Accusing U.S. Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm of making pro-China comments, U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans, led by U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wah., and including U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., sent a letter urging Granholm’s immediate retraction of the remarks and demanding that she make plans to appear before the Committee as soon as possible to account for them.
Last week, Granholm praised China’s efforts to fight climate change.
Excerpts and highlights from the letter to Granholm are below:
“We are deeply troubled by your recent public comments praising China for its supposed efforts to address climate change risks, as they raise serious questions about your judgment and priorities as Secretary of Energy.
“China poses one of the greatest economic, military, and geopolitical threats to the United States, while continuing to be one of the world’s worst polluters. As the Secretary of Energy, your core responsibilities involve national security, particularly maintaining and certifying the reliability of the nation’s nuclear deterrent and protecting our most sensitive technological secrets from theft by our chief adversaries, Russia and China.
“At the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, this past week, you stated in an interview that China has been ‘very sensitive’ about addressing climate risks, that ‘we can all learn from what China is doing,’ and that you find China’s clean energy investments ‘encouraging.’ These are alarming comments that, at best, reflect an uninformed, unserious perspective on the goals and intentions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its abysmal human rights and environmental record.
“We write to request that you immediately retract these pro-China statements and that you make plans to appear before the Committee as soon as possible to account for these statements and explain your priorities as Secretary of Energy.
“Instead of acclaiming China and the CCP and amplifying its propaganda, let’s join together in exposing the dangers of our growing dependence upon China for energy, transportation, and technology systems. Let’s join together to safeguard American technology from the CCP’s relentless efforts to steal and exploit our innovations for its military and economic agenda.
“We are deeply concerned that the rush-to-green agenda of this administration, which you are leading to implement, is putting the United States on a perilous path in which the energy that powers our homes, businesses, and livelihoods will run straight through China with critical minerals supply chains. Plus, this administration’s constant promotion of mandates and subsidies to electrify our transportation systems will result in American mobility controlled with components and materials from China. Meanwhile, the CCP continues to build and utilize coal-fired power plants at home and abroad to further spread its influence, while increasing its carbon emissions.
“Russia’s attack of Ukraine exposed the energy vulnerabilities of Europe. Much of Europe had abandoned its firm power sources like nuclear energy and coal-fired power plants, refused to take advantage of its natural gas resources after succumbing to Russian anti-fracking propaganda, and instead become reliant upon natural gas from Russia.
“We fear that this administration—with its anti-fossil fuel policies—is marching the United States toward the same position of energy vulnerability, only with China holding the keys to America’s energy security. Comments like the ones you made this past week are only advantageous to the CCP’s agenda, which aims to dominate the United States on all fronts.
“China has been termed the OPEC of green energy materials. Yet, China’s overall share of the energy minerals processing actually surpasses OPEC’s 34% share of oil markets—40 percent for copper, 70 percent for cobalt and lithium, about 90% for rare earth minerals. We must reverse this dangerous trend and secure our energy materials supplies.
“Our staff have been in discussions with your staff about scheduling your appearance before the Committee to justify DOE’s budget and discuss the Department’s policies. In light of your recent comments, we expect you to make yourself available to the Committee to testify immediately.”
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