[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
INVESTING IN AMERICA'S ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE: IMPROVING ENERGY
EFFICIENCY AND CREATING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
APRIL 10, 2019
__________
Serial No. 116-24
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Commerce
govinfo.gov/committee/house-energy
energycommerce.house.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
39-841 PDF WASHINGTON : 2020
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE
FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey
Chairman
BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois GREG WALDEN, Oregon
ANNA G. ESHOO, California Ranking Member
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York FRED UPTON, Michigan
DIANA DeGETTE, Colorado JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois
MIKE DOYLE, Pennsylvania MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas
JAN SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois STEVE SCALISE, Louisiana
G. K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina ROBERT E. LATTA, Ohio
DORIS O. MATSUI, California CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS, Washington
KATHY CASTOR, Florida BRETT GUTHRIE, Kentucky
JOHN P. SARBANES, Maryland PETE OLSON, Texas
JERRY McNERNEY, California DAVID B. McKINLEY, West Virginia
PETER WELCH, Vermont ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia
PAUL TONKO, New York GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida
YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York, Vice BILL JOHNSON, Ohio
Chair BILLY LONG, Missouri
DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana
KURT SCHRADER, Oregon BILL FLORES, Texas
JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III, SUSAN W. BROOKS, Indiana
Massachusetts MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma
TONY CARDENAS, California RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina
RAUL RUIZ, California TIM WALBERG, Michigan
SCOTT H. PETERS, California EARL L. ``BUDDY'' CARTER, Georgia
DEBBIE DINGELL, Michigan JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina
MARC A. VEASEY, Texas GREG GIANFORTE, Montana
ANN M. KUSTER, New Hampshire
ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois
NANETTE DIAZ BARRAGAN, California
A. DONALD McEACHIN, Virginia
LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER, Delaware
DARREN SOTO, Florida
TOM O'HALLERAN, Arizona
------
Professional Staff
JEFFREY C. CARROLL, Staff Director
TIFFANY GUARASCIO, Deputy Staff Director
MIKE BLOOMQUIST, Minority Staff Director
Subcommittee on Energy
BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois
Chairman
SCOTT H. PETERS, California FRED UPTON, Michigan
MIKE DOYLE, Pennsylvania Ranking Member
JOHN P. SARBANES, Maryland ROBERT E. LATTA, Ohio
JERRY McNERNEY, California, Vice CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS, Washington
Chair PETE OLSON, Texas
PAUL TONKO, New York DAVID B. McKINLEY, West Virginia
DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois
G. K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia
PETER WELCH, Vermont BILL JOHNSON, Ohio
KURT SCHRADER, Oregon LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana
JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III, BILL FLORES, Texas
Massachusetts RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina
MARC A. VEASEY, Texas TIM WALBERG, Michigan
ANN M. KUSTER, New Hampshire GREG WALDEN, Oregon (ex officio)
ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois
NANETTE DIAZ BARRAGAN, California
A. DONALD McEACHIN, Virginia
TOM O'HALLERAN, Arizona
LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER, Delaware
FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey (ex
officio)
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hon. Bobby L. Rush, a Representative in Congress from the State
of Illinois, opening statement................................. 1
Prepared statement........................................... 2
Hon. Fred Upton, a Representative in Congress from the State of
Michigan, opening statement.................................... 3
Prepared statement........................................... 4
Hon. Frank Pallone, Jr., a Representative in Congress from the
State of New Jersey, opening statement......................... 5
Prepared statement........................................... 7
Hon. Greg Walden, a Representative in Congress from the State of
Oregon, opening statement\1\ 8
Prepared statement........................................... 9
Witnesses
Daniel R. Simmons, Assistance Secretary, Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy.......... 11
Prepared statement........................................... 13
Answers to submitted questions............................... 93
James E. Campos, Director, Office of Economic Impact and
Diversity, Department of Energy................................ 23
Prepared statement........................................... 25
Answers to submitted questions............................... 103
Submitted Material
H.R. 1315, the Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development Act
of 2019, submitted by Mr. Rush\2\
H.R. 2019, the Smart Energy and Water Efficiency Act of 2019,
submitted by Mr. Rush\2\
H.R. 2041, the Weatherization Enhancement and Local Energy
Efficiency Investment and Accountability Act, submitted by Mr.
Rush\2\
H.R. 2043, the Home Owner Managing Energy Savings Act of 2019,
submitted by Mr. Rush\2\
H.R. 2044, the Smart Building Acceleration Act, submitted by Mr.
Rush\2\
H.R. 2088, A Bill to amend the Energy Independence and Security
Act of 2007 to reauthorize the Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Block Grant Program, and for other purposes,
submitted by Mr. Rush\2\
H.R. 2114, the Enhancing State Energy Security Planning and
Emergency Preparedness Act of 2019, submitted by Mr. Rush\2\
H.R. 2119, A Bill to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to
reauthorize grants for improving the energy efficiency of
public buildings, and for other purposes, submitted by Mr.
Rush\2\
Letter of April 9, 2019, from David Bradley, Executive Director,
National Community Action Foundation, to Mr. Rush and Mr.
Upton, submitted by Mr. Rush................................... 46
----------
\1\ Mr. Flores presented Mr. Walden's statement orally.
\2\ The legislation has been retained in committee files and also is
available at https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/
ByEvent.aspx?EventID=109300.
Letter of April 10, 2019, from Paula R. Glover, President and
Chief Executive Officer, American Association of Blacks in
Energy, to Mr. Rush and Mr. Upton, submitted by Mr. Rush....... 50
Letter of April 8, 2019, from George H. Lowe, Vice President,
Governmental Affairs and Public Policy, American Gas
Association, to Mr. Rush, et al., submitted by Mr. Rush........ 51
Report of the Government Accountability Office, ``Recovery Act:
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Recipients Face
Challenges Meeting Legislative and Program Goals and
Requirements,'' April 2011, submitted by Mr. Rush\3\
Technical comments on H.R. ___, Department of Energy, submitted
by Mr. Rush.................................................... 53
Letter of April 10, 2019, from Bryan Howard, Legislative
Director, U.S. Green Building Council, to Mr. Rush and Mr.
Upton, submitted by Mr. Rush................................... 72
Letter of February 26, 2019, from Abigail Ross Harper, President
and Chief Executive Officer, Solar Energy Industry Association,
to Mr. Pallone, et al., submitted by Mr. Rush.................. 77
Letter of February 26, 2019, from Joni Davis and Stan Sherrill,
Vice Presidents, Duke Energy, to Mr. Rush, submitted by Mr.
Rush........................................................... 79
Letter of February 27, 2019, from Jason Hartke, President,
Alliance to Save Energy, to Mr. Rush, submitted by Mr. Rush.... 80
Letter of April 9, 2019, from Randy Bennett, IL Weatherization,
et al., to Mr. Pallone and Mr. Walden, submitted by Mr. Rush... 81
Article of July 10, 2018, ``Pa. Auditor General: State failed to
spend federal energy assistance funds meant to aid poor,'' by
Kate Giammarise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, submitted by Mr. Rush 89
----------
\3\ The report has been retained in committee files and also is
available at https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF03/20190410/109300/
HHRG-116-IF03-20190410-SD989.pdf.
INVESTING IN AMERICA'S ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE: IMPROVING ENERGY
EFFICIENCY AND CREATING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE
----------
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2019
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Energy,
Committee on Energy and Commerce,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:03 a.m., in
the John D. Dingell Room 2123, Rayburn House Office Building,
Hon. Bobby L. Rush (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Members present: Representatives Rush, Peters, Sarbanes,
McNerney, Tonko, Loebsack, Schrader, Kennedy, Veasey, Kuster,
Kelly, Barragan, O'Halleran, Blunt Rochester, Pallone (ex
officio), Upton (subcommittee ranking member), Latta, Rodgers,
McKinley, Griffith, Johnson, Bucshon, Flores, Hudson, Walberg,
and Duncan.
Staff present: Adam Fischer, Policy Analyst; Rick Kessler,
Senior Advisor and Staff Director, Energy and Environment;
Brendan Larkin, Policy Coordinator; John Marshall, Policy
Coordinator; Elisabeth Olson, FERC Detailee; Tuley Wright,
Energy and Environment Policy Advisor; Mary Martin, Minority
Chief Counsel, Energy and Environment; Brandon Mooney, Minority
Deputy Chief Counsel, Energy; Brannon Rains, Minority Staff
Assistant; and Peter Spencer, Minority Senior Professional
Staff Member, Energy and Environment.
Mr. Rush. The committee hearing is called to order. And I
recognize myself for 5 minutes for an opening statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BOBBY L. RUSH, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
I want to welcome everyone to today's hearing entitled
``Investing in America's Energy Infrastructure: Improving
Energy Efficiency and Creating a Diverse Workforce.''
This hearing will focus on a series of bills designed to
make Americans' homes, businesses, and energy infrastructure
more efficient and cost-effective, while also investing in a
diverse workforce to build, operate, and manage this
infrastructure.
Unfortunately, our colleagues, our colleague Mr. Welch had
to return to his home State of Vermont and will miss today's
hearing. But as we all know, he has been a strong supporter of
the HOMES Act and Smart Building Acceleration Act, and he sends
his regrets in not being able to speak today on those two
important measures.
Most of today's bills enjoy bipartisan support. And I would
like to thank Ranking Member Upton for working with my office
in cosponsoring H.R. 2114, the Enhancing State Energy Security
Planning and Emergency Preparedness Act. This bill would
provide much-needed assistance to State Energy Offices to plan
for and respond to energy disruptions from both physical and
cyber threats. And I look forward to moving it forward.
While I support each of the bills before us, I want to
concentrate my remarks on H.R. 1315, the Blue to Green Collar
Jobs Act, which continues to be one of my top priorities.
H.R. 1315 is in essence a jobs bill designed to train
underserved groups, including women, minorities, veterans,
unemployed energy workers, and returning citizens, among
others, for the energy jobs and energy careers in the present
and the future.
Today marks the second hearing on this important bill,
providing an opportunity to hear directly from DOE, as my
Republican colleagues have repeatedly requested. It is my hope
that following this hearing the minority side will finally
accept my repeated offer to work with my office on this bill as
we move it through this legislative process.
Despite their refusal to work with me following the first
hearing on this bill, my office has made several changes to the
bill to strengthen it and to make it much more inclusive.
In addition to opening up the grant program for training in
nuclear energy and carbon testing and storage, we have also
clarified that grants and assistance would be made available to
labor unions and qualified youth and conservation corps.
We strengthened the reporting requirements and
accountability measures for evaluating performance and impact,
while also streamlining the definition for underrepresented
groups through the bill, and adding language to prevent the
duplication of programs at DOE.
