Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee. I am pleased to appear before you today to discuss the President’s FY 2007 budget request for the Department of Energy.

 

I think I hardly need to tell you what an exciting time this is for all of us at the Department of Energy, especially for our science programs.  Our Department’s Office of Science -- which is responsible for ten world-class U.S. national laboratories, and is the primary builder and operator of scientific facilities in the United States -- plays a critical role in ensuring America’s scientific leadership and economic dynamism. 

 

Investment in these facilities is much more than bricks and mortar: it is an investment in discovery, and in the future of our nation. 

 

As you heard in the State of the Union Address, President Bush announced several new energy priorities, including two key Presidential initiatives, that directly touch on this work.  We believe these initiatives will significantly change the future of science in this country and will be a bold statement to our science colleagues around the world. 

 

All this is spelled out in detail in my written testimony.  Let me just take this opportunity, then, to mention a few highlights.

 

As part of the President’s American Competitiveness Initiative, the FY 2007 budget includes a $505 million increase in DOE’s Science programs. This reflects the President’s commitment to double the federal investment in the most critical basic research programs in the physical sciences over the next ten years. 

 

Developing revolutionary, science-driven technology is at the heart of the Department of Energy’s mission.  And to ensure that America remains at the forefront in an increasingly competitive world, our Department is pursuing transformational new technologies in the cutting-edge scientific fields of the 21^st century - areas like nanotechnology, material science, biotechnology, and high-speed computing.

 

President Bush also announced the new Advanced Energy Initiative, to increase spending on clean-energy sources that will transform our transportation sector, indeed the whole economy, and reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels.  Specifically, the FY 2007 budget request proposes $149.7 million for Biomass and Biofuels programs, and $148.4 million for the Solar Energy to support Solar America program. 

 

In addition, the budget requests a total of $288.1 million to support implementation of the President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative and also provides $60 million for U.S. participation in International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which seeks to tap nuclear fusion as an enormous source of plentiful and environmentally safe energy. 

 

As part of the President’s Advanced Energy Initiative, the Department’s FY 2007 budget also features $250 million to begin investments in the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership.  This is a groundbreaking new international effort to help meet the world’s rapidly growing electricity needs with safe, emissions-free nuclear power, while enhancing our ability to keep nuclear technology and material out of the hands of those who seek to use it for non peaceful purposes. 

           

Mr. Chairman, that is just a brief outline of the cutting-edge scientific research and technological innovation we are engaged in at the Department of Energy. I look forward to discussing this with you further during the Question and Answer session.