Energy and Water

Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development issued the following statement in response to a court filing recently made public in which the Department of Energy admits that the only reason the Trump Administration chose to terminate nearly 300 energy projects in blue states last October during the government shutdown is the fact that the projects were located in states that did not vote for the President and that are represented by Democratic Senators:

Yesterday, Ranking Member Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) of the Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology sent a letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright demanding answers regarding a political appointee remaining on paid administrative leave nine months after they were removed from their position. The appointee in question, Ms. Cathy Tripodi, served as the Director of DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstration (OCED). She was removed from her position in October 2025.

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, sent a letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright calling on him to immediately halt the Department of Energy’s (DOE) plans to illegally spend funds provided for carbon capture programs to instead prop up coal plants.

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, sent a letter to White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought calling on him to rescind OMB’s proposed rule governing all federal grants and financial assistance.

Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that the Department of Energy’s (DOE) decision last year to steer hundreds of millions of dollars provided by Congress in fiscal year 2025 for the research and development of clean energy sources toward energy sources favored by Secretary Christ Wright violated the law.

Today, House Democrats exposed how Republicans’ Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies 2027 funding bill raises costs for American households, weakens our national security, and abandons communities cleaning up radioactive waste.