Relying on the technical assistance comments that we
received from DOE from both the current and previous
administrations, I am confident that the program established in
H.R. 1315 will go a long way in producing actual results, in
the form of jobs filled, rather than the ceaseless and
nonsensical talk and planning that has too often been the norm.
It is my hope that following today's hearing my Republican
colleagues will finally agree to discuss actual substance with
my office so we can move this much-needed bill forward.
I look forward to hearing from today's panel of DOE
officials on all of the bills before us here today. And I would
like to call now on my good friend and colleague from my
neighboring State of Michigan, Ranking Member Upton, for his
opening statement.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Rush follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Bobby L. Rush
I would like to welcome everyone to today's hearing
entitled ``Investing in America's Energy Infrastructure:
Improving Energy Efficiency and Creating a Diverse Workforce.''
This hearing will focus on a series of bills designed to
make Americans' homes, buildings and energy infrastructure more
efficient and cost-effective, while also investing in a diverse
workforce to build, operate, and manage this infrastructure.
Unfortunately, our colleague Mr. Welch had to return to
Vermont and will miss today's hearing, but as we all know he
has been a strong supporter of the HOMES Act and Smart Building
Acceleration Act and he regrets not being able to speak on
those two measures today.
Most of today's bill enjoy bipartisan support and I would
like to thank Ranking Member Upton for working with my office
in cosponsoring H.R. 2114, the Enhancing State Energy Security
Planning and Emergency Preparedness Act.
This bill would provide much-needed assistance to State
Energy Offices to plan for and respond to energy disruptions
from both physical and cyber threats, and I look forward to
moving it forward.
While I support each of the bills before us today, I want
to concentrate my remarks on H.R. 1315, the Blue to Green
Collar Jobs Act, which continues to be one of my top
priorities.
H.R. 1315 is a jobs bill designed to train underserved
groups, including women, minorities, veterans, unemployed
energy workers, and returning citizens, among others, for the
energy jobs and careers of the present and future.
Today marks the second hearing on this important bill,
providing an opportunity to hear directly from DOE, as my
Republican colleagues have requested.
It is my hope that following this hearing, the minority
side will finally accept my repeated offers to work with my
office on this bill as we move it through the legislative
process.
Despite their refusal to work with me following the first
hearing on this bill, my office has made several changes to the
bill to strengthen it and make it more inclusive.
In addition to opening up the grant program for training in
nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage, we have also
clarified that grants and assistance would be made available to
labor unions and qualified youth and conservation corps.
We strengthened the reporting requirements and
accountability measures for evaluating performance and impact,
while also streamlining the definition for underrepresented
groups throughout the bill and adding language to prevent the
duplication of programs at DOE.
Relying on the technical assistance comments we received
from DOE from both the current and previous administrations, I
am confident that the program established in H.R. 1315 will go
a long way in producing actual results, in the form of jobs
filled, rather than the ceaseless talk and planning stages that
has too often been the norm.
It is my hope that following today's hearing my Republican
colleagues will finally agree to discuss actual substance with
my office so we can move this much-needed bill forward with
bipartisan support.
As we have heard time and time again in numerous hearings
on this topic, there are tens of thousands of jobs available
right now, today, and employers are begging for trained,
qualified candidates to fill those openings.
My office remains ready and willing to work with any Member
to address any legitimate concerns that will ultimately help to
put thousands of hardworking yet overlooked and underserved
Americans back to work.
I look forward to hearing from today's panel of DOE
officials on all of the bills here before us, and now I would
like to call on my friend and colleague, Ranking Member Upton
for his opening statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. FRED UPTON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN
Mr. Upton. Well, thank you, my friend and chairman, for
holding this hearing on eight Department of Energy workforce
and efficiency bills. I am pleased to see that our bill from
the last Congress is included, H.R. 2144, the Enhancing State
Energy Security Planning and Emergency Preparedness Act.
You and I worked together on that bill. And it passed the
House by a voice vote. Somehow we have to get it through the
Senate. I look forward to seeing this bill get across the
finish line in this Congress.
As you know from our oversight work, our energy
infrastructure is comprised of a vast network of energy and
electricity delivery systems. These intricate and highly
interdependent systems enable almost every aspect of our daily
life. The Nation's economy, security, and the health and safety
of its citizens depends upon the reliable and uninterrupted
delivery of fuels and electricity, which is why it is so
important to stay on top of maintenance and modernization.
And at the same time, we have to also remain vigilant when
it comes to energy security planning and emergency
preparedness.
Since the inception of the Department of Energy's State
Energy Program in 1975, the manner in which energy and power is
generated, transmitted and delivered continues to rapidly
change and evolve. Recent hurricanes, fires, and cyber-related
events have raised real concerns about the security and
resiliency of the Nation's energy and electricity systems. And
States have emphasized the need to prioritize energy security,
energy planning, and energy infrastructure protection.
H.R. 2144 will indeed modernize and reauthorize DOE's State
Energy Program through 2025. It is a good bill that will help
States with the tools to plan and prepare for energy security
emergencies. I would encourage all of my colleagues to support
it.
We also have a couple over bipartisan bills from the last
Congress: H.R. 2019, the Smart Energy and Water Efficiency Act;
H.R. 2044, the Smart Building Acceleration Act. These bills
will help save energy in public buildings and encourage the
adoption of innovative technologies to conserve water in
communities across the country. These are good bipartisan
bills. I look forward to receiving input from DOE to further
perfect them.
Unfortunately, we have not had enough time to review some
of the other bills before us today because they were introduced
just this week, and we haven't had the opportunity for
background hearings for understanding them. I am also troubled
by the fact that the majority has not seemed to take an
interest in our offer to make good the Workforce Bill
bipartisan. As we have said, we should return to the original
version that was agreed upon. I believe that we can improve the
bill and it can pass again with unanimous consent if it were
simply ``all of the above'' and inclusive of every
underrepresented group, including women and veterans.
Mr. Chairman, I know that we can return to regular order so
that Members have the opportunity to make informed judgments
about the need for legislation and the effect of these bills.
I want to thank our two witnesses, Assistant Secretary
Simmons and Dr. Campos, for appearing before us today so that
we can learn about DOE's efforts on efficiency and workforce
development, and determine whether additional legislative
authorities are necessary. Given the price tag of these new
bills and the tens of billions of dollars, we owe it to the
taxpayers and the consumers to take our time to determine
whether the spending is justified.
I promise to keep an open mind. And as I have said before,
we are ready to get to work if all of us are serious about the
effort.
I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Upton follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Fred Upton
Thank you, Mr. Chairman for holding this hearing on eight
Department of Energy workforce and efficiency bills. I am
pleased to see that our bill from last Congress was included,
H.R. 2144, the Enhancing State Energy Security Planning and
Emergency Preparedness Act. You and I worked together on that
bill, and it passed the House by voice vote. I look forward to
seeing this bill get across the finish line this Congress.
As we know from our oversight work, our energy
infrastructure is comprised of a vast network of energy and
electricity delivery systems. These intricate and highly
interdependent systems enable almost every aspect of our daily
lives. The Nation's economy, security, and the health and
safety of its citizens depend upon the reliable and
uninterrupted delivery of fuels and electricity, which is why
it is so important to stay on top of maintenance and
modernization. At the same time, we must also remain vigilant
when it comes to energy security planning and emergency
preparedness.
Since the inception of the Department of Energy's State
Energy Program in 1975, the manner in which energy and power is
generated,transmitted, and delivered continues to rapidly
change and evolve. Recent hurricanes, fires, and cyber-related
events have raised concerns about the security and resiliency
of the Nation's energy and electricity systems, and States have
emphasized the need to prioritize energy security, emergency
planning, and energy infrastructure protection.
H.R. 2144 will modernize and reauthorize DOE's State Energy
Program through 2025. It's a good bill that will help States
with tools to plan and prepare for energy security emergencies.
I encourage my colleagues to support.
We also have a couple other bipartisan bills from last
Congress, H.R. 2019, the Smart Energy and Water Efficiency Act;
and, H.R. 2044, the Smart Building Acceleration Act. These
bills will help save energy in public buildings and encourage
the adoption of innovative technologies to conserve water in
communities across the country. These are also good, bipartisan
bills, and I look forward to receiving input from DOE to
further perfect them.
Unfortunately, we haven't had enough time to review some of
the other bills before us today, because they were just
introduced on Monday and we haven't had the opportunity for
background hearings.
I am also troubled by the fact that the Majority has not
seemed to take interest in our offer to make the workforce bill
bipartisan. As we have said, we should return to the original
version that was agreed upon. I believe we could improve the
bill and it could pass again with unanimous consent if it were
simply ``all of the above'' and inclusive of all
underrepresented groups, including women and veterans.
Mr. Chairman, I hope we can return to regular order so that
Members have the opportunity to make informed judgements about
the need for legislation and the effect of these bills.
I would like to thank our DOE witnesses, Assistant
Secretary Daniel Simmons and Mr. James Campos, for appearing
before us today so that we can learn about DOE's efforts on
efficiency and workforce development and determine whether
additional legislative authorities are necessary. Given the
price tag of these new bills is in the tens of billions of
dollars, we owe it to our taxpayers and to consumers to take
our time and determine whether the spending is justified.
I'll keep an open mind, and as I've said before, we are
ready to get to work if the Democrats are serious about this
effort. It is disappointing that we're starting this way with
some of these bills, but I hope things will improve if we can
get a commitment to return to regular order.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
Mr. Rush. The gentleman yields back.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Pallone, the chairman of the
full committee, for 5 minutes for his opening statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK PALLONE, Jr., A REPRESENTATIVE
IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Mr. Pallone. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Today we are here to discuss legislation that invests in
making our Nation's infrastructure more energy efficient. This
important investment will create good-paying jobs, save
consumers money, and help us combat climate change by reducing
carbon pollution.
Countries across the globe are investing in energy
efficiency, and it is making a difference. According to the
International Energy Agency, the world would have used 12
percent more energy in 2016 had it not been for efficiency
gains achieved since 2000. And that is comparable to adding
another European Union to the global energy market.
A critical piece of infrastructure includes making homes,
buildings, cities, and manufacturing facilities more energy
efficient. Efficiency work supports thousands of good-paying
jobs at small businesses in every State. And weatherizing homes
or retrofitting public buildings saves money and supports our
efforts to address climate change.
The eight bills before us will increase energy efficiency,
develop a modern energy workforce, and strengthen energy
security.
H.R. 2043, the Home Owner Managing Energy Savings, or HOMES
Act, introduced by Representatives Welch and McKinley, provides
cash rebates of up to $5,000 to homeowners for performing
retrofits that achieve home energy savings.
H.R. 2041, introduced by Representative Tonko, Chairman
Rush, and Representative Kaptur, would also help homeowners
save money and create jobs. This bill increased funding for the
Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program to
$350 million annually and modernizes the program.
