Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
Murray: “In choking off tens of billions of dollars in energy investments, Trump is threatening to kill thousands of good-paying American jobs and raise energy costs for households across the country.”
Senator Murray hosts press call to detail how Trump blocking energy investments is hurting communities in every part of the country
***WATCH: PRESS CALL HERE***
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, hosted a press call to underscore how President Trump continuing to block key energy investments threatens to raise families’ energy bills, derail key energy projects, and kill good-paying jobs in communities across the country. Senator Murray was joined by David Turk, former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, and Joe Nguyen, Director of the Washington state Department of Commerce.
“The guy who swore up and down on the campaign trail that he would lower people’s energy costs is now working to raise them. And an administration that says it wants to ‘restore energy dominance’ is now working to kill domestic energy projects and the thousands of American jobs they are creating,” said Senator Murray. “This funding freeze—which may very well not be a freeze but a permanent rollback—is bad for families and it’s bad for workers. And it is also bad for American businesses who have inked contracts to create new battery plants, produce sustainable aviation fuel, lay down new transmission lines, construct new energy plants, and so much more—and who are now left wondering whether the federal government is going to honor its commitments.”
“Another estimate said that the average American consumer is going to pay almost $500 more per year if these kinds of programs—the tax incentives to the loan programs—don’t go forward. And I think that’s a conservative estimate,” said David Turk, who recently served as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. “I really want to underscore that chaos and confusion and uncertainty is not our friend. If you talk to any investor, if you talk to any CEO, the last thing they need—the last thing they want—is chaos, confusion, uncertainty about what should be no brainers. If the government makes a commitment, if we get to conditional commitment with a loan program recipient, that’s the government’s credibility. That’s the American people’s credibility on the line to follow through and make sure that we are providing that certainty for investment.”
“It was 27 degrees in West Seattle this morning, and even colder in other parts of the state. The hundreds of millions of dollars threatened today by Trump’s political games hurts already overburdened communities the most, especially low-income families, rural towns, and our small businesses. Washingtonians deserve better than the games the Trump administration is playing,” said Joe Nguyen, Director of the Washington state Department of Commerce.
On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order to illegally halt funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) from going out the door to communities and recipients counting on the funding. Hundreds of billions of dollars are still being held up under Trump’s directives—and it’s jeopardizing all manner of energy projects and programs communities are counting on.
In the years since the IIJA and IRA were signed into law, over $211 billion in private sector investment in clean energy and tech manufacturing has been announced nationwide—with 232k+ jobs announced and nearly 80% of those investments made in Republican-held districts. The president’s freeze puts all these gains at serious risk.
Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:
“Thanks everyone for joining this call today. I’m really glad to be here with David Turk, who recently served as Deputy Energy Secretary, and Joe Nguyen, Director of Washington state’s Department of Commerce, to talk about how President Trump and Elon Musk are holding up tens of billions of dollars in energy investments nationwide—putting jobs at risk and raising energy costs for families.
“We are now well into the fourth week of President Trump’s illegal—and deeply harmful—funding freeze.
“Trump is still blocking funding that we secured in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, among much else, from going out the doors. It is, of course, illegal for a president to unilaterally decide to block funding.
“As I’ve said many times: presidents don’t just get to pick and choose what laws they feel like following.
“But Trump blocking funding is not merely illegal. It also devastating for communities like the ones I represent—who are counting on these resources, who’ve hired folks, are relying on this funding to, for example, lower their monthly energy bill, and who, in many cases, have already inked contracts.
“Today, we are talking about the energy investments Trump is blocking—and I want to say from the outset this is just one slice of the vast pot of funding he is holding up.
“Trump’s freeze is holding up funding for: rebuilding roads and bridges, new clean school buses, wildfire prevention efforts, assistance for farmers, replacing old water pipes, investments in our national security, and so much more.
“But today I wanted to zero in on what’s going on at the Department of Energy.
“Because make no mistake: in choking off tens of billions of dollars in energy investments, Trump is threatening to kill thousands of good-paying American jobs and raise energy costs for households across the country.
“When Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, we made historic investments to—among a whole lot else—create good-paying clean energy jobs, spur innovation, strengthen American manufacturing, and lower energy costs for families.
