dr. chu. and dr. chu said before he was appointed, his committee -- he's an academic physicist, research scientist. his commitment was that the united states, americans, should pay the same price of gasoline as europeans. that's $9 or $10 a gallon. dr. chu was asked last week what he thought the right price -- was he willing to try to lower the price of gasoline? and he said no. he is not in the business of lowering the price of gasoline. he is in the business of developing replacements for gasoline. he then explained about some breakthrough in battery research, which i suspect in 15 to 20 years' time will be useful. but most of us don't have 15 to 20 years to fill up our cars. now -- i believe -- so first of all, i believe the lesson of where we are is that we should abolish the department of energy as a grotesque failure. [cheers and applause] >> i simply want to start with the premise no more solyndras, no more boondoggles, now let's talk about energy. the president said there's no silver

. >> dr. chu, thank you very much for being with usment i can't help but scratch my head about the fact that we're able to acquire someone of your background and talent to serve in this capacity. to say the least, beyond the heat you'll be taking from km committees like this, you're willingness to serve is very much appreciated by many of us. beyond that, you celebrating your anniversary is another thing. your bride, dr. jean chu holds a doctorate in philosophy from oxford university and above and beyond that, she served as chief of staff for two stanford university presidents as well as dean of admissions. my god it would be interesting to hear what you talk about at night. >> all i know for sure is she would not have admitted me. i must say, your service is very much appreciated. but beyond that, the panel probably doesn't realize this. but yucca mountain has for all these decades essentially been in my district. and the early days, it strikes me that unless we learn from this most recent histor

he appointed as the secretary of anti-energy dr. chud he had said before he was appointed -- he is an academic physicist -- his commitment was that the united states should pay the same price of gasoline as europeans. that is $9 or $10 a gallon. dr. chu was asked what the right price -- was he willing to lower the price of gasoline? he said no. he explained about some breakthrough in battery research which i suspect in 15 to 20 years' time will be useful. most of us to not have 20 years to fill up our cars. i believe -- i believe the lesson of where we are is that we should abolish the department of energy as a grotesque failure. i want to start with the promise no more solyndras, no more boondoggles. now let's talk about and if you treat the president said there are no silver bullets. he is right, but there is a he is right, but there is a presidential

. >> the president seems to suggest to you just like dr. chu. dr. chu is the secretary of anti-energy. to be honest, he said that before he became secretary that he wanted americans to pay european levels of $9 or $10 a gallon. so last week -- give him credit for being honest. last week he testified in the house, and somebody from mississippi actually, said to him, gas prices are really hurting people. what are you going to do to lower gas prices? and to be fair to dr. chu, he honestly said, nothing. >> now, newt gingrich rather has plenty of company in mississippi. mitt romney is there as well holding a rally later today in pascagoula. rick santorum is next door, rounding up support with three stops across alabama. >>> first time claims for unemployment benefits ticked upwards last week. labor department says that 362,000 people filed for benefits in the weekended march 3rd. 8,000 more than the previous week. the number had been trending downward. today's numbers actually dampen expectations for tomorrow's monthly employment report expected to show

dr. chu, i congratulate you on your wedding anniversary and birthday. you would have been one day before my son's birthday. i congratulate you for that. and do welcome you to the subcommittee for your fourth appearance. i am pleased that president obama continues to recognize the energy challenges facing this nation. "appreciate the budget's strong statement that the leadership will not seed in clean energy. i certainly believe we need to be more conscientious about our energy consumption and further advance our conservation efforts. we need a strong yet balanced approach to energy research and development that effectively nurtures basic sciences leading to significant technological demonstration, deployment and commercialization. these efforts with a goal in mind towards insuring production in america of these findings. i see no merit for breakthroughs for products that will not be manufactured domestically. government can drive the policies. however, i am and as i have said before, very concerned about making sure that the department exercises strong

we were told the secretary of anti energy, dr. chuannounced this afternoon that he actually was not for european level prices of gasoline. he had changed his mind. [cheers and applause] i would say in the middle of a campaign in these two states, we are already impacting the national debate on a scale that all of mitt romney's at money has not achieved. we are doing it because ideas matter. [cheers and applause] adhere the reagan tradition of visionary conservatism is based on proverbs and the very deep believe that without vision the people perish. i believe we need a visionary leader who is prepared to talk about a dramatically better future with dramatically more jobs, dramatically more energy, and a much safer and stronger a america. that is the key to winning the fall. not all of this patty maloney, but the really big choices. when i went -- not all of this petty bologna, but the real choices. he wrote an article and walked through step-by-step why it was possible. the fact is, it is very possible. [cheers and applause] than yest

. >> dr. chuwalking a fine line to not say we want the higher prices when we want higher prices. >> the problem is most alternatives for oil aren't afford to believe most americans. which is why chu championed higher gas prices to make other sources seem less in comparison. some supporters say something has to be done. >> invest in alternative to oil, like electric passenger vehicles and natural gas trucks. invest in transportation options that could help get people out of their cars. >> or in to electric vehicles such as the chevy volt. they say gas would cost more than $40,000 each. one reason chevrolet temporarily halted production of the volt, because of slow sales. those favoring alternatives say we should be patient, though. every advanced technology starts out expensive and clunky and gettin gets better. >> the original cell phone was the size of a shoot. now they can fit in half the palm of your hand. technological innovation takes time. >> the president lost sight of the current problem.