This technology can also be a driver for increased energy
efficiency. And Representatives McNerney, Welch, and Kinzinger
have introduced bills that analyze and support new technologies
in smart buildings and water systems.
The subcommittee will also review two bills that
reauthorize grant programs to assist States and local
governments in making public infrastructure more energy
efficient. Representatives Stanton and Veasey introduced H.R.
2088, which increases funding for the Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Block Grant Program. This program provides grants
to States and local communities to assist their efforts to
reduce fossil fuel emissions and conserve energy. And this is
something that has been a priority for mayors and local elected
officials around the country, in large part because it funds
infrastructure that will save those communities money.
Similarly, H.R. 2119, introduced by Representative Kelly,
increases funding for DOE grants to improve the efficiency of
public buildings. Both programs provide critical support to
local communities that often lack the resources to take on
large scale public efficiency-related projects.
We should also look at investing in the skilled workers who
manufacture equipment and build and operate plants. Chairman
Rush's Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development Act
established a comprehensive, nationwide program at DOE to
improve education and training for jobs in energy-related
industries.
And, finally, we have H.R. 2114, the Enhancing State Energy
Security Planning and Emergency Preparedness Act, introduced by
Chairman Rush and Ranking Member Upton. Obviously, this bill is
bipartisan and reauthorizes the State Energy Program at $90
million per year and allows States to use the funds to
implement a State Energy Security Plan. The bill passed the
House by a voice vote during the last Congress, and I am
hopeful that we can get it to the President's desk before the
end of this Congress.
So, again, this is a legislative hearing on these bills. We
would like to move these bills. I want to commend the sponsors
for their work on these important issues, and thank Mr. Simmons
for appearing before the committee for the second time this
year.
And I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Pallone follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Frank Pallone, Jr.
Today, we're here to discuss legislation that invests in
making our Nation's infrastructure more energy efficient. This
important investment will create good paying jobs, save
consumers money and help us combat climate change by reducing
carbon pollution.
Countries across the globe are investing in energy
efficiency, and it's making a difference. According to the
International Energy Agency, the world would have used 12
percent more energy in 2016 had it not been for efficiency
gains achieved since 2000. That's comparable to adding another
European Union to the global energy market.
A critical piece of infrastructure includes making homes,
buildings, cities and manufacturing facilities more energy
efficient. Efficiency work supports thousands of good-paying
jobs at small businesses in every State. And, weatherizing
homes or retrofitting public buildings saves money and supports
our efforts to address climate change.
The eight bills before us will increase energy efficiency,
develop a modern energy workforce and strengthen energy
security.
H.R. 2043, the Home Owner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES)
Act of 2019, introduced by Reps. Welch and McKinley, provides
cash rebates of up to $5,000 to homeowners for performing
retrofits that achieve home energy savings.
H.R. 2041, introduced by Rep. Tonko, Chairman Rush and Rep.
Kaptur, would also help homeowners save money and create jobs.
This bill increases funding for the Department of Energy's
(DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program to $350 million
annually and modernizes the program.
Technology can also be a driver for increased energy
efficiency, and Reps. McNerney, Welch and Kinzinger have
introduced bills that analyze and support new technologies in
smart buildings and water systems.
The subcommittee will also review two bills that
reauthorize grant programs to assist States and local
governments in making public infrastructure more energy
efficient. Reps. Stanton and Veasey introduced H.R. 2088, which
increases funding for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Block Grant Program. This program provides grants to States and
local communities to assist their efforts to reduce fossil fuel
emissions and conserve energy. This is something that has been
a priority for mayors and local elected officials around the
country, in large part because it funds infrastructure that
will save communities money.
Similarly, H.R. 2119, introduced by Rep. Kelly, increases
funding for DOE grants to improve the efficiency of public
buildings.
Both programs provide critical support to local communities
that often lack the resources to take on large scale public
efficiency-related projects.
We should also look at investing in the skilled workers who
manufacture equipment and build and operate plants. Chairman
Rush's Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development Act
establishes a comprehensive, nationwide program at DOE to
improve education and training for jobs in energy-related
industries.
Finally, we have H.R. 2114, the Enhancing State Energy
Security Planning and Emergency Preparedness Act, introduced by
Chairman Rush and Ranking Member Upton. This bill reauthorizes
the State Energy Program at $90 million per year and allows
States to use the funds to implement a State Energy Security
Plan. The bill passed the House by voice vote during the last
Congress and I'm hopeful we can get it to the President's desk
before the end of this one.
I commend the bill sponsors for their work on these
important issues and thank Mr. Simmons for appearing before the
committee for the second time this year. I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. Sarbanes. Will the gentleman yield the balance?
Mr. Pallone. Oh, I'm sorry. I yield to the gentleman from
Maryland.
Mr. Sarbanes. Yes. I appreciate that. I just wanted to echo
your comments and say that we have a lot of very strong
proposals here in terms of energy efficiency.
I want to thank Congressman Rush in particular for the Blue
Collar to Green Collar Jobs Employment Act. In Baltimore,
Baltimore City and a number of partners, including originally
the Department of Energy here under the Obama administration,
but also foundations, and businesses, and workforce development
groups have put forth an initiative called Baltimore Shines,
which is to install solar panels on the homes of low-income and
moderate-income residents in Baltimore City so there is a
positive impact on the bottom line in terms of their utility
costs, reducing their utility costs. Also, obviously, helping
reduce the carbon footprint when it comes to the environment
and making sure we are doing the right thing.
But, also, a pipeline, as was alluded to, generally a
pipeline for the workforce to move to green-collar jobs, which
can really establish somebody and put them on a path to
sufficiency. So, I thank you for those bills. And thank you,
Congressman Rush, for your proposal.
I yield back to Congressman Pallone.
Mr. Pallone. I thank the gentleman. I yield back, Mr.
Chairman.
Mr. Rush. The Chair also thanks the gentleman for his kind
remarks.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Flores, who is speaking for
the ranking member, Mr. Walden, who is not present. The Chair
recognizes Mr. Flores to read Mr. Walden's statement for 5
minutes.
[Whereupon Mr. Flores read from Mr. Walden's statement.]
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. GREG WALDEN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF OREGON
Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this
hearing to continue our oversight of the Department of Energy's
Energy Efficiency and Workforce Development Programs.
I would also like to thank our DOE witnesses, Assistant
Secretary Daniel Simmons and Mr. James Campos, for appearing
before us today. Daniel actually testified at our last
subcommittee hearing, so we welcome you back for another round
of questioning. I hope you feel the same.
Before I get into the substance of the eight bills before
us today I need to make a point about the regular order and
process. As yet another week goes by without a single
substantive legislative accomplishments, the Democrats are
still struggling with the basic principle of regular order. We
are familiar with three of the bills before us today from last
Congress, and they are bipartisan. And that is we are
appreciative of that.
The rest of these bills, unfortunately, have just been
jammed through without regular order. In fact, some of them
were just introduced on Monday so that they could be squeezed
into this hearing. There were no background hearings held to
establish the nature of the legislation. There was no technical
assistance sought from the Department of Energy. There were no
Republicans included in the drafting process at all. This is
not regular order, and it is certainly not a process that the
Democrats should be proud of.
The estimated price tag for all eight bills is a staggering
$26 billion. This includes more than a half-billion dollars for
a green-collar jobs program; $15 million for a new energy and
water efficiency pilot program; another half-billion dollars
for energy-efficient public buildings; $1.8 billion for
weatherization assistance; $1.3 billion for a new home energy
savings retrofit rebate program; and last but not least, an
astounding $21 billion for energy efficiency block grants.
Mr. Chairman, we owe it to our constituents and to
consumers across the country to give this a much more serious
effort. Rather than rushing to authorize tens of billions of
dollars of additional spending, we should have real oversight
hearings to better understand the needs and to discover that
there are gaps that require Congress to provide DOE with
additional statutory authorities. With all of these new grant
programs for efficiency, we have no idea if they are actually
necessary, or if they are duplicative, or if they are in
conflict with other existing programs.
Since several of these bills do provide grants to State and
local governments, members of this subcommittee should hear
from those State and local governments directly to identify
gaps and see how the Federal Government can better support
their efforts on energy efficiency and workforce development.
Also, since several of these bills revive expired programs,
we should get our lessons learned from past experiences before
determining whether programs should be reauthorized and, if so,
how much we should spend. Unfortunately, at the rate we are
going we are not going to get the opportunity to explore these
issues more deeply. As a result, we are going to have partisan
bills that pick winners and losers and reward special interests
over consumers and over taxpayers.
Worse yet, we are going to repeat the mistakes of the past
by doubling down on failed efforts from President Obama's Green
Jobs Program. Republicans are focused on real solutions to
encourage energy efficiency and workforce development. We
should not be wasting our time reviving old, expired efficiency
programs, some of which have not received funding in years.
We are ready to work when Democrats are willing to reach
across the aisle and to make a serious effort. I am
disappointed that we are starting off this way, but I continue
to remain hopeful that we can get back on track.
With that, thank you for holding this hearing, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Prepared Statement of Hon. Greg Walden
Thank you, Mr. Chairman for holding this hearing to
continue our oversight of the Department of Energy's energy
efficiency and workforce development programs.
I would also like to thank our DOE witnesses, Assistant
Secretary Daniel Simmons and Mr. James Campos, for appearing
before us today. Daniel actually testified at our last
subcommittee hearing, so we welcome him back for another round
of questioning.
Before I get into the substance of the eight bills before
us today, I need to make a point about regular order and
process. As yet another week goes by without a single
substantive legislative accomplishment, the Democrats are still
struggling with the basic principle of regular order.
We are familiar with three of the bills before us today
from last Congress, and they are bipartisan. The rest of these
bills have been jammed through without regular order. In fact,
some of them were just introduced on Monday so they could be
squeezed into this hearing.
There was no technical assistance sought from the
Department of Energy. There were no Republicans included in the
drafting process at all. This is not regular order, and it is
certainly not a process that Democrats should be proud of.
The estimated price tag for all eight bills is a staggering
$26 billion. This includes more than $500 million for a green-
collar jobs training program; $15 million for a new energy and
water efficiency pilot program; $500 million for energy
efficient public buildings; $1.75 billion for the
weatherization assistance program; $1.25 billion for a new home
energy savings retrofit rebate program; and, last but not
least, an astounding $21 billion for energy efficiency block
grants.
Mr. Chairman, we owe it to our constituents and to
consumers across the country to give this a more serious
effort. Rather than rushing to authorize tens of billions of
dollars in additional spending, we should have real oversight
hearings to better understand the needs, and to discover if
there are gaps that require Congress to provide DOE with
additional statutory authorities. With all of these new grant
programs for efficiency, we have no idea if they are actually
necessary or even if they are duplicative of other existing
programs.
