to thank and congratulate this committee and especially the leadership here today for their excellent bipartisan efforts to have been numbed by the constant drone of negative effect. the most comprehensive bill being considered today broadens the ability of the

va to fill its ranks with qualified medical staff while attempting to confiscate -- compensate for income disparity. we take a moment to recognize the nonmonetary benefits. set schedules, defined hours and protection from network claims. no one have the witness table is here because we were offered maximum earning potential. while money will be helpful, the best people to serve veterans are the ones motivated by an internal code and defense. we should not make that our primary recruitment tool. the attempt to clear the

claims backlog has grown to aa fever pitch and the backlog has grown to unprecedented levels ensuring of the court remain fully staffed could not be more important than today the time to ensure veterans are not suffering needlessly is now. a little over one year from now the american legion will host an inaugural ball honoring the 70th living recipients and the hundreds of euros no longer with us. one the highest award. it will be we will be an honor for us to let them know that this committee supported adjusting there monthly compensation to a more realistic value.

while a hand fill currently live in california, they will mostly be interested to here an update about the west los angeles is. i was particularly interested in other facilities across the nation protesting the misuse since 1983, and we applaud the efforts to work with litigants to come to an agreement that benefits veterans about honoring the initial needs set forth. while he absolutely sport moving forward on legislation establishing limited future lease and that only benefits los angeles-area veterans, we remain anchored over the amount of revenue that was lost and remains on the four. millions of dollars remain unaccounted for,for, and employees responsible continue to retire and move on before answering for the missing money that was

supposed to support veterans in los angeles. they were repeatedly told family will get back to you. finally the american legion notices there is no advisory committee we ask you how the voice will be heard. >> i thank you in the committee for the opportunity to provide testimony this afternoon. currently serving as a member of the va advisory committee on homeless veterans and helping to build better communities. a range of issues come, work on veterans issues has been

grounded in the areas of housing and community development, the lead partner and 800 leaders have accepted this challenge including 628 mayors, nine governors, and 165 county officials. our program work supports national technical efforts to end homelessness. given our organizational focus my testimony will remain concentrated on s 1885 and s 1813 we welcome the opportunity for comment. many needed amendments that will improve how va can and should serve homeless veterans and their families to mobile we believe there are several opportunities to further enhance these proposals. two new programs that require them to issue reports.

intensive case management services to veterans they encourage the va to include costs, the collection of information regarding costs incurred by other entities including cities, counties, and states as well as costs not related to the provision of health care and benefits. for example, costs associated with the interactions veterans have while not incurred by the va should be measured to allow for a more robust cost-benefit analysis of the intensive case management intervention services that the department would provide as part of this program. documenting the cost incurred, they can support municipal leaders. further report analyzing the success to incentivize the

conversion of facilities and permanent housing. helped develop and/or further our understanding of the impact mental health and says to have substance abuse place. in regard to legislation direction that had and va collaborate to improve outreach comeau we recommend they be required to separately but not independently provide a report to veterans affairs in this committee on how they would execute this within their respective organizational structures with key national partners. and the tremendous impact that the national center has played in advancing local efforts. as cities across the country begin to see, they must be

able to work with federal partners and ensure the proper resources rare, brief, and nonrecurring. as the committee is aware, the support has come from the la county board of supervisors and mayor eric garcetti. councilmembers have written letters of support which we have passed. and filed in support of this bill. attached with our testimony.

>> thank you very much. ranking member richard blumenthal i would like to thank senator dianne feinstein and barbara boxer for sponsoring this bill. i am here today along with our national chaplain and he uses the la from facilities.

return the campus to where it belongs, veterans. this bill specifically addresses the property located in los angeles, but the larger issue is important to all veterans and i am also the chairman for the veterans of foreign wars in california. as i travel to the different college campuses i here the same questions from young veterans as i have for years older veterans, what is va doing to help those who are really in need of help for the homeless and the veterans ptsd. i do not have the answer, but this is a start. california has one of the largest homeless veterans populations in the country and they are female veterans

, some have problems with drug and alcohol addiction while others contemplate suicide. able to increase housing for veterans and their families, we may be able to bring some back into becoming productive citizens of our great country. a search for us. now let's help serve them. we have a new director, and now is the perfect time to put this property back on track. i am not here to throw anyone under the bus. we cannot change the path or the things that have happened in the past. the west la campus was dated through a we will to the federal government with the explicit intent of the property to be used to help veterans. over time the va lost sight

of that intent to private entities and has made little to no repairs or improvements for the veterans it was intended for returning the property to his veterans, this bill, and congress will work quickly to pass this bill into law now. along with us thank you. >> thank you. i want to commend all of you he talked about being angry. we don't know how they have been handled, to tell you

the truth. if you do not have a plan to execute and they gold to execute an understanding of what you have got you can never maximize your return. this is a valuable piece of real estate that has been used here or they're. i commend you for your testimony. i hope when they put out there master plan the both of your organizations will comment because we do, indeed, need to get it right. denver hospital that kicked down the road for 13 years, cost overruns. we finally got a plan together. it is costing veterans benefits. also, i agree on the question on homelessness. homelessness. it is an unbelievable

opportunity to have land that can be used to help veteran homeless, and i support that entirely. the senator has done a great job. we want your input and support so that when the va publishes their master plan each and every one of you will get your organizations to quickly give us your feedback, and i am hoping as chairman of this committee command this will be a template, we're sitting on a ham sandwich by having a vacant property that could be benefiting us that we are not as we do not have a plan >> let me find my notes. on the court going to nine judges, i understand we have a judge is now. the 9th would be a

presidential appointee. that is why the legislation proposed. my question, i happened to understand the backlog and think it is an important need. if that is not the necessary number, should that be a floating or permanent? >> mr. chairman, there is a great need to address the significant backlog. it is smartit is smart to make that a permanent increase in reevaluate that need. there will be a significant backlog for the foreseeable future which should be our focus. >> i want to thank you for your testimony regarding senator graham's proposal. i must associate myself with the comments that you made. we do not anything really cannot pay for.

