WASHINGTON, DC – In an Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) hearing today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) pressed U.S. Secretary Energy Secretary Rick Perry on proposed cuts in the U.S. Energy Department’s fiscal year 2020 budget request. Senator King underscored the harm that can come from cutting research and development initiatives at the Department of Energy. Senator King specifically highlighted the proposed drastic cuts to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which focuses on creating and sustaining American leadership and innovation in the global clean energy economy.

“You can make adjustments, and you’re talking about adjustments. But in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, essentially an 85 percent cut,” Senator King said to Secretary Perry. “That’s not a trim. When I put my rat in your trap, I expect him to lose his tail, but not up behind his ears. And that kind of cut is, I mean, it doesn’t bear out. So, that’s the area that I hope we can work at.

“Budgets are policy. And essentially one of the things this budget says is ‘we’re not really interested in R&D and the future of those investments, except in certain areas.’ So I hope, again to go back to the very beginning, that you will be diligent and fully responsive to the mandates of this Congress in terms of what the programs are, how they’ll be funded and how they should be administered.”

Secretary Perry responded in the affirmative to Senator King’s admonishment.

A forceful advocate for clean energy solutions, Senator King is the lead sponsor on clean and efficient energy bills such as the Next Generation Grid Resources and Infrastructure Development (GRID) Act that would encourage energy independence, foster innovation, and leverage federal resources to support a more resilient and modern electric grid through the use of distributed and clean energy resources.  He is also the lead sponsor of the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Support Act, legislation that would support businesses investing in energy efficiency technology, help diversify energy options for rural industries, and maximize use of Maine’s natural resources. Senator King introduced this bill in November 2017, after holding an ENR Committee field hearing at Robbins Lumber in Searsmont to identify opportunities to use new energy efficient technologies to sustain and strengthen rural industries. Senator King is also the lead sponsor for the Biomass Thermal Utilization (BTU) Act, a bipartisan bill that would incentivize the use of energy efficiency biomass heaters in homes and businesses instead of relying on fossil fuel energy. He has also a cosponsored the Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act, bipartisan legislation which would establish an investment tax credit (ITC) for business and home use of energy storage.