Since several of these bills provide grants to State and
local governments, members of the subcommittee should hear from
them directly to identify gaps and see how the Federal
Government can better support their efforts on energy
efficiency and workforce development. And since several of
these bills revive expired programs, we should gather lessons
learned from past experiences, before determining whether the
programs should be reauthorized, and if so, how much we should
spend.
Unfortunately, at the rate we are going, we are not going
to get the opportunity to explore these issues more deeply. As
a result, we are going to have partisan bills that pick winners
and losers and reward special interests over consumers. Worse
yet, we are going to repeat the mistakes of the past by
doubling down on failed efforts from President Obama's Green
Jobs program.
Republicans are focused on solutions to encourage energy
efficiency and workforce development. We should not be wasting
our time reviving old, expired efficiency programs--some of
which have not received funding in years.
We are ready to get to work when the Democrats are willing
to reach across the aisle and make a serious effort. I am
disappointed that we're starting off this way, but I continue
to remain hopeful that we can get back on track.
With that, thank you for holding this hearing, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. Rush. The gentleman yields back.
I want to respond, but the chairman of the full committee
has prevailed upon me to just ignore the comments and continue
with the hearing. So wisdom has prevailed, and I am not going
to respond to the other side's comments.
So, now we will recognize our witnesses. Our first witness
today before us is the Honorable Daniel Simmons. He is the
Assistant Secretary of the Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy. And the Honorable
Mr. James Campos, the Director of the Office of Economic Impact
and Diversity at the Department of Energy.
And we want to welcome Assistant Secretary Simmons back to
the committee, and thank both he and Director Campos for
joining us today. And we look forward to your testimony.
Now, the chairman will now recognize each witness for 5
minutes to provide their opening statement. Before we begin, I
would like to explain the lighting system to our witnesses.
In front of you, if you are not aware of this, there is a
series of lights. The light will initially be green at the
start of your opening statement. The light will turn yellow
when you have 1 minute remaining on your opening statement.
Please at that time begin to wrap up your testimony. The light
will turn red when your time expires.
Secretary Simmons, right now you are recognized for 5
minutes.
STATEMENTS OF DANIEL R. SIMMONS, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, OFFICE OF
ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY;
AND JAMES E. CAMPOS, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF ECONOMIC IMPACT AND
DIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
STATEMENT OF DANIEL R. SIMMONS
Mr. Simmons. Thank you, Chairman Rush, Chairman Pallone,
Ranking Member Upton, and members of the subcommittee. Thank
you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of the Department
of Energy regarding a number of bills addressing energy
efficiency issues that are being considered by this committee.
One of my top priorities in the Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy is energy affordability, and cost-
effective energy efficiency is an important aspect of overall
energy affordability. The United States' approximately 125
million homes and commercial buildings are the single largest
energy consuming sector in the United States, consuming 74
percent of the Nation's energy use, and over 80 percent at
periods of peak demand. There are obviously opportunities for
cost-effective energy efficiency improvements in this sector.
Today I would like to share some of the relevant work my
office has done and is doing on the areas that these bills
address.
The HOMES Act would create a program through the Department
of Energy to provide rebates to homeowners for achieving home
energy savings. Residential buildings use an estimated 21
percent of all energy used in the United States. And 55 percent
of the Nation's 118 million homes were built before 1980,
meaning that there is a lot of opportunity for energy-efficient
retrofits.
In EERE we are initiating research to develop better
solutions for achieving cost-effective energy efficiency
savings through advancements in building construction
technologies, less intrusive installation methods, and more
effective integrated envelope and heating/cooling technologies.
To me this is somewhat personal in that, as someone who lives
in a home built in 1948, it is something I think about a lot,
especially when staff comes and talks about building
technologies.
So there are definitely opportunities in terms of energy-
efficient retrofits.
We also implement a variety of programs that promote
residential energy efficiency, including the Home Performance
with Energy Star Program, which works with EPA and local
sponsors. So far, the Home Performance with Energy Star Program
partners have reported completing improvements to nearly
700,000 homes.
Additionally, EERE's Weatherization Assistance Program
developed and maintains foundational workforce training and
certification programs to ensure the work is performed in
residential weatherization retrofits for low-income homes.
The Smart Building Acceleration Act would take a number of
actions related to evaluating and advancing the current state
of ``smart buildings'' in the private and Federal sectors.
Because buildings consume 74 percent of electricity generation,
the Building Technology Office is working with National Labs,
private sector partners, and others to examine grid flexibility
to greater and better building control and communication
technology.
We believe there is an opportunity through smart building
technology to improve energy integration and storage options
for both building owners and grid operators. We also recognize
the importance of cyber security being built in from the very
beginning of these projects.
Also, I should note that EERE's Federal Energy Management
Program works closely with other Federal agencies to improve
the energy efficiency and smartness of Federal buildings.
The Weatherization Enhancement and Local Energy Efficiency
Investment and Accountability Act would reauthorize the
Weatherization Assistance Program through 2024. The President's
budget requests no funding for the weatherization, for WAP and
the State Energy Program. DOE understands the congressional
interest in these programs and will continue to manage them
consistent with statute.
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Bill
expands the purpose of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Block Grant Program to include diversifying energy supplies,
including facilitating and promoting the use of alternative
fuels, and reauthorizes the program at $3.5 billion annually
from 2020 through 2025.
The Improving Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings Bill
would authorize grants for improving energy efficiency in
public buildings at $100 million annually from 2021 to 2025.
The Smart Energy and Water Efficiency Act would award
grants to eligible entities to demonstrate advanced and
innovative technology-based solutions to improve the energy
efficiency of water, wastewater, and water reuse systems.
DOE is implementing a number of initiatives to promote
affordable, efficient, and secure water supplies. One effort is
the Water Security Grand Challenge focusing on improving
desalination; produced water from oil and gas as well as some
nuclear mining; resource recovery from wastewater; the use of
cooling-reducing the use of cooling water at thermoelectric
plants; and improving small modular energy systems, energy-
water systems for urban, rural, Tribal, national security, and
disaster response settings.
The Advanced Manufacturing Office works with water
utilities and other industrial partners to improve their energy
and water efficiency through efforts such as the voluntary
recognition program Better Plants--or Better Buildings, Better
Plants.
Also, EERE's Weatherization Intergovernmental Program
Office provides technical assistance that focuses specifically
on the efficiency of wastewater treatment facilities, including
WIP's Sustainable Wastewater Infrastructure of the Future
Accelerator.
Mr. Rush. Mr. Secretary, will you bring your remarks to the
end.
Mr. Simmons. This is it. This is the last line.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the
subcommittee and discuss these important energy efficiency
issues. I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Simmons follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Rush. Good timing.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Campos for 5 minutes for his
opening, of an opening statement.
STATEMENT OF JAMES E. CAMPOS
Mr. Campos. Thank you. Chairman Rush, Ranking Member Upton,
and members of the subcommittee, it is a privilege and honor to
serve at the Department of Energy, an agency tasked with, among
other important responsibilities, managing the Department's 17
National Laboratories, supporting early-stage energy R&D across
a wide range of science and engineering disciplines, managing
the Nation's nuclear weapons, and working effectively with
States on our Nation's energy challenges.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on behalf of
the Department regarding legislation pertinent to the DOE.
ED's mission is broad and diverse, with a number of
programs and initiatives that focus on meeting its statutory
obligations and enhancing the value of DOE's mission. ED's
programs and initiatives are focused on businesses and
education to establish critical linkages among minority-serving
institutions, minority businesses, and Federal agencies to
address economic development in underserved communities, and to
support energy workforce development.
ED is committed to increasing efforts for supporting
greater inclusion of underserved minority populations--African
American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian American and Pacific
Islander, Puerto Rican, and Alaska Native--including women,
veterans, and formerly incarcerated persons, into science,
technology, engineering, mathematic fields, and energy-related
industries.
As Deputy Secretary Brouillette assured the chairman during
his hearing before this committee in January of 2018, ED has
recently reinvigorated the Minorities in Energy Initiative, now
being called Equity in Energy. The program is twofold, with
external and internal engagements.
For external engagement, ED is conducting listening
sessions across the country with underrepresented groups to
share insights and ideas to increase minority representation in
the energy sector. And share ideas to increase minority
representation, sorry, in the energy sector. For internal
engagement, ED is working with all of the Department's program
offices and the National Laboratories to bring awareness to
these issues and address potential solutions. The Equity in
Energy initiative focuses on STEM aptitude, supplier diversity,
technical assistance, and workforce development.
ED also administers the Minority Educational Institution
Student Partnership Program, MEISPP, which provides students
with summer internships at the DC headquarters and the 17
National Labs. Since 2005, over 650 interns from minority-
serving educational institutions have participated in the
program.
DOE has provided over $700 million to support Historically
Black Colleges and Universities, HBCUs, and other minority-
serving institutions through research and development programs.
In fact, my office was able to partner with and provide
financial assistance to several HBCUs and MSIs this year to
promote STEM and energy-related fields. To further these
efforts, ED is working to release a Funding Opportunity
Announcement this fiscal year.
Additionally, I am the Department's White House Initiative
designee to Promote Excellence and Innovation at HBCUs. In this
role, I lead the Economic Development and Competitiveness
cluster, and collaborate with the Departments of Treasury,
Housing and Urban Development, Education, Commerce,
Agriculture, as well as the Small Business Administration. The
cluster aims to engage the Nation's HBCUs to develop workforce
and community investments partnerships.
With respect to this proposed legislation, please note that
the Department has provided the committee with technical
assistance in reviewing the bill, and will continue to work
with the committee as the legislation being discussed today is
advanced.
Thank you again for this opportunity to be here today. It
is an honor and privilege to served in this capacity. The
Department appreciates the ongoing bipartisan efforts,
bipartisan efforts to address our Nation's energy challenges.
And I look forward to addressing any questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Campos follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Rush. I want to thank the gentleman. Want to thank all
of our witnesses.
Members, we have a vote on the floor. It has been called.
And it is my intention to recess the subcommittee until
immediately after the vote.
So, at this point in time I am going to ask our witnesses
if they would remain with us. We should be about 25 minutes to
an hour. So, we will reconvene immediately after the last vote.
Thank you. And the subcommittee stands recessed.
[Recess.]
Mr. Rush. We have concluded with the opening statements,
and now we will move to Members' questioning. Each Member will
have 5 minutes to ask questions of the witnesses. And I will
start by recognizing myself for 5 minutes.
Director Campos, as you know, the issue of increasing
opportunities for minorities and other underserved groups is
very important to me. It is an issue that I have devoted my
entire career in public service to, and it is one that I
continue to hold on as a top priority as chairman of this
subcommittee. That's the reason why I worked so closely with
Secretary Moniz in the previous administration on increasing
the Minorities in Energy Initiative and why I reintroduced my
workforce bill.
