House Oversight Chair James Comer invited Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to testify at a hearing looking at the administration’s actions on various energy issues.
Mr. Comer, Kentucky Republican, invited Ms. Granholm to testify at the May 15 hearing about why the Energy Department failed to provide information the committee requested about alleged misuse of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the pause on liquified natural gas exports, the secretary’s taxpayer-funded electric vehicle trip from last summer and increased spending levels.
Mr. Comer also questioned why the energy secretary never seems to be available to give testimony since she has dodged multiple requests from the committee.
“Americans deserve to hear directly from Secretary Granholm and any attempt to subvert meaningful congressional oversight is unacceptable. DOE must avoid any further delay in scheduling, and I look forward to Secretary Granholm’s testimony on May 15,” he said in a statement.
The Biden administration’s pause on LNG exports, announced in January, was met with pushback from critics calling it unnecessary and urging President Biden to end the pause.
The administration said it put the pause in place to review if the Energy Department’s analyses used to decide who gets our LNG “adequately” accounts for “energy costs, America’s energy security, and our environment.”
Republicans also hit Mr. Biden for selling more than 40% of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 2022 to help combat the rising gas prices triggered in part by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, Ms. Granholm announced earlier this month that the stockpiles in the reserve at year-end will be at or exceeding the levels it was before the sale.
Ms. Granholm’s four-day electric vehicle road trip in September was heavily criticized after it was revealed that staff from the department blocked off charging stations so she wouldn’t have to wait, prompting a call to the local police after a family was frustrated. The goal was to draw attention to green energy and clean cars, but it fell short and led to a probe from the oversight committee into the trip.
“This hearing will enable members of the Committee to conduct general oversight over the activities of the Department of Energy under your leadership, to include rulemaking by the Department, oversight mechanisms for grants and loan authorities administered by the Department, and the interaction of Biden Administration policies with energy supply chains and grid reliability and security,” Mr. Comer said in a letter to Ms. Granholm.
Mr. Comer requested a response by April 3.