So we welcome you back to the committee. Its good to have discussion with you last week. I want to thank you really want to thank you for all youve done at the department, for your willingness to serve to this point, and for your willingness to step up in this new and higher capacity. Weve got our colleagues here this morning to introduce the deputy secretary, both texas and louisiana are well represented. Mr. Deputy secretary, you should feel very welcome by having these gentlemen next to you. So we will start with senator cassidy up here at the dais followed by senators cruz and kennedy to introduce the deputy secretary this morning. So senator cassidy, if you would like to proceed. We do have a full complement here this morning and a full house behind you. Hopefully the introductions do not consume our full morning, but we certainly welcome all the good comments. So senator cassidy. Madam chair, what a wonderful way to tell me to be brief. But its a privilege to represent my fellow louisianaen in Dan Brouillette as we consider his nomination to be secretary of the department of energy. Hes imminently qualified as the United States leads the world in all sorts of Energy Issues. As deputy secretary, he showed a commitment to Energy Security. Its no surprise as a louisiana native he understands the importance of u. S. Lng exports, creating jobs in the United States, but lowering Greenhouse Gas emissions abroad. Dan is committed to innovation and ensuring that our National Labs are at the forefront of developing groundbreaking technologies. He has served as the assistant secretary for congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs for department of energy under president george w. Bush, staff director for the energy and Commerce Committee under former chairman billy tozan and as a member of Louisiana State mineral and energy board, dan brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective. Hes ideally suited for the job. I urge his speedy confirmation and look forward to his floor vote. Thank you, senator cassidy. Lets turn to senator cruz. Welcome to the energy committee. Well, thank you, madam chairman. Very glad to be here. Madam chairman, Ranking Member manchin, members of the committee, it is my privilege to help introduce Dan Brouillette to the committee. I, by the way, with apologies to my good friends from louisiana, im telling you right now, texas claims him. And maybe we dont have to resolve that issue here this morning. Many of you know dan is a dedicated advocate for American Energy. To those who dont yet know him well, i can tell you that hes imminently qualified and will do an exceptional job as the next secretary of the department of energy. Dan and his wife adrian have both served our country in the United States army. They proudly live in san antonio, texas, where theyve raised nine beautiful children, who you see all arrayed behind dan, much like an army preparing to stand with their father. After dan served in the military, he transitioned into working on Energy Issues as the chief of staff to the committee on energy and commerce in the u. S. House of representatives. From 2001 to 2003, dan served as the assistant secretary of energy for congressional Intergovernmental Affairs. He also served on Louisiana State mineral and energy board for three years. And for the past two and a half years, dan has been serving as deputy secretary of energy. In addition to his years in public service, dan has extensive private sector experience. Dan spearheaded Ford Motor Companys Domestic Policy Team as the Vice President at ford, and he also led Public Policy at usaa as senior Vice President. Thats where dan and i became friends when he was working and leading that team in san antonio. Dan has the qualifications, the expertise, the relationships, and the gravitas that a secretary of energy needs to be effective. This is a critical time for American Energy as this committee knows well. Were currently experiencing an American Energy renaissance with the United States having now become the number one producer of oil and the number one producer of natural gas on the planet, surpassing both russia and saudi arabia in crude oil production. The United States has also become a net exporter of natural gas, a milestone not reached since 1957. So strong leadership at the department of energy is needed now more than ever. Ill say a final point when it comes to tenacity. We want cabinet secretaries to be strong, to be principled, and able to conquer enormous challenges. I believe dan possesses those characteristics, and i would point to two data points to support it. Number one, the nine beautiful children that dan and adrian have they have home schooled. If you want to talk about a labor of love and passion and commitment, it is hard to think of anything more daunting and for that matter any government bureaucracy pales compared to the joys and challenges of the nine beautiful kids at home. Secondly, i have the good fun, and im going to out dan, for having joined me as game three of the world series here in d. C. Where dan and i both unabashedly cheered for the houston astros. And we were the lone splashes of orange in a sea of red, and you want to test the measure of a man, he was willing to be surrounded by screaming, exultant nats fans and happily cheered on the astros. We won that game, but alas did not win the war. But nonetheless, he will be a Terrific Energy secretary. Well said, senator cruz. Thank