talking about millions of dollars. this is a $16 million price tag to see to it that the medal of honor winners get enhanced compensation. but if you would give input we would appreciate that very much. with that said, we get to the ranking member. >> thank you,you, mr. chairman. all of this testimony has been enormously valuable time and i appreciate your mention of homelessness and posttraumatic stress. the two are linked, either not? somebody suffering from ptsd is more likely to suffer from addiction and homelessness and lack of employment and a combination of factors that affect result from the medical

condition often invisible, obviously, that is the source of it. and so i appreciate your comments on that issue. i thank you for your support of those measures. the five or six that you mentioned, and on the numbers of veterans -- well, the number of judges claims you rightly mentioned the likelihood of a continuing large caseload which has been rising. >> to my knowledge, yes. >> in part the result of the va doing better on disability claims at the 1st level because the more cases that are processed

more likely they are to be appeals and higher numbers. >> that is also what i va has supported in the past -- iava has supported in the past. >> is always possible to contract the court, but that number should not be a temporary one in my view. the community recognition act would recognize providers in the community. there is such a desperate shortage. i have some questions about possibly endorsing the use of certain communities, mental health providers you may not have the same training as va providers. do

you have a suggestion as as to how it can possibly address that shortcoming? >> the best thing to do here is to utilize the success of the program and replicate those in the va. it has been a successful area. >> great answer. with respect to the veteran housing stability act of 2015, i can see some people saying we have done so much on homelessness and housing. do you have a response? >> as i understand it, this bill is looking at the next stage, not necessarily chronic homelessness but the next step. we applaud the long-term planning.

it is the correct thinking and thinking about what needs to come next. >> in fact, the goal here is to go beyond meeting the immediate, the urgent, parents need on the streets right now but to provide a more permanent solution which is the goal, and equally difficult goal but one that we have an obligation to solve. i thinki think every one of you for your testimony today itit has been enormously valuable. thank you for your service to our country. >> thank you, mr. chairman. the va voiced opposition. concerns to legal credentialing and privacy issues. tell me, have your organizations looked into this as far as what it would

take as far as credentialing and this and that? >> we have not specifically looked into the credentialing issue because the va does have a good credentialing program in place. and this bill is comprehensive. the american legion knows that the current need is not being met command we support any legislation that seeks to support that need. a template to see where the va needed additional resources covering these types of legislation that are starting to address that >> i would reiterate that and include utilizing the success as a model to

implement this for veterans, veterans, and i think we can replicate them easily for veterans. >> tell me about in your testimony you mention the progress we have made and that they have been working hard to do that. the west la plan. having a strong community for veterans needs which seems to be something that is beneficial. are there other areas of the country where you feel like the same ability of locations would be effective? >> i am happy to provide your office with specific locations. i do not have them in front of me today. >> thank you. >> the rest of you guys. >> specifically south dakota , looking at great land. it is being downsized, and there is an opportunity to

have a center of excellence, specifically for ptsd. >> very good. well, thank good. well, thank you for being here. we appreciate your advocacy and hard work. >> thank you. >> you. >> thank you. >> thank you all for what you do. first off, i should have mentioned, the ranking member for 1885, it is a great opportunity and idea to work on making sure we have the partnerships with the right ngos. i wanted to go back to the judges and the backlog. i may have found a way to waive the toxic substance subject into the hearing

after all. i promised you. a part of what i think that we need to do, as long as we have the backlog at we do, we need the judicial capacity, but it raises a question of what kind of work has been done to try to reduce, get to the root causes of some of these appeals. about 87 percent decline rate. i doi do not know the root causes of all of the appeals , do you know of any particular area where the experience rate.

>> i think that secretary mcdonald has done a considerable amount of work. continuing on this front and to train va employees who will begin to see a decrease in the number of appeals, but until that time the increase in claims will have an increase in appeals. >> claims are complicated business. when the appeals -- if the claim is remanded and the work is not done that the law judge says needs to be done it goes back to the board. there must be a healthier

relationship, and i know this from legislation right now. with regard to making those permanent, when we see there are nine law judges maybe we can consider reducing it then. >> that has not been an issue area we focused on. >> a representative hear from our washington office who can maybe get with your staff. >> not trying to find fault. it is not necessarily faulting -- they are doing what they are doing within their parameters. come up with an acceptable definition or find other circumstances where maybe

they should have been granted the request to begin with. it is more a matter of looking at the process. i also wanted to talk briefly. a couplea couple of committee hearings ago we had a discussion about homelessness. in your opinion, and it is a very aggressive goal to end homelessness. do you think current course and speed programs already in place that we actually have the ability to make the goal that the va has set forth on preventing homelessness. >> i may have to go off script.

