WASHINGTON,
D.C. — U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today gave the
following speech at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C.
“Good
morning and thank you, Secretary Chu, for the invitation to join you here
today. As I look around the room, I’m reminded of an observation by the
astronomer Carl Sagan, who once wrote, “We live in a society exquisitely
dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything
about science and technology.” I think we can safely say that this
summit, and the folks attending it, are an exception – and I’d like to start by
thanking all of you for the ideas and enthusiasm that you’re bringing to the
world of energy.
“I’d
also like to thank Dr. Arun Majumdar (Ah-roon Mah-Jum-Dar) for his leadership
and willingness to head the ARPA-E program. I’m the ranking member of the
Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and let me tell you – seldom has a more
impressive nominee come before us. Arun, we’re happy to have you at the
helm of ARPA-E, and congratulations are also in order for your recent promotion
to be Acting Under Secretary of Energy.
“If
there’s anything that everyone can agree on, it’s that our nation faces some
tremendous energy challenges. We need to make it cleaner, we need to make
it cheaper, and we need to make it more secure. Achieving any one of
those is difficult, let alone all three, and it is exciting to think that some
of the solutions might come about as a result of this effort.
“ARPA-E
is a unique program with unique goals. It has been tasked to hit “home
runs” in a game where that type of breakthrough is exceedingly difficult.
Congress recognized early on that APRA-E’s focus on high-risk, high-reward
energy technologies meant that it would need more flexibility than most other programs.
I believe we struck an appropriate balance – and I’m hopeful that our recent
reauthorization, which will make it easier for APRA-E to hire and retain the
most talented minds as program managers, will further that goal.
“ARPA-E
is fortunate to have a champion in Secretary Chu and a general willingness from
Congress to give it a go – especially at a time when much of our focus is on
finding ways to reduce spending. It helps greatly that ARPA-E has already
shown an ability to attract private sector investment – with six projects alone
having reportedly drawn more than $100 million in private funding.
“Beyond
that, it’s also widely acknowledged that we will need genuine breakthroughs,
not just incremental advances, to transform our energy supply. We need to
think outside the box. America is a global leader because of our ability
to innovate – not simply taking someone else’s idea and improving it – but
coming up with the new ideas in the first place. To me, it makes sense to
give some of America’s best and brightest scientists an opportunity and an
incentive to do just that.
“And
it’s not just about our competitiveness globally, but in fact the very survival
of some of our smaller communities here at home. In Alaska, our residents
on average spend about 44 percent of their disposable income on energy. That is
compared to 3 percent to 6 percent for the rest of the United States. Think
about that – nearly half of their paychecks go toward keeping the house warm
and the lights on. And then you throw in mortgage payments, grocery
bills, water bills… that’s a significant chunk of change.
“I
challenge those of you in attendance today, and I challenge officials with the
Department of Energy and ARPA-E, to take into account not just the big picture,
but also the smaller picture as well. How a promising technology can be
adapted to help our smaller, more remote communities meet their energy
challenges. How these game-changing ideas can be used to lend a hand to
small-town America to continue to be a viable location for mom-and-pop
businesses, instead of falling victim to higher energy costs and outmigration
to the big city.
“We
are fortunate to have forward-thinking leaders, like Senator Alexander, in key
positions to keep our government research programs alive. With that being
said, I also want to offer a pragmatic assessment of Congressional support for
ARPA-E, given the budget constraints we know we will face going forward.
- First
is the good news – it appears there is strong support within the 112th Congress
to continue this program. 262 members of the House voted against an
amendment that would’ve taken funding from ARPA-E during the recent debate over
a continuing resolution. I expect you’d find similar support in the
Senate.
- Second,
however, is the hard truth that every program must live within its means.
Last year’s COMPETES reauthorization limited ARPA-E to $306 million in Fiscal
Year 2012. The President’s budget request asks for nearly twice
that. Many programs are never funded at their authorized levels, let
alone higher. At what level Congress will support funding for ARPA-E
remains uncertain.
- Third,
because it takes time to bring new technologies to market, we can’t simply cut
out existing technologies altogether, as the President’s request seems to
do. Wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass all receive significant budget
increases, but hydropower, nuclear, and natural gas are all in line to be
cut. If we do complete a budget this year, I think it will reflect a
re-organization and a greater balance of funding between many of those
technologies.
“With
those realities in mind, I remain hopeful that Congress will continue its
support for programs like ARPA-E as we move this country forward.
“ARPA-E
prides itself on developing the big, far-out concepts – and make no mistake, we
need those – but discovering solutions that can reduce energy costs for our
neighborhood mom-and-pop businesses would go along way to generating greater
support in Congress.
“Thank
you for your time today and thank you all for the great work you’re doing to
advance new energy technologies.”
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