Nomination of Christopher Wright

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. LEE. Madam President, you don't need to be an economist to know that something went terribly wrong over the last 4 years. Just ask any family paying their utility bills and buying appliances or filling up their cars with gas at the pump. Prices skyrocketed, and wages haven't kept pace--not even close. When Americans opened their energy bills, they didn't see climate plans; they saw costs piling up and questions they couldn't answer: Why is this so expensive? Why is Washington making it so much worse?

With America's abundant resources of oil, gas, nuclear, geothermal, hydropower, et cetera, Biden's Secretary of Energy could have spearheaded an era of energy dominance and energy abundance. Instead, the opposite happened. Secretary Granholm used her position to funnel taxpayer dollars to her friends in Michigan, while the rest of the country struggled under soaring energy prices and mounting inflation. Under Secretary Granholm, the Department of Energy was reduced to a taxpayer-funded piggy bank for political allies and for her pet projects. Rather than unleashing American energy, the DOE green-lit almost $23 billion in last-minute loan guarantees, with nearly 70 percent flowing to Granholm's home State of Michigan. Talk about suspicious math.

The Department of Energy is a powerhouse that can help make or break our economy, our national security, and our ability to lead on the world stage. Yet, under the Biden administration, the DOE mismanaged Federal loan programs, rubberstamped regulations that raised consumer prices, and did very little to support the development of critical infrastructure that we need. The former administration's so-called clean energy policies became a subsidy machine for well-connected corporations--companies that pocketed billions while everyday Americans paid more for gas, electricity, appliances, and groceries.

The Biden administration drained the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to its lowest level in decades. This was an unfortunate move. They weaponized environmental regulations to block the development of critical pipelines, making it nearly impossible to transport energy across the country, and they made us more reliant on foreign energy resources, putting American security in the hands of OPEC and other adversarial nations.

That is all about to change. It is all about to change under soon-to- be Secretary Chris Wright.

Chris Wright understands that affordable, abundant energy is imperative to our national security. It is what allows families to heat their homes in the winter without going broke. It is what enables businesses to grow, hire, and compete globally; and it is what keeps America secure, independent, and free from the whims of foreign suppliers.

At his confirmation hearing, Mr. Wright commented on a lot of this and made commitments to rein in waste, fraud, and abuse, especially at the Loan Programs Office, which Granholm used to dole out loan commitments at a pace exponentially faster than what we have seen in years past. This kind of reckless spending didn't lead to breakthroughs in efficiency or cost savings for consumers. No. Instead, it drove up the national debt and lined the pockets of the well-connected.

Chris Wright won't treat the Department of Energy as a slush fund of sorts for political favors. No, his vision is simple: Get the DOE back on track--back to work on prioritizing energy abundance, technological innovation, and exports that strengthen our position on the global stage rather than weaken it.

Mr. Wright also promised to review the DOE's Appliance and Equipment Standards Program, which has become another example of how the previous administration drove up costs, all under the guise of energy savings. As nearly every American can attest, these regulations on common household appliances like dishwashers, dryers, and stoves--just to name a few--haven't made appliances work better or last longer; they have mostly made things more expensive and work not nearly as well. It is important to remember the extent to which they really have made things more expensive. Chris Wright understands that innovation doesn't come from forcing inferior products on consumers. It comes from creating an environment where better technologies can thrive.

It is telling that even my colleagues across the aisle recognized Mr. Wright's competence by giving him really strong bipartisan support out of committee. Chris Wright deserves that same bipartisan support on the floor today. He deserves it because we all understand that continuing down this path--our current path, the path we have been on for the last 4 years, this path of reckless spending and ideological crusades--is unsustainable. Chris Wright, of course, must do more than reverse the damage. He must rebuild trust with the American people and secure our place as the dominant global energy leader.

We have a new path ahead. Mr. Wright offers us a path where the Department of Energy serves the American people, not special interests; a future where entrepreneurs, not bureaucrats, are the ones who drive innovation; a future where energy abundance lowers costs, grows our economy, and protects our national security. We can continue down the path of inflated prices, foreign dependence, and mismanaged resources, or we can choose a better path. We can make a clean break. We can choose leadership prioritizing the American worker, the American family, the American consumer, and the American future.

The failures of the past don't have to define our future. We find ourselves in the position where we can look at this and chart a course--a course directed at what can be unburdened by what has been.

With Chris Wright leading the way at DOE, we can unleash American energy and ensure prosperity for generations to come. It is time for us to confirm Chris Wright as Secretary of Energy.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source