement make us stronger or leave us more dependent?

02:14That's the bar.

02:15That's the mission.

02:17And we expect results.

02:19I'll now turn to...

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