It is time to put this failed experiment in centralized planning out of its misery and send the savings back home to working Americans in our districts. The legislation would preserve a few essential elements of the Department of Energy by transferring them to appropriate agencies, while eliminating unnecessary functions, and consolidating and streamlining duplicative programs. These include our nation s nuclear weapons programs and research, which would be transferred to the domain of the Secretary of Defense. If the espionage by the communist Chinese government has shown us anything, it s that the bureaucrats in the Department of Energy are unprepared to not only protect our nation s vital secrets, but take steps to reduce the damage once it s discovered. I introduced this bill to help fight the war against bloated federal bureaucracy and waste so we can reduce our enormous debt.
Energy is no different from any other commodity in the marketplace.
Just as we don't need a Department of Automobiles to ensure we have reasonably priced cars, we don't need a Department of Energy to ensure us of gasoline or energy.