And I understand that every President has the prerogative
to focus on their own priorities. And we all certainly
understand that the current President feels a certain way about
minorities and about diversity. It is his prerogative to feel
no matter which he feels. However, the point of both the
Minorities in Energy Initiative as well as my workforce bill is
that it really shouldn't matter who is in the White House, that
the agency, DOE, has the affirmative responsibility to work on
increasing opportunities for all.
DOE is one of the largest agencies in the Federal
Government. And it receives more taxpayer funding, $30 billion
of taxpayers' money, than any department outside of the
Pentagon. It should be the agency that is the forefront of all
the agencies to create opportunity and to use its resources to
benefit all Americans, not simply the ones who are already a
part of the GOB, the Good Ol' Boys network, but all Americans.
DOE controls billions of taxpayer dollars in contracts, loan
guarantees, and funding to schools.
Yet, in each and every meeting I have held with agency
officials, whether discussing overall contracting dollars or
funding through the minority service institutions, or minority
contracting as part of the Federal Energy Management Program,
FEMP, or lending opportunities with the 17 National
Laboratories of our Nation, it is really disheartening to me to
hear the same exact excuse: ``Chairman Rush, Ranking Member
Rush, the numbers''--I am quoting them now--``the numbers are
not as good as they should be. We need to do more.'' End of
quote.
Director Campos, while I appreciate your traveling around
on, quote, ``listening tours,'' end of quote, my objective is
to get beyond the talking and the planning stages and to offer
concrete and practical policy and procedures that will help
benefit all segments of our population. Previously under
Department of Energy regulations, the d-e-a-r, DEAR, there were
diversity calls that govern all contracting, including
management and operating, or M&O, contracting. This would
require a diversity plan that includes educational outreach,
community outreach, and economic development opportunity
through technology transfer with the Labs. The purpose of the
diversity plan was to encourage and foster relationships with
minority-serving institutions, and to develop continued
partnerships with professional and scientific organizations to
promote careers in STEM education.
The objective of these plans was to create minority
participation in contracting and subcontracting opportunities,
research and development partnerships, and regular protege
responsive relationships, all of which are essential to the
objectives of H.R. 1315.
Director Campos, I am not going to ask you if your office
is working on any type of plan like this because we both
already know the answer. But I will be submitting some
questions for the record to your Department. And I will also
will be bringing up this issue when Secretary Perry comes
before this subcommittee next month to discuss DOE's budget.
Let's get to work, Director Campos, on these issues so that we
can start enacting serious proposals such as my workforce bill
in order to address some of the disparities in how the agency
does that business.
With that, I yield back. And now I recognize my good
friend, the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Upton, for
5 minutes for the purpose of asking questions of our witnesses.
Mr. Upton. Thank you, my friend. And, Chairman, as I said
in my opening statement, we do have a number of concerns,
particularly as we look at the total price tag of nearly $26
billion. That ought to get everybody's attention. And as I
said, a couple of the bills were introduced just in the last
couple days, as recently as Monday.
I have just a couple of questions. And would just note that
we just finished votes on the House floor. We have another
subcommittee that is working. We have Members on both. And we,
because of the Democratic retreat, we have no more votes the
balance of the week, so folks are off to the races in a variety
of ways.
Has the Department been asked for their input, and have you
supplied any technical assistance, TA, for any of these bills?
Mr. Simmons. We have been asked for, for technical
assistance on Representative Tonko's bill. I don't know if we
have the--we have not given that assistance back. I believe
there was a new version of that bill earlier this week.
Mr. Upton. In the case of the workforce bill, which I
understand you also submitted technical assistance, has there
been any response back to concerns that you might have raised
to comments?
Mr. Simmons. I am not sure.
Mr. Upton. That you are aware of?
Mr. Simmons. Not that I am aware of. But I am not sure
where we are in that process.
Mr. Upton. Will you commit to working with us to provide a
full audit of the workforce activities before the, hopefully,
before the bill moves forward?
Mr. Simmons. Sure thing.
Mr. Upton. And in the case of the reauthorization of
expired programs, can you commit to providing any and all
reports and materials related to those programs before these
bills hopefully move forward as well?
Mr. Simmons. Yes.
Mr. Upton. I would also note that I understand DOE's
position on the State Energy Program. The administration budget
request I think was zero for the funds or for the program.
Despite the expired program, I know that we in the Congress,
and the President signed $55 million for fiscal year 2019 for
the State Energy Programs, in large part because the States do
ask for it.
Do you have any sense in terms of where, can you help us?
If Congress provides the money again are you going to be able
to help us?
Mr. Simmons. Without a doubt. We will execute on those
monies as quickly as we can.
Mr. Upton. And I guess the last question that I have is DOE
does have an important role to provide technical systems in
coordination to support the States in their efforts to plan and
respond to emergencies, especially if there are impacts to
energy supplies. We have this terrible storm hitting the
Midwest right now and coming this way. Hurricane season, you
know, never goes away. What can we do to strengthen DOE's
ability to protect the Nation's energy supplies during these
emergencies?
This morning on some of the national news they talked about
perhaps widespread power outages that are going to impact the
Plains and some of the Midwest with the storm that is coming
through. What more can we do as we try to work in a bipartisan
basis to help strengthen the States' roles to prepare for these
emergencies?
Mr. Simmons. I don't have a, I don't have some great
answers for that. However, the two offices that are really
focused on those activities is the Office of Electricity, as
well as the Office of Cyber Security, Energy Security, and
Emergency Response.
Assistant Secretary Walker and Evans are very much focused
on those activities and making sure that the grid is more, can
become more resilient. And especially focusing on kind of some
of the knock-on effects once there is one problem,
understanding the entire system so that we can have an energy
system that is, that is more resilient and that is hardened
from what it is today.
So, we are, especially in QFRs, but I know that those
offices would be happy to talk with the committee at any time
to provide comments.
Mr. Upton. Maybe one last question. As you look at the 50
States and the territories, is there any State that really
stands above others, and is there any State or territory that
really needs some help?
Mr. Simmons. I don't have a good comment on that. But I
will take that back and find out and find some good examples.
Mr. Upton. I would just note that we have Members from, you
know, a lot of States here on this committee I know that we
would like to help, particularly as it impacts those
constituents wherever they may be. And I would again commend
Chairman Rush and others, a couple years ago a number of us
went down to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to see what
happened because of the terrible hurricane there.
So, with that, I yield back. Thank you.
Mr. Rush. I thank the gentleman.
Now the Chair recognizes Mr. O'Halleran from Arizona for 5
minutes.
Mr. O'Halleran. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member
Upton, for convening today's important legislative hearing on
energy efficiency legislation. It could not be more timely.
Deploying energy efficiency technologies and supporting
such programs is critical to conserving our precious energy
resources, and essential to bringing real cost savings to
Arizonans and Americans throughout my district.
As Arizona continues to find ways to integrate wind, hydro,
and solar energy into our grid, I look forward to introducing
legislation in this Congress to help our electrical grid make
more resilient and efficient. For a recent southwest energy
efficiency project study, Arizona has an energy savings of 21
percent, and potential water savings of 4.1 billion gallons per
year if certain efficiency programs are in place.
Mr. Campos, in your testimony you highlighted the Equity in
Energy initiative you run within the DOE to promote ethnic
representations in the workforce. Could you provide a quick
update on the listening sessions your office has had with
Tribal communities?
Mr. Campos. Sure, Congressman. Thank you.
We have just started this initiative about 3 months ago.
And one of our first active listening sessions we did a
conference called RES which deals with most of the Native
American Tribes across the Nation. It was a productive session.
And we, we sat there and listening on areas of STEM aptitude
and supplier diversity. And it went well.
What we are doing now is compiling all the information,
visiting other States, also doing events in Tulsa with Native
Americans, and figuring out what is their exact part within
this process and how we can progress forward in a both
efficient and sustainable manner.
Mr. O'Halleran. I would suggest that you come to Arizona.
We have a large number of Tribes there. The Navajo Nation is
the largest Tribal Nation in this country and within my
district, and we do have some unique problems there. So, thank
you for your answer.
As we discussed back in February, I believe the Blue Collar
and Green Jobs Act has the potential to help increase and
diversify our energy workforce by providing funding for
transmitting energy workers--transitioning energy workers to
learn new energy-efficient trades. How would H.R. 1315 help
Native Americans increase their representation in the energy
efficiency workforce? Mr. Campos?
Mr. Campos. Thank you, Congressman. Any assistance within
the workforce development range helps out all the minority
sectors across the country, be it Native Americans, African
Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans. So, the resources will
be put forth equally and distributed in a manner in which is
appropriate.
Mr. O'Halleran. As you know, my district is home to coal
generation power plants, including the Navajo Generation
Station. Recognizing the many challenges coal-fired power
plants are facing across the country and remaining open, I have
a keen interest in the economic and societal impacts coal plant
closures have on local communities.
Mr. Campos, does DOE use Section 201 of H.R. 1315 in its
ability to help displaced coal workers transition to new energy
efficiency jobs with good living wages?
Mr. Campos. Congressman, that is probably a question I will
have to get back to you on to make sure that I am giving the
right information.
Mr. O'Halleran. Mr. Simmons, I would like to ask you about
H.R. 2114, the Enhancing State Energy Security Planning and
Energy Preparedness Act of 2019. In the last month there have
been some documented fuel shortages in Central Arizona causing
a 30 cent per gallon increase at the pump. Would this
legislation help States develop State Energy Security Plans to
prevent future lapses in fuel such as this?
Mr. Simmons. Well, it would all come down to how good the
State Energy Security Plan is. But if there are certain,
hopefully, I think that that is--that that would be the goal,
to be able to look at some of those challenges, especially
foreseeable challenges that may happen in situations like that.
Mr. O'Halleran. Mr. Chairman, I applaud the committee's
work to discuss these issues in a bipartisan fashion on this
and other issues as this Congress moves forward. And I yield
back.
Mr. Rush. I thank the gentleman for yielding back.
The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Latta
for 5 minutes.
Mr. Latta. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And thanks
for today's hearing. And thanks for our witnesses for being
with us today.
Mr. Assistant Secretary, when reading your testimony you
have an area you were talking about the cyber security that
you're building, you want to see built into the design,
production, and planning of new technologies. I know my friend
from California Mr. McNerney and I have worked together on
issues on cyber security and also on cyber sense and also the
grid and the resiliency there.
I'm just kind of interested. And when you are looking at
what you want to do and on cyber resilience for all the
manufacturing supply chains, could you go into that, what you
are looking at?
Mr. Simmons. Sure. Well, there is a, there is a number of
things. First of all, we recently announced a cyber security in
energy efficient manufacturing, which is a new $70 million
effort to look at the future of manufacturing in the United
States. And the future of manufacturing is likely to be much
more automated than it is today. And as we are thinking about
new automation, that new automation will increase energy
efficiency hopefully.
