Angus King Questions DoE Nominee on ARPA Budget Cuts and Climate Data

Discrepancy Between Words and Actions

• 💡 Senator Angus King opened by quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson, highlighting a significant variance between stated intentions and actual actions regarding the Department of Energy (DoE) nominee.
• 🎯 King pointed out that despite eloquent praise for the talented staff at ARPA, the agency faces a 57% budget cut, questioning how this can be justified.

Renewables and Budgetary Policy

• ⚡ King challenged the nominee on the exclusion of renewables like solar and wind from ARPA's focus, citing a budget document that states "Green new scam technologies are not supported."
• ❓ The nominee struggled to define "green new scam technologies," stating it's not correct that the President ordered no renewables, but admitting he couldn't opine on the definition.
• 🔋 King noted that with battery storage, solar and wind can function as base load power, a point the nominee conceded could be true depending on the situation.
• 📈 King emphasized that budgets are policy, and the drastic cuts to ARPA, a key agency where fracking research began, signal a concerning policy direction.

USGS and Climate Data Cuts

• 🔬 King raised concerns about reports of biological research cuts at the USGS and the elimination of 25 water science centers that measure storms.
• ⚠️ He expressed a sentiment that these cuts might be an attempt to ignore climate change by not measuring its impacts.
• 📊 The nominee stated he would investigate these proposed cuts if confirmed, but acknowledged he was not familiar with the specifics of what was being cut.
• 📉 King stressed that cutting data collection on climate change does not make the problem disappear but rather removes the ability to alert and address issues.

Overall Assessment

• 🤨 King concluded that the proposed budget cuts to both ARPA (over 50%) and USGS (over a third) are difficult to accept at face value, stating it "just doesn't pass the straight face test."
• ✅ He urged the nominee to "get real" and face the reality of the budget situation rather than offering platitudes about the agencies' importance.