Department Of Energy And Related Commissions

AMERICAN ENERGY AND SCIENCE DOMINANCE

The next conservative Administration should prioritize energy and science dominance to ensure that Americans have abundant, affordable, and reliable energy; create good-paying jobs; support domestic manufacturing and technology leadership; and strengthen national security. Achieving these goals will require bold policy action and reforms that involve the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE); the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC); and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

American Energy Dominance. Access to affordable, reliable, and abundant energy is vital to America’s economy, national security, and quality of life. Yet ideologically driven government policies have thrust the United States into a new energy crisis just a few short years after America’s energy renaissance, which began in the first decade of the 2000s, transformed the United States from a net energy importer (oil and natural gas) to energy independence and then energy dominance. Americans now face energy scarcity, an electric grid that is less reliable, and arti- ficial shortages of natural gas and oil despite massive reserves within the United States—all of which has led to higher prices that burden both the American people and the economy.

The new energy crisis is caused not by a lack of resources, but by extreme “green” policies. Under the rubrics of “combating climate change” and “ESG” (environmen- tal, social, and governance), the Biden Administration, Congress, and various states, as well as Wall Street investors, international corporations, and progressive spe- cial-interest groups, are changing America’s energy landscape. These ideologically driven policies are also directing huge amounts of money to favored interests and making America dependent on adversaries like China for energy.

In the name of combating climate change, policies have been used to create an artificial energy scarcity that will require trillions of dollars in new investment, supported with taxpayer subsidies, to address a “problem” that government and special interests themselves created. The result has been increased energy costs that:

Hurt individuals and families, especially low-income Americans and seniors on fixed incomes; Make businesses that create the jobs that drive our economy and quality of life less competitive; and Make America less energy secure.

Moreover, increased energy scarcity will allow government, either directly or through access to banks and Wall Street investors, to decide who is “worthy” to receive funding for energy projects. In the end, government control of energy is control of people and the economy. This is one reason why the trend toward nationalization of our energy industry through government mandates, bans on the production and use of oil and natural gas, and nationalization of the electric grid is so dangerous.

At the same time, adversaries like China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and non-state actors are constantly engaged in cyberattacks against our energy infra- structure. We have already seen what supposedly “minor” attacks, such as the cyberattack on the Colonial Oil Pipeline1 or the physical attack on electric infra- structure in North Carolina,2 can do. A coordinated cyber and physical attack on natural gas pipelines and the electric grid during an extended cold spell could be catastrophic. Yet the current Administration’s first concern is plowing taxpayer dollars into intermittent wind and solar projects and ending the use of reliable fossil fuels.

A conservative President must be committed to unleashing all of America’s energy resources and making the energy economy serve the American people, not special interests. This means that the next conservative Administration should:

Promote American energy security by ensuring access to abundant, reliable, and affordable energy. Affirm an “all of the above” energy policy through which the best attributes of every resource can be harnessed for the benefit of the American people.

Unleash private-sector energy innovation by ending government interference in energy decisions. Stop the war on oil and natural gas. Allow individuals, families, and business to use the energy resources they want to use and that will best serve their needs. Secure and protect energy infrastructure from cyber and physical attacks. Refocus the Department of Energy on energy security, accelerated remediation, and advanced science. Promote U.S. energy resources as a means to assist our allies and diminish our strategic adversaries.

Refocus FERC on ensuring that customers have affordable and reliable electricity, natural gas, and oil and no longer allow it to favor special interests and progressive causes.

Ensure that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission facilitates rather than hampers private-sector nuclear energy innovation and deployment. American Science Dominance. Ever since the age of Benjamin Franklin, the United States has been at the forefront of scientific discovery and technological advancement. Beginning with the groundbreaking science of the Manhattan Proj- ect, the U.S. has developed 17 National Laboratories that conduct fundamental and advanced scientific research. The National Labs have been critical in supporting national defense and ensuring that the United States leads on scientific discoveries with transformative applications that benefit America and the world. In recent years, however, U.S. science has been under threat. Externally, adversaries like the Chinese military have been engaged in scientific espionage, infiltrating taxpayer-funded scientific research projects, and funding their own science research. In addition, the National Labs have been too focused on climate change and renewable technologies.

Support repeal of massive spending bills like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)3 and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA),4 which established new programs and are providing hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to renewable energy developers, their investors, and special interests, and support the rescinding of all funds not already spent by these programs. American science dominance is critical to U.S. national security and economic strength. The next conservative President therefore needs to recommit the United States to ensuring this dominance.

MISSION STATEMENT FOR A REFORMED DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

The Department of Energy should be renamed and refocused as the Department of Energy Security and Advanced Science (DESAS). DESAS would refocus on DOE’s five existing core missions:

Providing leadership and coordination on energy security and related national security issues, Promoting U.S. energy economic interests abroad, Leading the nation and the world in cutting-edge fundamental advanced science, Remediating former Manhattan Project and Cold War nuclear material sites, and Developing new nuclear weapons and naval nuclear reactors. These missions work together by using advanced science to promote national security while getting the government out of the business of picking winners and losers in energy resources. Reform is needed because DOE, instead of focusing on core energy and security issues, has been spending billions of taxpayer dollars to subsidize renewable energy developers and investors, thereby making Americans less energy secure and distorting energy markets.

OVERVIEW

DOE was created by the Department of Energy Organization Act of 19775 in response to the 1970s oil crisis, consolidating various energy programs that pre- viously had operated without coordination throughout the federal government in a single department. In addition to addressing energy issues, DOE is tasked with:

Engaging in basic and fundamental science and research through the 17 National Laboratories; Cleaning up the Manhattan Project and Cold War nuclear material and weapons sites;

Developing sites for the storing of civilian nuclear waste; and Developing new nuclear weapons and naval reactors through the semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA). Beyond these core responsibilities, DOE currently administers billions of dollars that support research and commercialization of energy technology, provides loans to the private sector for energy infrastructure and technology commercialization, and issues energy efficiency standards for appliances. More recently, DOE has focused its work and taxpayers’ money on renewable energy and climate change.6

It is one thing for government to engage in fundamental scientific research that the private sector would not perform, particularly because advancements in science promote national security through technological prowess. Government, however, should not be picking winners and losers in dealing with energy resources or commercial technology. Such government favoritism can crowd out new innova- tion, devolve into cronyism, and raise energy prices for consumers and businesses. It is time for the United States to use all of its energy resources again for the benefit of the American people.