you very much, and thank you for joining us at the committee. We will now turn to our friend and colleague from louisiana, senator kennedy. Thank you, madam chair and Ranking Member, and thanks to all of you for taking up the nomination of secretary brouillette, who is now our deputy secretary, as you know. He operates as basically the chief operating officer of the department of energy. With your consent, he will be elevated to the position of secretary. Dan is not from texas. He is from louisiana, which as you know is near napoleonville, louisiana. When dan grew up we broet grew both grew up in small towns. There were 211 people. Now there are 911. I grew up in a town called zachary, which was slightly bigger when i grew up. A small town is the way ive always described it, and im so blessed to have grown up in a small town. A small town is a place where Everybody Knows whose check is good and whose spouse isnt. Dans a rock star as far as im concerned. Weve seen such a dramatic change in energy in this world in the last 25 years, maybe even less. Dan has watched it. Hes been part of it. I remember our Energy Policy in america used to be, okay, were going to buy as much oil as we can from countries that hate us, and through those sales, were going to give them money to buy weapons to try to kill us. Thankfully, the world has changed. Weve had a revolution in fossil fuels. Our oil and gas industry, frankly, with the federal government hanging all over its back, went out and through technology has unleashed enormous amounts of energy from shale. But we also understand and i dont want to get in a debate about Climate Change we also understand that glaciers melting glaciers dont lie. So our policy now is to look at alternative forms of energy. Wind, solar, geothermal, nuclear. Dan gets all that. He gets all that in part through his experience. He and adrian are both veterans. Dans a veteran of the service in our military. Hes a veteran of service in the State Government level. Hes a veteran of having served congressman billy tozan in the house, for which dan automatically has a place in heaven. And he has served with distinction as deputy secretary. Hes a serious man. He exercises power intelligently, not emotionally. And he and adrian will make a Democrat Team and he will be an extraordinary secretary of the department of energy, and he has this louisiana, this louisianan has my wholehearted and un unconditional support. Thank you. Mr. Deputy secretary, i think its fine to have two different states vying for your love and attention. Slake isalaska is not going to claim him now, is it . I was going to include that in part of my remarks. We wont claim him but we will certainly adopt him. Gentlemen, thank you you. We know you have state schedules this morning. Thank you for joining us as part of the committee and your welcoming introductions. Im going to make some brief remarks, turn to senator manchin and we will move to swearing you in, mr. Brouillette and we will then hear your testimony, which will hopefully include more formal introductions of your family. We certainly welcome all of them. It truly is a testament to you and your wife and to have them with you this morning is a real treat. I for one am very glad that you are here before us as the president s nominee to be the secretary of energy. I think weve seen during your time as deputy secretary, youve really helped to create a solid agenda for the department. Its been focused on the science and the technology. Youve brought us into the world of quan tum and artificial intelligence. I think youve been very responsive to the committee. Youve been available to speak with members when you have been asked to do so. My sense is that youve made a good impression on just about everyone. So when it was indicated that secretary perry was going to be stepping down, you to me were the obvious choice to replace secretary perry in what he refers to as the coolest job hes ever had. And i think you share that enthusiasm for this important space. I do appreciate your willingness to come to not only places like alaska but to travel around to many of the states. Certainly to see the opportunities that a state like alaska has and see firsthand the first trip that you took following your confirmation as deputy secretary was to join me in alaska. We took him out to the China Renewable Energy fair where he was able to see much of what you saw, senator manchin, learn about the potential for low temperature geothermal. We didnt do thats not called the blue lagoon. The geothermal hot springs at china but also great things like the let us grow tour, just further evidence that we can do more when it comes to food security. The deputy secretary and i share let us grow tours. I in my office and you in your garage, it all comes together. But you came back. You came back this past august. We visited Quin Gillen Gak and kin egan ak, small very remote villages in southwestern alaska. You were in anchorage at the fab lab. We got to get up on a pretty we werent up on the vol tainucano. We were up very high looking out to the volcano we were observing. You have been on some pretty important and i think impressive field trips in my state. So you know that im going to invite you back because theres an awful lot more to be seen. Broadening my focus a little bit, and recognizing your role here, should we confirm you, as i expect we will, to be at the he will many of the department of energy, this is an