Moniz meets with Congress to defend 2016 budget request

Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz testified before Congressional committees this month to discuss the Department of Energy's (DOE) fiscal 2016 budget request.
Several Republicans and Democrats noted the budget request relies on renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels. Moniz said President Barack Obama's administration has committed to an energy strategy that includes both but is not shown in the budget. Moniz said the budget request also accounts for investments and funds required for carbon capture and sequestration technologies.
“I worry that it is 'all-of-the-above' in words but not in practice,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said. The chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Murkowski illustrated her point with the administration’s proposal to end oil and gas production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by making the 12-million acre region a conservation area.
Obama’s budget request asks that $29.9 billion be dedicated to the DOE for 2016, which is $2.52 billion (9.2 percent) more than the 2015 budget.
The budget includes an $809 million request for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, a 42 percent increase from 2015, while the Office of Nuclear Energy would receive $907.5 million, $6 million less than it received in 2015.
Archived webcasts of the House and Senate hearings are available to the public.