what is the date? there is aa specific date with a goal for being able to provide that capacity. >> senator, i can't help you with that. they have identified the end of this year. >> i find that unimaginable. we were fortunate to secure another homeless vet facility north of raleigh, but it is great to set goals. and so it makes me wonder whether or not we are using those resources widely.

situations not in my state. he spends most of his days helping other vets. he called the crisis line. came get back to them in four days. these situations are critically important to the veteran safety is something

we have to really look at. i don't know if we are using the wonderful resources we have to the fullest extent of their capabilities. >> can i add one thing? >> absolutely. >> not only what is being called now functional homelessness but a category of homeless veteran that is not being recognized at all, those who do not qualify for va services. the percentage is increasing as we lower the backlog or lower the homeless rate. wewe are looking at better than 10 percent veterans that fall through a crack.

>> on that subject i want to commend the committee. we took nominee miss you, mark up to an improvement today. other than opioids and drawings and pharmaceutical problems that our veterans have unemployment is a huge contributor to homelessness. i want to talk to secretary perez. we have been a short the focus will be like a laser beam in the media. we appreciate your comments, the members comments. >> mr. chair, i am sorry to interrupt. i would like to follow up on the comment you made about a veterans with bad paper. you may know that there was a lawsuit brought by va law

school legal clinic on behalf of a connecticut veteran who suffered from pts, received a less than honorable discharge, and for two decades suffered that black mark, became addicted unemployed, and homeless. his name is commonly monk and brought a lawsuit against the department of defense. i supported the lawsuit and they reached out to then secretary of defense hagel who after some consideration responded positively and provides the internal procedures to enable more veterans with less honorable discharges. or dishonorable discharges.

the procedure is complicated, needlessly fraught with red tape, but it is part of that cycle that often afflicts veterans. we are talking about veterans of past wars, vietnam. when he was in vietnam and more than a decade later, posttraumatic stress was not a term in our vocabulary, not a diagnosis. only in the 1980s did it become really recognized. long after monk was denied the very medical services he needed to overcome that pts. he was doubly a victim in the discharge that resulted from pts acting up and then

from the denial of healthcare services that would have helped to overcome that pts. i wanti want to thank you for recognizing this very, very important topic. ms. augustine has correctly recognized the need for us to conduct some oversight. i think there is a need for us to conduct oversight of the change in policy that i believe with the best of intentions the secretary implemented and his successors have committed to follow, but i suggest 255 respectfully suggest to the chairman that both of these oversight hearings and inquiries are very much appropriate. i want to commend the help and support in recognizing this issue. >> we will leave the record open for seven days. we stand adjourned.

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

>> next monday on the new series by c-span landmark cases, dred scott was enslaved. assigned to duties in several free states during which he married harriet robertson. he tried to buy his freedom, but she refused, and he sued. follow the case in landmark cases, historic supreme court decisions.

landmark cases next monday live at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span three, and c-span radio. order your copy of the companion book available for $8.95 plus shipping. this is two and a half hours. [inaudible conversations] >> got a lot of ground to

cover this morning. let us begin this morning. honored and pleased to have the secretary of energy, doctor ernest moniz. welcome back. we have an opportunity and other energy security related issues. i prepared for the committee report on the strategic petroleum reserves, a turbulent world and defense, if i say so myself. it is pretty darn good. i commend it to you all. we have some unparalleled opportunities in the us with regard to our oil and oil production. while it is good and strong,

it is important that we be ever vigilant. capacity has fallen. and further trouble seems to work always over the horizon. the strategic petroleum reserve remains critical and it is an asset, and you will here me repeat as often as i possibly can that this is about a national security asset, and it is important we focus on the energy security aspect of it. it is an insurance policy, absolutely, source of leverage and stability for us. while i believe that it should be modernized, the

question we have asked is what does that mean? andnow will make for brief points in that direction. the administration proposes some 200 billion in new funding. i think that these proposals merit careful consideration and look forward to hearing from secretary ernest moniz. i had an opportunity to tour one of our strategic petroleum reserves and ensuring operational effectiveness should be a 1st priority. again, taking us back to energy security. the administration is setting the creation of petroleum product reserves on the west coast, and on the east coast, pat on.

i am not opposed to building additional product reserves, but i have reservations. a much shorter shelf life in a much more direct impact on the american consumer guarding against the use for political purposes should be an enduring concern for all of us. and i am not opposed in principle to revising the emergency release authorities as the administration and some of my colleagues have proposed, but i am wary of proposals that expand the power and ability of the federal government intervene in the free market. preemptive release must be carefully examined, and while the quadrennial energy review briefly discusses this proposal, ii do not think the administration has made a convincing case and look forward to discussion on that.

final peemack, and i raise raise this in the white paper released in july, strategic petroleum reserve does not exist in a vacuum. the transatlantic pipe kind -- pipeline is important to national security. we security. we are seeing a decline in a deeply troubling place. we have the resources to ensure that it does. our focus should be pruned. i am going to close comments by reiterating that we collect the strategic petroleum reserve for a reason. as the name suggests, we hope never to use it, but we keep it around for good

reason. in the event something happens, if there is an event, in case the world's lives and we find ourselves in the comeau we need to no that the strategic asset, this national energy security asset is there, and i have said before that it would be a mistakea mistake to treat the reserve as anything but a reserve. it is not an atm for knew spending for a vestige of our national energy policy.