However, new automation creates new, new areas for attack.
And so we want to make sure is that as we are from the very
beginning looking at any opportunities to make, to make new
automation more cyber secure, automation and controls so that
they are more cyber secure from the very beginning.
The Department of Defense also has a program in energy
efficiency of manufacturing. They are focused on existing
manufacturing. And as the cyber security and energy efficiency
manufacturing program that we recently put out, we will work
very closely with DoD to make sure that their comments and
insights are considered as we move forward.
Mr. Latta. Well, let me follow up then, because when you
talk, like, in my district I have 60,000 manufacturing jobs.
And when I have been out in my district extensively and, you
know, with the automation that is going on, and also Mr. Welch
and I who in this committee we did the internet of things
working group two Congresses ago. And what we are seeing out
there with all of the different technologies going on, how do
you work with the companies out there or the manufacturers or
the innovators to make sure that they are building this in? And
also, at the same time, making sure that what they are putting
into the product is secure to begin with, that they are not
getting it from an insecure source that might have, you know,
something in there that you could have a cyber attack?
Mr. Simmons. So, the -- I am not, I don't have a great
answer for you. The cyber security and energy efficiency in
manufacturing is a new effort so I don't have any stories to
tell about that. However, both the Office of Electricity when
dealing with the bulk power grid is very much focused on the
issue in terms of cyber security of the systems that control
the bulk power grid. And, also, the Cyber Security, Energy
Security, and Emergency Response Office in DOE is focused on
those issues. And I can get you some comments about, about
their work and how, how we are working to improve that cyber
security.
Also, a real asset for the country is the work that happens
in the National Labs in terms of cyber security, at places such
as Sandia National Lab, Idaho National Lab, Pacific Northwest
National Lab, and looking at ways to improve cyber security.
And they reach out to the private sector to make sure that they
are, that they are coordinating and making sure that best
practices are followed, as well as trying to understand where--
what cyber security issues we are seeing today so that we can
make improvements.
Mr. Latta. Thank you.
Mr. Campos, in my remaining minute, how much does the
Department of Energy spend on the annual basis, on an annual
basis on the Workforce Development Initiatives?
Mr. Campos. Thank you, Senator. Our budget within my
office, in particular, economic development, diversity, we have
a $10 million budget. And a fraction, fractions of it go across
the spectrum. And what I mean by that is workforce development
is woven in throughout my budget. About 6 point--5.8 million of
it is for the actual labor, staffing. And then the rest is
divided amongst all the initiatives. So, but workforce
development is woven in within the whole, within the remaining
budget.
Mr. Simmons. And if I may, there are other, there are some
things that my office does in terms of workforce development,
both the Advanced Manufacturing Office, weatherization, the
Weatherization Assistance Program works on workforce
development through improving training. There is a number of
opportunities, there is a number of things that we are
currently doing. We would have to get you a holistic DOE number
from across the entire enterprise.
Mr. Latta. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, my time has expired, and I yield back.
Mr. Rush. I thank the gentleman. The Chair now recognizes
the gentleman from New York, Mr. Tonko, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Tonko. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you,
gentlemen, for your testimony.
Secretary Simmons, I agree that energy affordability should
be a top priority. Low-income households pay on average 7.2
percent of household income on utilities--I have seen even
higher numbers than that--more than three times the amount that
higher-income households pay. And according to the Energy
Information Administration, 1 in 3 U.S. households faces
challenges, or faced challenges in paying energy bills in 2015.
Last week when we debated H.R. 9, a number of Members
raised concerns about the costs of energy. And I believe they
are sincere about wanting to keep expenses down. So, today I
want to offer at least a partial solution on how to help lower
utility bills for low-income families.
Mr. Secretary, why do you think low-income households pay a
disproportionate amount in their utility bills?
Mr. Simmons. A disproportionate amount of their income in
utility bills? Yes, they do.
Mr. Tonko. But why do you think that is the case?
Mr. Simmons. Because energy is a, energy is a necessity.
Mr. Tonko. But in terms of relative scale to more affluent
households, why would their wedge of the pie for energy be
disproportionately larger?
Mr. Simmons. Well, for one, they have less discretionary
income. And so, when you are looking at the most important
bills that you pay you have to pay to keep your house warm or
cool, you have to pay to keep the lights on, you have to pay to
get from point A to point B. Like, there is no way around those
things, so.
Mr. Tonko. I would suggest, also, that they live in
inefficient homes with poor insulation, and perhaps old
windows, et cetera. Unfortunately, many of these households
cannot afford the up front costs of a retrofit, even when it is
for cost-effective efficiency improvements.
Luckily, DOE's Weatherization Assistance Program has more
than a 40-year track record of making homes safer, healthier,
and more energy efficient. The program has provided assistance
to more than 7.4 million low-income households since that
beginning date of 1976.
Now, Mr. Secretary, do you think weatherization assistance
provides a positive service to many of America's most
vulnerable households, struggling families, seniors on fixed
incomes, and the disabled for instance?
Mr. Simmons. Yes.
Mr. Tonko. Despite the program's success, I believe aspects
of the program could be modernized and improved. A lot has
changed in 40 years. There are new and emerging technologies
and techniques to deliver even more effective services. So, Mr.
Secretary, do you believe weatherization assistance should be
able to include the latest, cost-effective technologies and
services to achieve the program's goals?
Mr. Simmons. Yes.
Mr. Tonko. OK. And, Mr. Secretary, many of my colleagues
have talked about needing to put innovation at the forefront of
our energy policy. Today, weatherization funding is provided to
States based on a formula. H.R. 2041 would create a small
competitive grant program as a set-aside to that funding to
support innovative weatherization practices.
Mr. Secretary, do you support fostering more innovation in
traditional weatherization services?
Mr. Simmons. We, we very much foster, we very much support
innovation because at the end of the day what matters is
reducing people's energy bills and with the Weatherization
Program.
Mr. Tonko. Thank you very much.
The most recent authorization of the program expired in
2012. That authorization was for $1.4 billion, a level we have
never reached in a sustained way. This bill includes a
reauthorization at $350 million.
Secretary Simmons, does the administration generally like
to see programs reauthorized at levels better aligned with
actual funding?
Mr. Simmons. I'm sorry, I missed part of that question.
Mr. Tonko. Sure. Does the administration generally like to
see programs reauthorized at levels better aligned with actual
funding?
Mr. Simmons. I don't think the administration has taken a
position on that question.
Mr. Tonko. OK. Well, Mr. Chair, this committee's
responsibility should be to reauthorize effective programs. I
think it is clear that the Weatherization Assistance Program,
with its record of supporting efficiency for low-income
households deserves to be reauthorized and modernized.
Mr. Chairman, thank you again for holding this hearing. I
would also voice my support for EECBG reauthorization, which
the Environment Subcommittee heard from a bipartisan group of
mayors provides the flexible resources to advance local energy
agendas.
And with that, I will yield back.
Mr. Rush. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
The Chair now recognizes my friend from West Virginia, Mr.
McKinley, for 5 minutes.
Mr. McKinley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I guess what I am going to need from you all is some dates.
And I don't think you are going to be able to answer initially
where they are, so you will have to get back to me on it. But I
would like to have with the Weatherization Program, and I thank
the chairman for sponsoring this. I am one of the authors or
sponsors of the Home Program, so it is something very sensitive
and why we need to be moving on it.
And I appreciate this, the questions that were asked about
why they, the poor, are disproportionately affected. So I want
to go to a line of re-questioning, especially as it relates to
articles about Pennsylvania not being able--not spending the
money that was authorized for them. And it was something like
$5.4 million Pennsylvania had--we had provided Pennsylvania to
help out the poor. And they didn't do it. The money had to be
returned.
So, my question is three parts. One is, do you have, can
you get me or our office a list of all the States when they
established a program to do weatherization? Is there support
for that, to get that?
Mr. Simmons. Absolutely.
Mr. McKinley. Secondly, I would like to know when each of
those 50 States, and perhaps territories that would come into
play, when did they cut their first check?
Mr. Simmons. OK.
Mr. McKinley. To see that they are complying with what we
are trying to reach out and help people. Maybe it is the
bureaucracy or something that is holding it back and they are
not helping out what we are trying to do to help out on that.
Mr. Simmons. OK.
Mr. McKinley. And thirdly, I would like to know the
expiration date. How much money is being returned to the
Federal Government that the States are not----
Mr. Simmons. OK.
Mr. McKinley [continuing]. Dispensing?
And with it, so with that because I am hearing stories,
because we talked a lot about this in West Virginia, I am
trying to help out folks, that sometimes in other States they
get the money, the work is done, but it may be 6 months to a
year before the contractor is reimbursed. That is maybe the
fourth aspect of it is, is there any justification way that
people can, contractors should be put in that position? I
don't, I wouldn't think that you would agree that they should
be, it should be a year before they are paid, do you?
Mr. Simmons. No. No.
Mr. McKinley. So, it looked like you want to say a little
bit more on that.
Mr. Simmons. I was just going to say that, you know, we,
the--we work very hard. The--we work very hard to make sure
that the money they get appropriated under that program go out
to the States in a timely fashion. And we would hope that that
money gets then spent by the States in a timely fashion as
well.
Mr. McKinley. That you're aware. It is not so much wrong
with Washington. We have enough problems here. But it looks
like the States are not pushing it down to where it needs to
be, particularly to help the poor in getting their homes, their
efficiency.
This, this article about Pennsylvania is very disturbing
that was put out. And I, I hope that we can kind of put that to
rest.
So, if you would get back to us in a timely fashion with
the three aspects: When were the States established; when did
they cut the first check; and how much money did they return to
the Federal Government that wasn't allocated to help out?
Mr. Simmons. OK. We will do that.
Mr. McKinley. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Mr. Rush. The Chair thanks the gentleman for yielding back.
The Chair now recognizes my friend from the great State of
Illinois, Ms. Kelly, for 5 minutes.
Ms. Kelly. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And also was wondering,
the report that Mr. McKinley asked for, can the committee have
that report of the States?
Mr. Rush. Mr. McKinley, will you share that, your report
that you mentioned with the Chair, and even send it to the rest
of the committee?
Mr. McKinley. Yes.
Mr. Rush. All right. So ordered. Right.
Ms. Kelly. Thank you, Chairman Rush.
Today's hearing is an important opportunity for the
committee to review several pieces of legislation that increase
energy efficiency and build a new energy workforce. Thanks for
being here. I have introduced H.R. 2119, which amends the
Energy Policy Act of 2005 to increase the authorization for a
grant program that was set up to provide grants for States to
improve the energy efficiency of public buildings and
facilities.
