Gallego Questions Secretary Wright on Energy Cuts in Budget Request

WASHINGTON – Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)
pressed Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the President’s FY 2027 Budget Request for the Department of Energy.
Watch Senator Gallego’s questioning
here
.
The Senator began his questioning by highlighting the Department’s
recent changes
to environmental, safety, and security rules to make it easier for nuclear reactors to be built.
“There are concerns that DOE has made these changes without adequate transparency and that they may undermine public safety. There has been no explanation of the review process, no insight into what staff comprised the review team that led this effort, and no identification of any additional steps DOE would take to resolve potential conflicts that could arise from these changes,”
Senator Gallego said before getting Secretary Wright to commit to a briefing on these cuts.
Gallego also pushed back against the plans’ 33% cut to the Office of Indian Energy’s budget, which undermines goals to strengthen self-determination and sovereignty.
“If the Department is telling tribes what kind of energy sources they should be focusing on while also cutting funding for tribal energy, doesn’t that conflict with the self-determination and sovereignty principles that you can support?”
Gallego asked.
“There’s no alignment in what you’re claiming you want and what the outcomes are going to [be] from the tribal communities.”