>> thank you for holding this hearing on modernization. i want to thank secretary monies. i especially want to thank the secretary for his leadership on an important document that helps frame the discussion. this committee successfully reported out. and you and i had many discussions about the pieces of that legislation. the critical importance of the strategic petroleum reserve. forty years ago we created it. that is exactly what happened. in 1975 the law that created the reserve specifically authorized the president to draw down. the core policy reason had

not changed, nor should it now. it is an important asset that we need just as much today as we did then. perhaps the energy markets.to that of the global oil markets may have changed, but so does the nature of the threat to the infrastructure. they make commitments to the international energy program supply interruptions can happen at any time whether a response to volatility somewhere else or a natural disaster, we are seeing increasing frequency and devastation, so you never know when it will be needed. even with the us being in oil producer today we need to have emergency crude oil contingency plans.

there are several immediate intermediate-term geopolitical risk such as a possible attack on major middle east supply notes are outs or what would be severe disruption originating in places like nigeria or venezuela, and even these situations could result in disruption or triggering a drawdown. challenges remain. ways that enhance our competitiveness. this network has changed significantly. the ability to protect the us has been diminished by

infrastructure congestion control the truly the congestion of too much product and not being able to get to market when and where we want. the department of energy is a test sale identifying a series of challenges with distribution. investment is needed to modernize this growth. in need of 2 billion worth of repairs and upgrades. it is estimated that can help save the us economy approximately 200 billion in the event of a sustained large oil supply reduction. we will hear about the fact that the salt caverns were built in the 1930s. i know that two of them have been taken off-line. so i'll more than 60 years old.

issues like brian disposal, power distribution, all of the things that will help us respond to an emergency and because pipelines have essentially reversed direction, that is where this issue comes in the strategy of how he will deal with that so they would have the intended impact. again, i think the secretary for his work. a long but good roadmap for telling us what we need to do. i think the chair for having this important hearing. >> thank you. we will turn to the sec. of secretary of energy. welcome to the committee, and we look forward to hearing from you. >> thank you.

i have submitted a detailed testimony. clearly we need an energy security policy based on 21st century changes, vulnerabilities, and needs. key components are a modernized fpr configured to enable appropriate drone down and distribution capacity, energy infrastructure, resilience, reliability, and a broader concept of energy security to include our international engagements, allies, and partners. i will touch on the latter to points briefly. it is our nation's most central federal energy security asset and should be treated as such.

some have concluded that it will have no or little impact, and i do not subscribe to those views. in fact, i believe it it remains an extremely powerful and valuable energy tool. we must take into account several factors including relatives in 1975 the change in nature of oil markets. we are linked to the global market and are exposed to global prices. and these historically have had a significant economic impact. even if there was little direct impact on our imports today. our international commitments based upon oil

use, not import which is our obligation based upon the last data to provide 43 and a half percent of the amount of the total coordinated oecd response to a disruption. it isit is important to emphasize that we have an important obligation and then oil use dependent operation. and the actual distribution capacity, the 2014 test sale identified a significant. much of that is driven by what has happened in the last several years in terms of the change scale and geography of our oil production, and to address disruption scenarios, a key need would be the ability to get oil onto the water to supply coastal refineries.

changing markets of international commitments are not the only concern. they need additional investment to maximize value for funding and three distinct areas. one is deferred maintenance proposing a major down payment, cutting it in half. unfortunately the house and senate appropriations bill marks if enacted would not support that. we might be going in the wrong direction. life extension, almost 40 years old. a significant life extension program is needed to ensure effectiveness for decades to come. third, modernization.

we need to modernize to accommodate the dramatically different locations and volumes of oil production and changes in oil markets. the quadrennial review examined what would be needed to protect the us economy in an energy supply emergency. roughly $2 billion are needed. 800 million for life extension and 1.2 billion for modernization such as dedicated marine terminals to respond quickly and emergencies. the return could be used. adding 2 million barrels per day distribution capacity could save our economy tens of billions of dollars depending upon the nature of the disruption. we need a robust growth to guard against the economic harm of such a major disruption, and this is not theoretical.

if we look at events in the middle east, including just last week, adding another element of geopolitical uncertainty. just to finish with a couple of words on energy infrastructure, this was discussed extensively. existing infrastructure is not always well matched to supply, aging facilities prone to failure, climate change impacts that must be guarded against which but facilities at risk and, of course, enhanced concerns about cyber and physical attacks. the qtr had over 60 recommendations. finally, i we will end by saying a collective approach to energy security in the international sphere is what we need today. the situation in ukraine and growing european dependence

is my stimulated discussion within the g7 plus eu in terms of this collective responsibility. i just returned from istanbul with the dialogue continues. the reality is that this is an important and sensitive time in this arena, one would we are courage and other major countries to build up petroleum reserves to work collectively with hours. i think that we need to be careful about the signals we send. i appreciate the opportunity to come here and look forward to the discussion and working further with the committee. >> thank you, mr. secretary. your concluding words other ones i find most intriguing. here you are over in europe, istanbul, working in this

