January 19, 2017

Duckworth to Perry: American-Made Renewable Energy Reduces Reliance on Foreign Oil, Improves National Security

 

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) shared with the nominee to be the Secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE), Governor Rick Perry, how her military service in Iraq taught her about the danger of our country's dependence on foreign oil and how increasing production of American-made renewable energy sources like wind makes our country more secure. Video of Duckworth's remarks during Perry's confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is available here.

"While serving as an assistant operations officer and battle captain in Iraq, I risked life and limb and saw countless other brave Americans who risked their lives to protect our diesel fuel supply lines," said Senatory Duckworth. "I saw firsthand the painful price this nation and her military heroes pay because of our reliance on foreign oil. I know that the DOE's investments in American-made renewable energy are not only about protecting the environment, creating jobs, and competing with other nationsthat are making huge investments in clean energy - they are also a very clear national security imperative."

Duckworth also thanked Governor Perry for accepting her invitation to tour Illinois's two National Laboratories, Fermilab and Argonne, which employ more than 5,000 researchers and are developing next generation battery storage and advanced super computers and exploring the smallest building blocks of matter. Duckworth also pressed Perry on the importance of safely disposing nuclear waste.

"I also just met with a group of students from Zion-Benton, Illinois, who are from a town that cannot develop valuable lakefront property because there is a decommissioned nuclear reactor there," continued Senator Duckworth. "For their sake and the sake of so many communities across our country, it's important for the DOE to safely dispose of nuclear waste."