States and local communities often lack the financial
resources to undertake large-scale efficiency retrofits for
public buildings. This grant program makes it easier for States
to make these investments, which in turn lowers the utility
bills for the community operating the building.
Assistant Secretary Simmons, in your testimony you discuss
the fact that homes and commercial buildings are the largest
energy-consuming sector in the U.S. What more can DOE's
Building Technologies Office be doing to support State and
local communities who may lack the resources to retrofit public
buildings?
Mr. Simmons. One of the first things that we can be doing
is providing technical assistance. And some of that technical--
currently we provide technical assistance to the Federal
Government through the Federal Energy Management Program. And
there could be opportunities there to provide that type of
assistance at the local level.
And as well as some of the work that we are doing in the
Building Technology Office is expanding the state of the art
about retrofits, since there are a lot of public buildings, and
wanting to make sure that there are more cost-effective,
easier-to-do retrofit options to reduce the energy footprint of
government at all levels, from the Federal down to the local
level.
Ms. Kelly. You also indicated that DOE shouldn't focus on
grant programs like this that could be more appropriately left
to the private sector. In what scenario would the private
sector step in to fund efficiency upgrades that publicly
operated buildings?
Mr. Simmons. So, one way that that, that that occurs
currently is through energy savings performance contracting
where that happens at the Federal level but also at the State
and local level. And I believe that is an area that some people
in that community, some companies in that community see as a
real opportunity for the future to work with schools,
hospitals, and other public buildings to do one way of
improving the energy efficiency of those buildings.
Ms. Kelly. I won't ask you to do it now, but can you send
me some examples of----
Mr. Simmons. Sure. Sure.
Ms. Kelly [continuing]. Where that has happened?
A characteristic of public sector, local, State, and
Federal is its limited resources compared to the private
sector. This means a project upgrading public sector buildings
may not be as profitable as a private construction project, and
without incentives such as Federal grants driving investment in
public sector buildings, our municipal buildings will only
decline further in quality and efficiency, resulting in lower
quality services and quality of life for our constituents. And
I know in parts of my district and in some parts--I represent
the south suburbs, south side of Chicago, south suburbs--and I
know particularly in some of the south suburban towns they just
simply cannot afford it. They just can't.
As such, I am not as confident, I guess, as you are in the
ability of private sector alone to drive the market for green
construction. So, making the public buildings in our community
more energy efficient has numerous benefits, as you know. It
makes our buildings healthier and safer places to work by
eliminating drafts and improving indoor air quality. Energy
efficiency work creates good-paying jobs for local workers
which I know is very important to our chairman, workforce
development, and to me. It is a win/win for communities across
the country. And the Federal Government should be providing
more support to bolster these efforts.
And with that, I yield back.
Mr. Rush. I want to thank the gentlelady for yielding back.
The Chair recognizes now Mr. Hudson from North Carolina for
5 minutes.
Mr. Hudson. Thank the chairman. And thank you to both the
witnesses for being here. I know it is a long day for you, but
it is very informative for us.
Mr. Campos, thank you in particular for being here today. I
want to focus on H.R. 1315, the Blue Collar to Green Collar
Jobs Development Act, and the workforce development programs
within the Department of Energy. Workforce development should
be a truly non-partisan issue. As you may know, I have been a
sponsor of similar legislation which passed with unanimous
consent in prior Congresses. However, I have serious concerns
with this new draft.
You know, as a previous sponsor I was cut out of the
drafting of this process. And because new language has been
added, I feel we will unfairly pick winners and losers at the
expense of consumers and workforce trainees.
Mr. Campos, what is the Department of Energy's vision for
energy workforce development? And do you agree that it would be
shortsighted to limit workforce development and training
opportunities to so-called green-collar jobs only?
Mr. Campos. Thank you, Mr. Congressman.
I think that the DOE at large has interwoven workforce
development within its many different elements. And within my
office it is an important aspect for the growth of our country
and our national security. So, I am an advocate on doing
whatever is necessary to promote that and to work within the
confines of whatever ends up happening with this bill, and so
forth.
Mr. Simmons. And if I may, the Department as a whole is
very supportive of workforce development. There are obviously
some areas where there needs to--that it is more of a critical
issue, for example around nuclear energy, for example, where
you have the nuclear fleet is declining in size over time. And
if you do not have people that can----
Mr. Hudson. Well, I understand that. But, I mean, my
question is if we are only looking at green-collar jobs are we
leaving out a lot of other jobs in the future that we ought to
be training for?
Mr. Simmons. That is, that is certainly possible because of
jobs in the, you know, the oil and gas sector in particular.
Mr. Hudson. I appreciate that.
Mr. Campos, I understand that the majority requested
technical assistance from the Department, and that DOE
expressed several concerns. However, it does not appear that
any of the suggested improvements have been made.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask unanimous consent that
the Department of Energy's technical assistance document be
included in the hearing record.
Mr. Rush. Without objection, so ordered.
[The information appears at the conclusion of the hearing.]
Mr. Hudson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Campos, I am concerned about the price tag also of H.R.
1315. The bill amends the Department of Energy Organization Act
to create a new program office with an authorized authorization
of $500 million. It authorizes a new $100 million training
program and it creates a new $350 million Energy Workforce
Grant Program limited to energy efficiency and renewable
energy. It sounds a lot like President Obama's Green Jobs
Program.
Does the Department of Energy need additional legislative
authority or money for green-collar job grants?
Mr. Campos. Mr. Congressman, I will have to work with my
staff and get back to you on that.
Mr. Simmons. One, we are, we are spending money in certain
ways that on things that you could call green collar. For
example, the Solar Office recently put out a $13 million
funding opportunity announcement specifically on solar
workforce. And there's a number of other opportunities and
efforts going on besides that currently.
Mr. Hudson. Great.
For either witness, is there a risk that this new bill adds
new layers of duplicative programs? If you are already able to
focus on green-collar jobs, are we duplicating efforts here? I
would ask either witness.
Mr. Simmons. I would have to get back to you on that one. I
am not familiar enough with, with all the language to make a
good answer.
Mr. Hudson. Mr. Campos?
Mr. Campos. My office will also get back to you, sir.
Mr. Hudson. I appreciate that.
You know, Mr. Chairman, you and I are friends. I trust you,
respect you, and we have worked together in the past. And I
would love to find a way to work together going forward. I just
have a lot of concerns about this draft and this legislation.
And I appreciate you giving me a chance to talk about some of
this.
Mr. Rush. The Chair is eager to work with you. You have
been my friend and we have worked together in the past. And I
look forward to working together with you again in the future.
And we will clear up any uncertainties and contingencies that
exist regarding the bill. I think there is a misunderstanding
of what the Chair means by blue to green collar. It is not
excluding any particular characterization of jobs that are
available in the energy sector.
But, and so I look forward to working with you.
The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts,
Mr. Kennedy, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Kennedy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you,
and the committee, and our witnesses from the Department of
Energy. Thank you for your service, thank you for being here
today.
As you have seen so far, expanding energy efficiency is an
incredibly important piece of the fight to lessen our
dependence on fossil fuels and reduce emissions. I am proud to
offer a bill along with my colleague Greg Stanton of Arizona,
to help municipalities achieve their goals of lessening a
carbon footprint.
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants Program
was authorized as part of the Energy Independence and Security
Act of 2007, and later funded as part of the stimulus in 2008.
Oh, I am in the wrong seat. Forgive me.
The energy efficiency and clean energy technologies are
critically important to ensure a livable future. In addition to
the environmental, civil, and economic benefits, they have the
potential to be some of the fastest growing job opportunities,
particularly in my district in Southeaster Massachusetts.
Last month we heard from a panel of industry experts and
business owners that they can't find enough workers with the
right skill sets to fill the jobs that they need in a clean
energy economy. I specifically asked about offshore wind. And
our witnesses agreed offshore wind is coming and we don't have
a trained workforce ready. That is not just about jobs working
directly in the industry, but also about the supply chain
aspects that are on the cusp of providing an economic boom in
the United States.
We have heard from many groups eager to provide the
training and education necessary for this generation of
workers. For example, at Bristol Community College, Mass.
Maritime, and UMAS Dartmouth, they all recently signed a
memorandum of understanding last June to help develop
curriculum. Similarly, European-based wind companies have set
up a American headquarters in Boston over the course of the
past 6 months. And recently, Tufts University announced the
creation of the first graduate program for offshore wind in the
U.S., focused on structural and geotechnical engineering.
We have enormous opportunities sitting right in front of us
to create a new energy--a new American industry to become world
leaders in offshore wind.
With that framework in mind, I would like to discuss how
the Department of Energy and the Congress can work together to
establish the building blocks necessary for this program to
succeed.
I am here today to support Chairman Rush's bill, H.R. 1315,
Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development Act of 2019. This
legislation would ensure that we are training our workforce for
new jobs in clean energy, as well as connecting trained people
to employment opportunities, especially for underrepresented
and underserved populations at the heart of this bill.
So, Mr. Campos, to begin with, as I have mentioned,
offshore wind is coming to Massachusetts. And this provides an
exciting new set of job opportunities. How can we make sure
that Massachusetts and the surrounding area is ready for those
jobs?
Mr. Campos. Thank you, Congressman Kennedy. That is vitally
important in all sectors of the U.S., including the sector that
you reside in, are important. What we are doing as an office is
increasing an initiative we have called Equity in Energy. And I
spoke to that a little earlier in my opening statement.
And we are engaging with various universities, community
colleges, groups, associations to engage in those conversations
and increase participation within those stakeholders, including
industry, including areas of workforce development, and also
including prison reentry. So, we are working with all these
groups to come to a better utilization and for a better
edification within my office and the Department in addressing
those concerns in renewable energy.
Mr. Kennedy. So, I appreciate that. I would just note that
I went to the web page for the Office of Economic Impact and
Diversity to look at the Equity in Energy program that you
talked about in your opening statement. The web page says,
``site under construction.'' So I just hope that you are able
to put some more information there soon as we try to make some
investments to try to guide some of that, the potential there
going forward.
Mr. Campos. Absolutely, Congressman Kennedy. We actually
have just started this new initiative about 3 months ago. And
so it is under construction but we are actually working towards
this. Again, I will get your office the information as soon as
it comes out.
Mr. Kennedy. Thank you.
Mr. Rush's bill allows for DOE to provide direct assistance
to apprenticeship pro--or, excuse me, apprenticeship programs,
labor organizations, State and local workforce development
boards. Do you think that it would be a helpful way to train
and prepare our workforce for jobs in the future as they
materialize across the country, like offshore wind?
Mr. Simmons. Through apprenticeship programs?
Mr. Kennedy. Yes. I mean, the basic idea of trying to take
some of those Federal programs to work locally where we have
enormous opportunity, particularly in Southeastern New England,
with some economically challenged communities to try to put
this on the forefront of an emerging industry. So, want to
figure out how you all are viewing that as a potential area of
cooperation.
Mr. Simmons. Unless I am mistaken, I don't think we have,
the administration has a position on that specific aspect. One
of the, one of the things with offshore wind is that, that my
office is working on, is working on driving down the costs so
we can be able to, you know, realize the potential that there
is by having lower cost devices. But it is not enough to just
have the devices. You also need to have people that understand
how to install them.
And so it sounds like that there is a lot of good
opportunity, there is a lot of good activities going on with
some of the things that you mentioned to make sure that there
is a trained workforce that can actually install these machines
offshore.
Mr. Kennedy. I am over time. So I just want to--we have a
tremendous opportunity to actually incubate and grow an
industry that does not exist. It is going to need cooperation
between Federal, State, and local governments. And Texas I
think has, and the secretary has a record of showing, or
growing a wind industry in Texas that I think some lessons
there could be applied valuably to a new industry as well.
So, look forward to working with you guys as we go forward.
Yield back.
Mr. Rush. The chairman now recognizes the gentleman from
Michigan, Mr. Walberg, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Walberg. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thanks to the
panel for being here.
Mr. Simmons, DOE's Weatherization Assistance Program
provides money to States to distribute the funds to support
low-income residents by conducting energy efficiency audits and
weatherizing homes. Over the years, concerns have been missed--
raised about the administration of the program and its
influence on State energy policy.
The program has continued to receive funding, but Congress
has not reauthorized it since it expired in 2012, as you know.
In your testimony, while discussing the Weatherization
Assistance Program you mentioned that, and I quote, ``Utility
programs across the country have recognized and adopted the
Home Energy Professional Certification Program.'' You noted
that the administration is not seeking any funding for the
Weatherization Assistance Program. But the bill before us
contemplates reauthorizing a significant grant program with
additional funding.
And so, has DOE asked for this funding? And can you please
talk about how your office and the Federal Government works
with States on implementing the program?
Mr. Simmons. So, the fist part of the question, we have not
asked for funding. We work, we have the Weatherization, the
Weatherization Assistance Program Office that focuses on both
the State Energy Program and the Weatherization Program, and
making sure that the money goes out the--the money goes out the
door, the money that is appropriated by Congress. And
especially on weatherization, that those funds are--we fund
training to make sure that the funds are spent in ways that
make sense, that we have quality installers, quality
installation, so that the low-income families are really
receiving the benefit of these Federal dollars.
Those are, those are a couple of the ways that, you know,
we have oversight of the money. But it is also important to
make sure that the money goes out to the various States.
Mr. Walberg. Along those lines, what do you see as the role
here for EERE with regard to what the States are doing?
Mr. Simmons. There is a, I think that there is an important
oversight role that we need to play to make sure that the money
gets spent in ways that are consistent with Federal law.
Mr. Walberg. Appropriate, efficient?
Mr. Simmons. Appropriate, efficient, and that the money
gets--and the money is really going to the people specified by
Congress and is producing quality benefits for them.
Mr. Walberg. Does the Department view that the
Weatherization Program is really needed?
Mr. Simmons. Well, we, the administration doesn't have a,
doesn't take a position on that. The budget request is zero for
the office.
We also understand where Congress is. And we, so money, a
substantial amount of money is appropriated every year. And so
we work very diligently to meet our statutory obligations and
to carry out the program.
Mr. Walberg. I guess with that in mind, would you commit
here to providing technical drafting assistance----
Mr. Simmons. Yes, sir.
Mr. Walberg [continuing]. For this bill?
Mr. Simmons. Yes, sir.
Mr. Walberg. So it does meet any concerns about making sure
the program is viable, the program is necessary, the program
functions well and we are not wasting dollars.
Mr. Simmons. Yes, sir.
Mr. Walberg. Mr. Simmons, as you know, the subcommittee
recently examined EERE's proposed process rule. At the hearing,
you committed to following the statutory process to clear the
backlog, which I applaud. But I was also struck by the logic of
the proposed rule which sought to prioritize those rules that
might return the most bang for the buck in energy savings, more
specifically half a quad.
With regard to the legislation before us today, would you
like to see the similar logic included in the Weatherization
Assistance Program or other proposed grant programs providing
support for energy efficiency retrofit should the legislation
move forward?
Mr. Simmons. We don't have a position on that. That said,
it would--metrics are helpful.
Mr. Walberg. Would it provide EERE more flexibility?
Mr. Simmons. I would have to hear from the experts in the
program office on that if it would provide us with more
flexibility.
Mr. Walberg. Mr. Chairman, I thank you, and I yield back.
Mr. Rush. The gentleman yields.
The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from the great State
of California, Mr. McNerney.
Mr. McNerney. I thank the chairman.
All of our States are great, aren't they, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Rush. All of them.
Mr. McNerney. OK. I might be the last person asking
questions this morning.
Mr. Rush. And you are the greatest.
Mr. McNerney. I appreciate the bipartisan nature of the
hearing this morning. All the bills we are looking at are
bipartisan, and that is a good sign.
Energy efficiency is a fast-growing field, and it is
creating good jobs. In particular, the Smart Energy and Water
Efficiency Act of 2019 that I introduced with my colleague Mr.
Kinzinger is on the agenda today. It establishes a pilot
program for grants to demonstrate advanced energy innovation,
technology-based solutions for water, and energy efficiency,
including improved energy efficiency, water, wastewater and
water reuse systems, supporting the installation of advanced
automation systems and improved conservation quality, and
predictive maintenance through interconnected technologies.
Mr. Simmons, thank you for speaking out on energy
efficiency and renewable energy program. I appreciate what you
said about the Water Security Grant Challenge. Are there any
resources being devoted to prizes, R&D, and public/private
partnerships for that program?
Mr. Simmons. There will be, yes.
Mr. McNerney. Do you have some idea what they might look
like?
Mr. Simmons. They are, they are currently in development,
so we don't have, we don't have what they are currently. But
there is definitely the issue of water. Both water reuse in
terms of produced waters from oil and gas development, for
example, but also for resource recovery from wastewater. Those
are two of the important topics that we are, that we are
looking at. So, you can make wastewater more valuable than
just----
Mr. McNerney. Sure. Any idea when you will have those to
announce?
Mr. Simmons. I don't. Hopefully we will have something in
the next few months.
Mr. McNerney. You mentioned that water produced from the
energy sector is being transformed from waste into a resource.
One of the challenges are the chemicals that are introduced in
this process. Is EERE committed to reducing the freshwater
requirements using fracking, and cleaning up wastewater that is
produced by fracking for safer use?
Mr. Simmons. So, you know, in that grant challenge we are
working across the Department of Energy. So that, in terms of
fracking, that is really the Office of Fossil Energy. But as I,
so as I understand their, what, you know, their goal is
definitely to use less fresh water, to be able to do fracking
in a more water-efficient manner. And then to be able to, so
that when the produced water comes out for that water to have
much more wider uses, for example, maybe agriculture,----
Mr. McNerney. Right.
Mr. Simmons [continuing]. Rather than just having to
dispose of it in deep injection wells.
Mr. McNerney. Well, good. I am glad to hear that.
Is your office employing or intending to employ any
artificial intelligence technology to improve water energy
efficiency and predictive maintenance?
Mr. Simmons. I would, I would say that that rings a bell.
But I would have to look into that.
Mr. McNerney. OK. It seems to me there is a lot of
opportunity there.
Mr. Simmons. There is. There are a lot of opportunities
around the managing of complex systems such as wastewater
treatment plant and AI. The Department of Energy is home to the
fastest computers in the world. And, obviously, we have a lot
of experts who look at that. And so any time that we can use
various parts of the administration, or various parts of DOE
can work together on an issue here, we very much try to do
that.
Mr. McNerney. Mr. Campos, I apologize, I missed your
opening statement and the questions that may have come to you.
But I am very concerned about the sort of retirement of folks
that are qualified to work in energy systems and in water
systems both.
Do you have any trend lines of the number of people that
expect to retire in the next decade and the number of people
that are coming into the system to replace those people?
Mr. Campos. Mr. Congressman, overall I don't have those
numbers, but I share your concern. There is an aging population
in all energy sectors across the board. And we are addressing
those within our scope of work. But there is a, there is a
point of concern there for sure. And I share that.
Mr. McNerney. And you are, I mean, you are reaching out or
you are giving guidelines to reach, for these agencies to reach
out to communities across the spectrum to get people. I mean,
there are pretty good paying jobs that we are talking about;
right? And they are good careers. They should be attractive to
folks.
Mr. Campos. Yes, that is one of my, my priorities it to get
out there within different areas of the United States and to
reach and to provide that information. Because you are
absolutely right, these are good paying jobs. And there is a
lack of information and awareness towards this. And that is one
of my priorities.
Mr. McNerney. Are we requiring college educations for most
of these positions in your opinion?
Mr. Campos. This is a mix. That is why in my Equity in
Energy we are doing STEM aptitude, which doesn't necessarily
need college degrees. So, it is a variety. And we are seeing
more and more that it is certificate-based, not so much a 4-
year or 2-year degree needed in many of these areas.
Mr. McNerney. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
Mr. Rush. The Chair thanks the gentleman for yielding back.
This concludes the questioning and answering segment of the
hearing. And so, I do want to thank the witnesses for your
appearance today before the subcommittee. And I look forward to
having you once again to appear before this subcommittee in the
near future. So, thank you for your time.
The Chair now entertains a unanimous consent request to
enter into the record various letters and documents, including
a letter from the National Community Action Foundation; a
letter of support for and from the American Association of
Blacks in Energy in relation to H.R. 1315; a letter of support
from the American Gas Association in support of the HOMES Act;
an April 21, 2011, GAO report on the Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Block Grant Program; a DOE technical assistance
comments on H.R. 1315; a letter from the U.S. Green Building
Council; a letter of support for H.R. 1315 from the Solar
Energy Industry Association; a letter of support of H.R. 1315
from Duke Energy; a letter of support from the Alliance to Save
Energy in support of H.R. 1315; a letter of support for H.R.
1315 from the Building Performance Industry; and an article
from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Seeing no objection, the unanimous consent request is
approved.
[The information appears at the conclusion of the
hearing.]\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The GAO report has been retained in committee files and also is
available at https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF03/20190410/109300/
HHRG-116-IF03-20190410-SD989.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Rush. And seeing that there are no more witnesses and
no more Members to ask questions, the Chair will now adjourn
this subcommittee. And thank you once again for your
appearance.
I remind Members that, pursuant to committee rules, they
have 10 business days to submit additional questions for the
record to be answered by the witnesses for whatever period. I
ask each witness to respond promptly to any such questions that
you may receive.
And at this time the subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 12:54 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
[Material submitted for inclusion in the record follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
[all]