“We provided funding for families to upgrade their homes and save big on their energy bills. We delivered resources to build new battery manufacturing plants, construct cutting-edge hydrogen hubs, boost our nuclear power capabilities, and increase domestic production of critical minerals we absolutely need.
“As you can imagine, a lot of good new jobs have been created in the process—and we’re really just beginning to feel the full benefits.
“A quarter of a million clean energy jobs have been created since we passed the IRA and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In Washington state, the new Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub alone is set to create 10,000 jobs. The Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office awards alone will support at least 50,000 good jobs across the country.
“But Trump is putting these domestic jobs at risk—which plays right into the hands of our competitors, like China.
“And he is simultaneously threatening to rip up programs we’ve created that are lowering people’s energy costs.
“Right now, Trump is putting funding for the Home Energy Rebates Program in serious jeopardy. We are talking about funding for families to make upgrades that save them on their monthly energy bill. Funding for you to buy energy efficient appliances and to retrofit your home so that cold air stays out in the winter and hot air stays out in the summer. These programs aren’t just important in tackling the climate crisis—they are saving families money.
“They provide households up to $14,000 in rebates to make upgrades and lower their energy bills—and they are saving American households up to $1 billion every single year.
“The Weatherization Assistance Program, for example, saves households $372 on average each year! But again—Trump has put it on the chopping block.
“There’s no need to dance around it: the guy who swore up and down on the campaign trail that he would lower people’s energy costs is now working to raise them.
“And an administration that says it wants to ‘restore energy dominance’ is now working to kill domestic energy projects and the thousands of American jobs they are creating!
“This funding freeze—which may very well not be a freeze but a permanent rollback—is bad for families and it’s bad for workers. And it is also bad for American businesses who have inked contracts to create new battery plants, produce sustainable aviation fuel, lay down new transmission lines, construct new energy plants, and so much more—and who are now left wondering whether the federal government is going to honor its commitments.
“That uncertainty alone risks jobs and investments—and will hurt local economies everywhere.
“It was recently reported, for example, that Trump and Musk are looking at cancelling even finalized loans provided by the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office. That, of course, puts jobs at risk and puts workers’ livelihoods and businesses’ bottom lines in jeopardy.
“But what we are seeing is also a situation rife with potential conflicts of interest and corruption—which is another huge part of the story when it comes to Trump and Musk blocking funding.
“Just one example: back in 2010, when Tesla wasn’t doing too hot, Elon Musk secured a half billion-dollar loan from the Department of Energy. That loan boosted the company—and Elon Musk—and helped them become what they are today.
“Fast forward to now—Elon Musk is raiding agencies, cutting off funding, cancelling contracts, and the Energy Department is apparently looking to cancel loans it has made to his electric vehicle competitors.
“The obvious question then is Elon Musk going to cut off loans that are helping Tesla’s competitors create jobs and build their business right here in America?
“There is so much at stake—and what is painfully clear is that Trump’s illegal funding freeze is causing chaos and confusion. It’s putting these projects and jobs at risk—and will take money out of families’ pockets—and it has got to end.
“The court decisions we’ve gotten so far have affirmed what we have known all along: Trump does not have the power to steal approved funding from the American people.
“But the relief the orders should provide is, for now, only temporary—and in many cases, the funding is still frozen.
“Now, DOE may say they’ve just developed a new process for thoroughly reviewing all programs and payments but make no mistake: this process is meant to have the same effect—it is a freeze by a different name and the funds remain frozen.
“What needs to happen is Donald Trump and Elon Musk must end the freeze and revoke their orders to choke off these investments.
“As I’ve said before: if Donald Trump wants to roll back programs that are lowering people’s energy bills, he can come to Congress and win the votes he needs to do it.
“If Donald Trump wants to gut funding that is creating good-paying energy jobs all across the country, he can come to Congress and win the votes he needs to do it.
“That’s why I am here today to sound the alarm and protect critical programs American families rely on and support. You don’t just get to rip up contracts and block funding owed to the American people.
“Now, I want to turn it over to David Turk, who I’m so glad could join us, to talk a bit more about what this freeze is doing.”