collaborative and collective approach with our chief of staff and allies, and the focus is on improving energy security from a broader perspective. you come home from that meeting, and the discussion here is the congress is looking to take money and sell off part of the strategic reserve that we are encouraging other nations to participate in two, again, buildout and enhance this collective energy security. tell me how this works from the us is trying to persuade china, india to participate in these international energy security conversations? is it not a little -- hypocritical for us to be saying come on in and yet we

are basically treating our energy security asset as a cash machine here? >> of course we are, as you know, and as is called for, carrying out a strategic study which we expect to finish next may in terms of what we need to do in terms of the size and the authorities of the petroleum reserve. now, without those i will not talk about a specific size, but the fact is that, as i, as i said, the markets are different than they were in the 70s. the real issue is a major disruption which leads to a substantial price excursion which affects all of us which is why we are working

with china and, the collaboration is excellent. they have, and visited ostrow. we have a visit in november. theynovember. they are building up toward a 500 million-barrel petroleum reserve. india is billing of prisoners. again, this is a time of considerable geopolitical uncertainty, and we need a more unified international collective response to the economic risks. >> i hope that we would agree we need a consistent response and cannot just ask them to move forward in this collective approach well at the same time weakening our own energy security commission, if you will. i appreciate you saying you cannot comment on the rightsizing. you are going through the studies.

i was walked through the very layers of analysis that will be part of that review, but wouldn't it be premature for us to be selling off portions of the reserve before we have that considered analysis and really know what the right sizes or understand how express to have aspects of modernization need to proceed? >> i would assume that is why congress has asked us to do the study, have a detailed and significant analysis which is being performed with many, both analytical companies and universities to bring together i think the 1st really integrated strategic look in a very, very long time, and we would like to

have that answer. >> and a necessary review. it is something we asked for for a reason, and, and i would certainly help we would take advantage of this considered review before we weaken our ability to utilize the recommendations that come with this. ..

>> >> i fame part of what we are trying to ascertain is what is it that we need and how can we be smart with our energy assets?

>> thank you for your work on a the document explain the 90 day requirement should be the only requirement talking about modernization. >> this day obligation based and imports but as i said based upon use of the drawdown capacity but beyond the international obligations i believe it is an investor interest to have a strong petroleum reserve to give us the flexibility to respond if there is the major disruption we have had brainstorming sessions and workshops with experts

looking at the risks of major disruptions and a day are there perhaps more than 3 million barrels per day and the risk of local disruptions so that has the expected impact and we are in a situation with a diminished global reserve capacity so it is being able to use government stocks in a rapid way to ameliorate the economic harm we face. >> should the chairman have new authority in this area? >> we said it raised the issue of a variety of authorities and some are specific such as the two

product reserves they have different authorities were used and should be harmonized with in the reserve but there are bigger policy issues such as how one defines a major disruption in the sense to have the ability to respond with there is likely to be a major price spike in as well as after that is that we need to discuss with get what is now a genuine global market in contrast to the '70s. >> in the quadrennial review about a commodity congestion the inability for people to get utilities based on the

competing needs so i think that quadrennial review does a good job to outline the fact we need to improve there as well i wish people here would swim in their own money but clearly we have to do both to improve infrastructure commodity talk up the utilities in minnesota had requirements to get the coal supply to them so that is the same problem of the underlying issue is getting other commodities to market is that correct? >> yes then turns of the congestion issue with the gulf of mexico but that issue is much broader in terms of energy

infrastructure i believe the rest lose them progress to the trained congestion to understand the steps they are taking so there is a lot of work going on in the private sector but we have not yet caught up to the incredible increase of oil -- will and gas production like large crops of coming together leading to some congestion so in addition to specific infrastructure rehab recommendations because it was the administration guide document that all commodities used as part of the focus. >> talk about the of rule in

your testimony advocate for the expanded view of that encompasses the needs of the united states allies and trading partners to highlight the vulnerability of our european allies of a single supplier for energy supplies not only with natural gas but crude oil. you cite the finding refineries are optimized in the capacity is in the hands of a shrinking number of russian owners i encourage the administration to approve liquefied natural gas exports although it seems to dither with the crude oil experts. day you agree the exports would benefit our allies and trading partners?

>> it is important to distinguish between natural gas and oil situations all located in imports we are self-sufficient and we will shortly sturdy exports for the of lower 48. a much greater exporter of oil products the specific issue raised in response to the department of commerce but it is also true the last summary steady requested studies on exports show the impact for the next 10 years

are likely to be modest in terms of exports. >> if this is your litmus test for it supports crude will we all know that much of the refining capacity is built to handle heavy crudes not what is produced as a result of technological advances so it is very different of the real fighting capacity is that the litmus test before we can export -- and next for a different product? >> i did not say that. i do think it is 4 million barrels so they're

getting the benefit of increased production is the first point. i forgot my second point now [laughter] >> the last month the white house press secretary said we don't support legislation that is put forward but a democrat will repeal the crude export ban so it doesn't seem the administration supports efforts to move the bill according to the spokesperson does the obama administration oppose all legislative efforts? >> i thought of my other point with the additional production if you look at the spreads it is hard to

argue there has been a lot of production from the current rules and commerce is responsible one is the ruling on the lady processed oriole with the approval of the swap so congress has taken steps it is on their desk. >> of course, to be having dinner that means flitted day consideration for the economies period the difference is the analysis would say that if there were

substantially greater production in the united states then there might to be an impact right now it does not suggest such. >> to circumvent the eastern europe and understand a number of leaders have expressed opposition what steps is this taking? >> we're working with our european colleagues at the european commission and we have made it very clear that they are looking for diversification so we have had advocates and these were discussed so we remain very

strong advocates of the caspian gas that needs additional interconnection and in addition we are very interested and don't have a direct role but to maintain discussion in terms of production and minuses -- the modernization and now with egypt so those are the issues that add to diversity of supply to increase european energy security. >> we appreciate you and your input mr. secretary. you mentioned we have 7 million barrels per day of imports and i think it has

even been forecasted 4 million of crude oil into the future. your predecessor was here and asked a question since we have 250 million no reserve tons of coal to barrels could be produced from 1 ton that is 500 million of reserves only saudi arabia has 260 million that sooner or later we have to use the resources we have effuse that with biomass feedstocks would have a reduction of a carbon footprint? do you feel the same if we advance that type of technology? we're asking for a pilot project to show that we could do that.

>> first of all, the interest in technology is called with curbing captured together to be completely carbon neutral so these types of conversion and technologies are research right now. >> but on the research side this is the type of potential home run that we're very interested in using tear develop because we think down the road we will need an energy policy.

>> and i may add the military is interested to explore this technology. >> and to find out if performs extremely well if not better. >> to make that as a perfectly replace the bleat -- replaceable fuel is possible we could talk about that. >> i hope he would consider that because we will do the heavy lifting if you could work with us. on the export of crude and why their prices can be sobol a title but the more you look into it if it is done from a strategic standpoint it makes a lot of sense i support it wholeheartedly to give the

president a chance to stop the export enterprise despite -- if the prices spike would that be advantageous not to be dependent on those around the world? looking at exports strategically. >> we are a significant net importer of crude oil. and major exporters of oil products sold the issue is for example, if i take the mexico situation congress approves a swap for light and heavy so the mexican

refineries are quite short of light oil so that is the case but also the reality is in terms of the big picture it does not suggest this is the inability to handle that oil so again the analysis requires a season impact only when the production gets significantly larger you see that in terms of spreads of the various prices. another result of six months ago part of the series of five that congress requested it showed clearly our domestic product prices are

linked to the global price not to the domestic price. >> the state would be very interested to partner up with a cold biomass curbing capture to show what could be done it could be a tremendous advantage to make us very much independent of foreign oil. >> 2.0 we could do a love for retrieving congestion moving crops to market if the state department would say but reside in the car bin footprint i don't know why we don't but that is a political decision but it your testimony repeatedly referred to the relative sea level rise in the gulf coast

of louisiana. it is much for from the rising sea levels. so is the coast line more resilient? for the refinery capacity even in another statement? >> that is a critical hub for the country and the storm surge issues are very important for the of gulf and for the country's energy system. >> i will point out senator cantwell would take the

money they are slated to receive has to be used for coastal restoration to be elsewhere that shows the national importance th importane of. and then not partaking resources away from louisiana and by the way in the report it points out spreads as much as $20 in the recent past the louisiana light sweet soul that a premium so when you

say significant the it goes up 13.five by 2025 which would be reasonable increase we can do that and it points out if we did so to export oil and gasoline prices would fall for the american consumer is we have 2.0 if we lift the export ban gasoline prices fall that may have been lost. >> 812 emphasized that was in a high resource case not in the referenced case so without a of low-price with there was a significant impact.

>> was also from the aspen institute bed if we allow all the oil exports to increase as much by 1% resulted in hundreds of thousands of jobs those independently of the price of gasoline i will point out the aspen institute to increase gdp by 1% which is really good for the american family right now. it may not happen because of market conditions but it would create more jobs in the same sex something we should be doing purely at of curiosity chris smith testified blast april and made a statement that i don't quite follow the

impact of the overall supply disruption would have the same effect on domestic petroleum prices regardless of the import levels whether or not they import from all disrupted countries i read that in preparation and about what is the purpose? do you follow? >> i will have to discuss this quotation but the issue

of abuse in the current market could be very important even scenarios that is not to the direct imports. to have incremental barrels to back out those imports so the global market can be balanced. >> it seems counter to the whole thing if you could get back to us. >> faq for holding this hearing i could not agree more as well as the ranking member about the fact to be kept for energy security and that makes no sense. so thank you very much for

holding the hearing and i will also say that this really is a long day we would all agree that would revoke at energy security it is a long game of the strategic petroleum reserve or how we expedite lng exports or end restrictions on exports of crude oil is all the al long gave for us in terms of our country and where we go. just one comment. it seems interesting we talk about selling off reserves right now when prices are so low it seems from a financial standpoint with the taxpayer dollar standpoint we would want to sell those reserves when prices are high this does not make any sense resold by

ian bought low with the test sale. >> my point. slightly different on energy security with that piece of that it is something that has impacted michigander beckley which is the safety of our pipeline. we have had a devastating break-in 2010 the largest domestic cleanup of 1.2 billion dollars to clean up the kalamazoo river and it was a disaster. now we have a situation soda

straits that connect lake michigan and lake tehran that if in fact, there was a break would devastate the great lakes 20 percent of the world's freshwater it has been a number of different models but it is devastating so we have introduced legislation to redress the safety concerns around the pipelines that run throughout the great lakes under the water along of waterline as well. accelerating natural gas pipeline replace mates is one of the 60 actions of their review recommendations as it relates to enhancing energy infrastructure. fisa relates to the oil pipeline but is there an opportunity for the department of energy to modernize and improve the

safety of oil pipelines? whether a safety standpoint? >> a critical question with the aging of our energy infrastructure. i personally think and while doing it making it much more resilient to the risks we are seeing. such you have the responsibilities secretary fox is concerned about this

week to work to provide technical assistance we don't have the regulatory authority for technical assistance. >> looking at the infrastructure we include safety even with their broader jurisdiction so it has a broad implication and again and we are deeply concerned to see the devastation to make sure that pipelines are open and safe.