exciting time. This country is a leading Energy Producer as senator cruz has mentioned and a disruptor of world markets. Were providing our friends and al lies with energy while creating jobs and prosperity here at home. Were on the cutting edge of a number of exciting technologies like advanced Nuclear Energy, Carbon Capture and Energy Storage. And through the departments work we had the opportunity to really push out the boundaries of scientific discovery and build on our stat us as a Global Leader in the field of energy. We look to all the promise that our National Labs, our 17 National Labs provide, and the committed professionals that are there who work in pursuit of these new discoveries, one of our nations biggest assets. Our Research Capabilities continue to be the envy of the world and our challenge is to make sure it remains so. Its no secret that the president s budget request for the department of energy has fallen short of the expectations that we have articulated here on this committee. Congress has rejected the administrations funding levels each year, instead providing steady increases for widely supported programs like arpae, so anticipating that you will be confirmed, i will ask that you continue to fight for sufficient funding for programs that pursue these technologies to make energy cleaner, more reliable, more efficient, and certainly more affordable. Because thats what i think its going to take to sustain this Energy Dominance over the long term. Im going to turn to senator manchin for his comments. Well have an opportunity to ask questions throughout the morning. And if members have additional questions after this rich round, we will ask that they be submitted by the close of business today. Senator manchin. Thank you, madam chairman. For holding this hearing on mr. Brouillettes nomination. I want to welcome his family, his amazing wife adrian and the nine beautiful children you have, you should be very proud. I know you both are. And you also are willing to serve at this important post. I enjoyed our discussion earlier this week and look forward to continuing it today. Dr. Brian anderson from morgan town, west virginia, you visited morgan town and we want you to come back. A lot of good things. I think we can do a tremendous job. Were going to put that plug in. I think thank you so much for that and your attention to the importance of nettel. The secretarys job is enormous which has been mentioned and talked about and all of us know the secretary of energy is responsible for leading the worlds premier science and technology enterprise. We count on it and its labs for the Cutting Edge Research and technological break throws needed to keep us strong and secure. At the same time the secretary most oversee the nations nuks laer weapons stockpile which a lot of people dont realize thats the responsibility of department of energy and secretary. Makes the fuel to propel the navy which we have been doing successfully for the greatest Defense Program in the world and guard against nuclear proliferation. Also responsible for the cleanups at hanford and other Cold War Nuclear weapons sites and for overseeing the marketing administrations that supply electricity to customers in 34 states. The secretary is responsible for managing an annual budget of close to 30 billion and for protecting the Energy Sector from cyberattack which is under attack every day. I say this is an enormous job. I thank mr. Brouillette and know hes up to the task. As a father of nine hes bound to be a skilled manager. Of course i give adrian a little bit more credit for that. He has a long history with Energy Issues at the department of energy and very importantly hes visited nettel in morgan town as i set before on more than one occasion. He has served as a staff director in the Commerce Committee. He served as an assistant secretary of energy during the Bush Administration and of course as a deputy secretary for the past two years. He knows the department. He knows congress. And he knows the Energy Issues facing our face. He has also demonstrated his managerial skills as a Vice President of Ford Motor Company and as a senior Vice President of usaa, the insurance and Financial Services giant that serves members of our military and their families. This committee has favorably reported and the senate has confirmed device before. Ill be following up later this week with a few questions about Energy Security and your commitment to Energy Innovation and our labs. Overall i think the president has chosen wisely in nominating you, dan, for this job and im pleased to support your nomination. Again, madam chairman, i want to thank you for holding this hearing. And i want to thank you dan, and your entire family to be with us this morning and for your willingness to serve. Thank you. Thank you, senator manchin. Mr. Deputy secretary, the rules of the committee which apply require they be sworn in connection with their testimony. I would ask that you please rise and raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony that you are about to give the Senate Committee on energy and Natural Resources shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Yes. You may be seated. Before you begin im going to ask you three questions that we pose to each nominee. Will you be available to appear before this committee and others to represent departmental issues and respond to the congress . Yes i will. Are you aware of any personal investments that