During a House Oversight Committee hearing last week, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) questioned Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm about the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and clean energy investments.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Secretary Grinholm, in the time since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act and
00:06 bipartisan infrastructure law, communities across the country are already benefiting from historic
00:13 investments in clean energy and climate resilience. In fact, right here in the District of Columbia
00:20 that I represent, the Inflation Reduction Act is enabling the General Services Administration
00:27 to upgrade Federal Government buildings from fossil fuel steam power to electric heat pump
00:34 technology. The upgrades to the Ronald Reagan Building and the International Trade Center alone
00:40 will strengthen our climate future and are expected to save more than $6.2 million in
00:49 taxpayer dollars every year. So, Secretary Grinholm, how are projects like this one
00:57 transforming communities across the country?
01:01 Secretary Grinholm We are very interested in all projects that are community-based, by the way,
01:09 that reduce costs for people. And so whether it is energy efficiency or the generation of clean
01:15 energy and giving people the ability to take control of their own energy future in partnership
01:21 with communities and on an individual basis. So we are all in on all manner of efficiency and
01:31 energy and supporting communities in doing so.
01:33 Ms. Norton Both the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law
01:44 are critical investments in our country's future. Within the first year of the Inflation
01:49 Reduction Act's enactment, we added 170,000 new jobs in clean energy and climate resilience,
01:56 with a projection of more than 1.5 million additional new jobs over the next decade.
02:03 Secretary Grinholm, how has President Biden's investing in America's energy
02:14 sector created new jobs and opportunities across the country, including the energy sector?
02:20 Secretary Grinholm Yes, to your point, so far it is about 800,000 jobs that have been created as
02:24 a result of the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act, with the projection
02:29 that it will be 1.5 million. We have created over 15 million jobs. Over 15 million jobs have been
02:36 created since this President took office, more than any President in any term in American history
02:43 and part of that has to do with the focus on clean energy and the opportunity that it brings
02:47 to employed people.
02:48 Ms. Norton According to the Department of Energy,
02:52 because of the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law, by 2030 we are
03:01 projected to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent at 2005 levels. It is also projected that
03:11 clean energy electricity will account for 80 percent of the power generation by 2030, compared
03:20 with 42 percent in 2022. In addition, President Biden's leadership will help families save up to
03:30 $38 billion in electricity bills by the end of the decade.
03:36 Senator Granholm, how have the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law enabled
03:45 the Department of Energy to invest in clean energy and fossil fuel alternatives?
03:50 Senator Granholm The statistics that you cite are so wonderful
03:55 because they happen to be accurate, and that 40 percent reduction in CO2 emissions, it is actually
04:01 40 to 50 percent if you include what the private sector is doing and what other states are doing.
04:06 What these laws have done is enabled both the federal government but also the private sector
04:11 to really do the investments because they contain carrots, and we're all about the carrots at the
04:17 Department of Energy. So the grants from the bipartisan infrastructure law and the tax credits
04:22 from the Inflation Reduction Act have created an environment where America has become the
04:27 irresistible nation for investment in clean energy. We are the envy of other nations for having been
04:34 so forward leaning on creating jobs here. So it's a very exciting time for both responsiveness to
04:42 addressing climate change but also creating jobs in America.
04:44 Senator Harris I'm proud we passed the Inflation Reduction Act
04:49 and the bipartisan infrastructure law, and I'm thankful for the Biden administration's leadership
04:55 in addressing the climate crisis and securing our country's energy future, and I yield back.
05:00 [Chairman Issa] I now recognize Mr. Biggs from Arizona.