>> thanks for appearing. we talk about energy and national security to of a domestic source of enriched uranium. also for the commercial power plants with the proliferation and around the world so with that capability as when the notices were given to have 236 employees with the centrifuge project they are

angry understandably. with the cent angry understandably. with the centrifuge announcement with new technology. tell us how much you need. and second give us the plan. unfortunately department of energy has done neither. candidate obama talked-about cleaning up the site and in 2009 that was the secretarial commitment made the agency was accelerating the cleanup now they're told

the cleanup will not be completed through 2044 at the earliest. the federal government has a responsibility to clean up the site as it was set in the comments to keep the commitments to the work force. passing a spending bill a number of us worked on this with the american in a centrifuge plant while it continues to in operation and you plan a using that bonding authority with the

work done to prevent the involuntary layoffs from happening? >> as we discussed we're close to finalizing a plan rate think we can accomplish of involuntary layoffs but it does depend upon. >> i am talking about the sea are. >> what we're finalizing to entail risk for the rest of the year. >> i will get to that a yes or no to use that authority given to you. >> again we are finalizing the plan stick you cannot even give us a commitment there will not be layoffs

between now and december 11? >> i am confident we will get their idea of a little more time to notify the contract we are working towards that no involuntary layoffs. >> that is a surprise because it thought we had a commitment not to have any layoffs through that time we were given the authority. >> spend a heck talking about the next steps which is after december 11. >> i appreciate your interest two's suggest last night.

>> and with the idea that would deal a - - continue for the rest of the year. >> that is what we all hold for we need a commitment in your budget for next year which your already preparing that will be here after the first of the year to have adequate funding you underfunded by 80 million last year can be given say commitment. >> i cannot talk about the 17 budget at this stage we're trying to get adequate funding for all cleanup activities. >> day cleanup request was $80 million less than was appropriated and again

extending the cleanup even further and but you have committed to overtime to talk about keeping the of funding level. >> i have every intention and hope to do that but i cannot discuss the 17 budget and tell we go through the trade-offs. >> with regard to the cleanup we cannot even get a commitment on the continuing resolution to work with us beyond that to have that anomaly in the of longer-term budget and with regard to the new technology this centrifuge project i

was surprised to learn you were learning to pull the plug on new technology that we need to have a domestic source of the naval reactor program have you changed your mind? >> the program continues the issue is for the last two years operating the pilot facility that we have learned things to resolve a technical issue with the machines but two things lead to that. >> i completely agree with

the decision number one the scrubbing real hard on the need for enriched uranium we were able to extend the time frame very, very dramatically that i can discuss with you in the days ahead the technical judgement made that continuing to spend the machines will not give us any more technical knowledge of the technology we will preserve we're not pulling the plug but is hard to do justify the $50 million but has little to no technical. >> there 120 centrifuges it

to go to commercial grade you are pulling the plug on that entirely $6 billion to reconstruct that you said you only do that after issuing a report you never gave us a report i got the report last night. last night after you already made your decision to expel without informing us we had to hear about it in the press those workers deserve to know what is going on we will that have that ability to say we cannot enrich uranium the ku madam chair very. >> these are important questions but i will remind my colleagues we have a second panel. >> as you note in your

testimony for the strategic petroleum reserve this suggest it comes from diversifying the transportation and pules portfolio the best way to supply that is to reduce the need for the oil in the first place. can you talk about the appendages of the alternative fuel sources as they relate to energy security with an abundant source of alternative fuels to lower the likelihood we could drive down from the strategic petroleum desert -- reserve? >> the security principles that were updated in 2014

reflected that point that efficiency and alternatives are part of the energy security so '02 continue to focus on oil dependence is threefold with substantial technology development and second from the advanced alternative fuels and electrification says three pressed to lower the independence. >> with the biofuels one of the key motivations to diversify there is a a bill

that is proposed in the senate that targets ethanol it is something that increases the octane of gasoline in the next that helps us to replace lead and is something that is required dp maintaining that helps to reduce u.s. reliance on international oil? >> i will not get into the issue of those standards that the epa has responsibilities. >> come on. >> we will develop those technologies for the advanced biofuel.

>> that is 10 percent of our gasoline. >> i am conscious of titus went to be sure i get in and under the five. what i took from your testimony is basically not so fast. oil is lower now. who says that these markets change in there is a reason to have this there to prevent shock and part of that mate the we don't export will now but we export the oil products and if there is a spike around the world we cannot let it

hurt the global economy that we fall victim to shock even though now because of the oil and gas revolution we're in pretty good shape but we need this to make sure we're able to respond to the global shocks to help of local partners so their economies are strong i am summarizing your testimony testimony, of the faq for that i want to urge my colleagues to read that very thoroughly.

