WASHINGTON DC (1/4/24) Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright will appear before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week to consider his nomination for Energy Secretary. Mr. Wright will play a critical role in helping President Trump reshape U.S. energy policy, especially in cleaning up the mess being left behind by the Biden administration at the Department of Energy. Here are a few questions Senators may want to consider asking Mr. Wright during his upcoming hearing:
- The Biden administration’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management released its Strategic Vision in 2022, in which they wrote, “The Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s (FECM) core mission is to address the climate crisis.” They had previously released a statement saying, “Moving forward, a central ethic of our office is that if a non-fossil energy option exists today, it should always be preferred to the use of fossil energy.” We cannot find statutory support for these claims. Rather, the U.S. Code requires the office to work on increasing the energy conversion efficiency of all forms of fossil energy through improved technologies; decreasing the cost of all fossil energy production, generation, and delivery; promoting diversity of energy supply; decreasing the dependence of the United States on foreign energy supplies; improving United States energy security and other important considerations. See 42 U.S.C. 16291. Will you follow the statutory mandates to improve fossil energy?
- The first Trump administration took important actions to update DOE’s “Process Rule” to ensure that the law is followed when implementing appliance standards. The Biden administration eviscerated this regulation as part of its whole-of-government effort to impose regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Will you review the Process Rule and the appliance standards program to ensure that they follow the law?
- Just before Christmas, the Biden administration banned certain non-condensing water heaters. The distinction between condensing and non-condensing water heaters (and furnaces) seems like a feature that is protected by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. Will you protect important features like non-condensing equipment?
- The Biden administration required “Community Benefits Plans” for the billions of dollars of awards it issued. These plans could require invidious discrimination and other actions of dubious legality. Will you review the requirements DOE has imposed in recent years and included in its awards to ensure the federal government is not funding or requiring actions that could result in invidious discrimination?
- On January 20, 2021, Biden signed an executive order telling DOE officials to make ‘major revisions’ to current appliance regulation standards. These efficiency regulations can reduce the effectiveness of appliances, increase upfront costs, and increase the precious time it takes for each washing or drying cycle. How high of a priority will it be for you to undo these burdensome regulations?
- The Biden administration made changes to the Petroleum-Equivalent Fuel Economy Calculation which may give electric vehicles too much credit. Will you review this regulation to ensure the Biden administration followed the law and the science?
The American Energy Alliance will be scoring the Wright nomination on the Senate floor for our American Energy Scorecard.
AEA Experts Available For Interview On This Topic:
- Tom J. Pyle, President
- Kenny Stein, Vice President of Policy
- Alex Stevens, Manager of Policy and Communications
Additional Background Resources From AEA:
For media inquiries please contact: