[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 153 (Thursday, October 13, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6507-S6511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PRYOR (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. 
        Begich, Mr. Coons, Mr. Burr, and Mr. Tester):
  S. 1703. A bill to amend the Department of Energy Organization Act to 
require a Quadrennial Energy Review, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I rise today along with Senators Bingaman, 
Murkowski, Begich, Coons, Tester and Burr to introduce the Quadrennial 
Energy Review Act of 2011.
  One of the big gaps in federal energy policy is the lack of an 
overarching vision and coordination among federal agencies to define 
how the United States produces and uses energy. Every president since 
Richard Nixon has called for America's independence from oil. We also 
need to make sure that our nation has a 21st century electric grid that 
matches supply with demand. If we want to create a more secure energy 
future for America then we need to develop a national energy plan that 
coordinates and integrates the energy policies of the various federal 
agencies. The development of such a policy would enhance our energy 
security, create jobs and mitigate environmental harm.
  In the fall of 2009, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu asked the 
President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, PCAST, to 
review the energy technology innovation system to identify and 
recommend ways to accelerate the large scale transformation of energy 
production, delivery, and use to a low carbon energy system. In 
response, PCAST formed a working group and in 2010 issued its ``Report 
to the President on Accelerating the Pace of Change in Energy 
Technologies through an Integrated Federal Energy Policy''. PCAST's 
most important recommendation is that the Administration establish a 
new process that can forge a more coordinated and robust Federal energy 
policy, a major piece of which is advancing energy innovation. The 
report recommends--

       The President should establish a Quadrennial Energy Review, 
     QER, process that will provide a multiyear roadmap that lays 
     out an integrated view of short-, intermediate-, and long-
     term energy objectives; outlines

[[Page S6511]]

     legislative proposals to Congress; puts forward anticipated 
     Executive actions coordinated across multiple agencies; and 
     identifies resource requirements for the development and 
     implementation of energy technologies.

  Last month, the American Energy Innovation Council (AEIC) released a 
report, Catalyzing American Ingenuity (http://
www.americanenergyinnovation
.org/2011-report/), which noted:

       The nation needs a robust National Energy Plan to serve as 
     a strategic technology and policy roadmap . . . [to] 
     ``provide a clear, integrated road map with short-, 
     intermediate-, and long-term objectives for federal energy 
     policies and technology programs, along with a structured, 
     time-bound plan to get there. We support DOE's Quadrennial 
     Technology Review, QTR, which we see as an important and 
     meaningful first step toward developing a national energy 
     strategy. The federal government should build on the QTR and 
     move quickly toward a government-wide QER.

  AEIC is a group of prominent business leaders who came together last 
year to call for a more vigorous public and private sector commitment 
to energy technology innovation. AEIC members include: Norm Augustine, 
former chairman and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin; Ursula 
Burns, chairman and chief executive officer of Xerox; John Doerr, 
partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; Bill Gates, chairman and 
former chief executive officer of Microsoft; Charles O. Holliday, 
chairman of Bank of America and former chairman and chief executive 
officer of DuPont; Jeff Immelt, chairman and chief executive officer of 
GE; and Tim Solso, chairman and chief executive officer of Cummins Inc.
  A Quadrennial Energy Review could establish government-wide energy 
goals, coordinate actions across agencies, and lead to the development 
of a national energy policy.
  As the lead agency in support of energy science and technology 
innovation, the Department of Energy has taken the first step to 
developing a national energy plan by conducting a Quadrennial 
Technology Review of the energy technology policies and programs of the 
Department. The QTR serves as the basis for DOE's coordination with 
other agencies and on other programs for which the Department has a key 
role.
  The next step is to build upon DOE's report and perform a Quadrennial 
Energy Review that would establish government-wide energy objectives, 
coordinate actions across Federal agencies, and provide a strong 
analytical base for Federal energy policy decisions.
  Our bill, the Quadrennial Energy Review Act of 2011, would authorize 
the President to establish an Interagency Working Group to submit a 
Quadrennial Energy Review to Congress by February 1, 2014, and every 4 
years thereafter. The Group would be co-chaired by the Secretary of 
Energy and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, 
OSTP, and consist of level I or II Executive Schedule members 
representing the Departments of Commerce, Defense, State, Interior, 
Agriculture, Treasury, and Transportation, Office of Management and 
Budget, National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, 
and other Federal organizations, departments and agencies that the 
President considers to be appropriate.
  The bill lists what information, at a minimum, shall be reported in 
the Quadrennial Energy Review and requires the Secretary of Energy to 
provide the Executive Secretariat and for agency heads to cooperate 
with the Secretary.
  We live in a global world with global demands on energy. The country 
that best manages its energy resources will lead the 21st century and 
provide its people a secure energy future. The U.S. needs to win the 
energy race and this bill will help the United States remain that 
country.
                                 ______