>> if i may add some color to that. >> sorry for my cover less description. >> that is takeshi were reading my testimony. [laughter] if you look back to the fall of 2000 that is where britain was having the slowdowns they were exporting 1 million barrels per day it did not protect them from the global price by and then it turns out we didn't use it for a sale but for a tight swap so it took a lot of froth out of the market.

>> could you add that color the next time your written testimony? >> not in particular but it could be more interesting. [laughter] >> i am not sure my colleagues would appreciate that. [laughter] >> going back 1973 with the oil embargo senator franken was a writer for a brand new show called "saturday night live" looking at the statistics senator murphy would have been two years old senator gardner was one-year-old 40 years ago.

said to think about that it was the eagles and i was in seventh grade this a response to the acute crisis that we had and i remember that. so now a free pass for word, secretary moniz your a forward thinker and a brilliant man i am surprised to have a policy in place to serve a purpose that is irrelevant today now the united states used of largest producer to surpass russia and saudi arabia so my question is, it looks as if a ban on iranian exports will be lifted. what countries have a ban on the oil experts?

>> obviously we have a partial ban. >> want to make sure we have our facts right i am not sure there is any other? >> why should we have the ban in place? why isn't the only country in the world with a ban on most oil exports? coal, natural gas, gasoline gas, gasoline, when not wield? >> we're major parts of exporters. >> obviously that is a policy decision i go back to

that dia analysis shows like the projected markets is a small impact if that is in place or not. >> now the united states is the leading producer of oil and liquids number one in the world and we have a bay and on exports because of a law passed four years ago why does that make sense? >> just to repeat we are $7 million - - barrel per day importer that is the fact. >> but the force that drives that is refining capacity the way it is laid out head the verses like i am looking forward looking forward to have a good

vigorous debate to allow those forces the tax revenues to be back on energy security and the importance there of a hope we move forward to remove that and -- the ban. >> that is a lot. i hope we can get the white house to work with us think it would be tremendous for national security global security for the economy we have one regret now in montana and i recognize their ups and downs in prices but that is a tremendous amount. >> the current global market does not seem to be in reality of looking for that

oil. >> why not allow the forces of the free market? would-be the only country in the world to ban exports? now in iran is lifted why would be the only one? >> i look forward to your answer. [laughter] >> i don't have what i am looking forward to yours. >> we keep trying to get any answer senator? >> to ask about the strategic petroleum reserve i understand drawing down the emergency oil reserve could make good financial and strategic sense we should have a conversation whole long in the is to be

going forward but there is a proposal to sell off a large amount of the emergency supply to focus on to features of the bills that are proposed they're not there because anyone has made the case we need a smaller reserve nor is there a proposal because anyone thinks it is a great time to ruth sell the reason is to find the government it would set the lois with years in advance if oil prices are low it could drop to a dollar a barrel like emergency needs to hold on smoked is this approach and

efficient way to manage the strategic petroleum reserve? >> it is key we we're doing the unprecedented strategic study to be ready in may and this committee is encouraging is that so obviously you would like to have the results of that analysis and there may be other factors that have not yet been discussed but there are special authorities to use 30 million barrels of the reserve only if there is a base of at least 500 the international obligations are based on use with a

drawdown so our analysis will greatly in foreign this discussion. >> the one to be clear what is happening with these career proposals the inefficient sell off of the strategic petroleum reserve years in advance is one more bad idea how to finance government. oil prices that our strategic close this is a high-cost gimmick to have some people face the fact to be bused to a little money to fund essentials services it is time to act like grownups that will build the future for everyone and we will never get there if we don't get serious to make sure everyone is pulling

their weight. selling of the strategic petroleum reserve is not a way to do that. thank you madam chair. mr. secretary during the test sale you said repeatedly today the situation in terms of infrastructure whether pipeline capacity and i share your concern it is estimated 1.$532 billion is needed but here's my concern all the states i am certain my state has a lot of coal we also have a lot of

natural gas to put the pipelines to the residential natural forest is getting more and more difficult so if they need is as big as $2 billion what kind of leadership can respect from the administration will note that it was vetoed what type of leadership can expect to health meet the challenge not just making sure those existing pipelines is safe but the ones that we know we will need. >> but that distribution requirements are about 1 billion of that total because roughly speaking

800 million is what we need for the extension and for the maritime distribution. >> this is a petroleum reserve so basically it is all we need to extend its life. >>. >> the pipeline distribution , and no. >> what do you estimate on that? reheard senators have been no talk about that. >> i don't have an answer to that i can give you an answer to a slightly different question for a scale we estimate the modernization and replacement and upgrading of natural gas distribution pipes better in urban areas

are in the hundreds of billions of dollars. >> we have a huge infrastructure issue i don't know how to pay for it but we do need a enormous and the structure renewal program. >> behalf to have a leader here that will lead the way through the very difficult permit issue whether it drags your heels to not meet the deadlines or breaking up a roadblock and we have a problem here and not to mention the money but even if you had it we're still not able to move the projects forward and that is

frustrating. >> natalie the pipelines but others that have challenges to bring the distant wint to market. >> but then you have to move it to. . .