. >> we're told the secretary of anti-energy, dr. chu announced this afternoon he actually wasn't for european-level prices of gasoline, that he changed his mind. now... so i would say, in the middle of a campaign of the states we're already impacting the national debate on a scale all of romney's ad money hasn't achieved because ideas matter. and the threat to principles matter. the reagan tradition of visionary conservatism is based on proverb skptz deep belief that without vision, the people perish. i believe we need a visionary leader prepared to talk about a dramatic better future with dramatically more jobs, dramatically more energy and a safer, stronger america. i think that is the key to winning this fall. not all of this pet petty bologna but big choices. and as i went around both states talking about $2.50 gasoline and having folks saying that that is not possible, then, finally on saturday, in the "wall street journal" there is a piece entitled newt gingrich is right about gasoline. you walk through step by step why it was pos

. >> we're told the secretary of anti-energy, dr. chu announced this afternoon he actually wasn't for european-level prices of gasoline, that he changed his mind. now... so i would say, in the middle of a campaign of the states we're already impacting the national debate on a scale all of romney's ad money hasn't achieved because ideas matter. and the threat to principles matter. the reagan tradition of visionary conservatism is based on proverb skptz deep belief that without vision, the people perish. i believe we need a visionary leader prepared to talk about a dramatic better future with dramatically more jobs, dramatically more energy and a safer, stronger america. i think that is the key to winning this fall. not all of this pet petty bologna but big choices. and as i went around both states talking about $2.50 gasoline and having folks saying that that is not possible, then, finally on saturday, in the "wall street journal" there is a piece entitled newt gingrich is right about gasoline. you walk through step by step why it was pos

the president is taking us to higher gasoline which is what his secretary of energy dr. chu wants it to be. he wants us to pay european levels and that is 9 or 10 dollars a gallon. >> chris: mr. speaker, gas experts make two points. you point it was $1.89 when president obama took office. they say that was misleading because it was the depths of the recession . and fact is six months before it was $4.11 under president bush. even if you were to begin a onslaught of domestic drilling it would take three-five years for that to result in more production which is not to say we shouldn't do it, but it wouldn't indicate or cause gas price to go down sharply in the two-year time frame you are talking about. >> guest: it is a question of what the futures market does and if it anticipates production. drill here and pay now and pay less and we had a million 600,000 signatures in 08 prices were up at four dollars. if we started then we would be in the window you are describing. natural gas production went up 11 percent since 2008. and the price crashed from 7.97 a unit to under three d

gasoline, maybe ultimately as high as $9 or their 10 a gallon, which is what his secretary of energy, dr. chu, says he wants it to be. >> chris: mr. speaker, gas experts make two points. first of all, you pointed out that gasoline was $1.89 a gallon when president obama tooka office. they say that's misleading because it was the depths of the recession, so understandably gas price his gone down. six months before, it was $4.11 under president bush. the other point they make is that even if you were to begin a big onslaught ofde domestic drilling that it would take 3 to 5 years for that to result in more production, here domestically, which isn't to say we shouldn't start doing tbut it wouldn't indication or cause gas prices to go down in the two-year thyme frame you are talking about. >> it's a question of what the futures market does and whether it anticipates production. secondly, i led drill here, drill now, pay less. we got 1.6 million signatures in '08, when gas prices were up to $4. if we started there, we would be inside the window you are notice describing. natural gas production has

. >> and this afternoon, we were told that the secretary of anti- energy -- [laughter] >> dr. chu, announced this afternoon that he actually wasn't for european level prices of gasoline, that he had changed his mind. so i would say, in the middle of a campaign of the states we're already impacting the so i would say, we are already impacting the national debate on a scale that mitt romney's money hasn't been able to achieve because ideas matter. [cheers and applause] the reagan tradition of visionary conserveatism was based on proverb and it is very deep belief that without vision, the people perish. and i believe teawe need a visionary leader who is prepared to talk about a dramatically better future with dramatically more job, dramatically more energy and a much safer and stronger america. i think that's the key to winning this fall, want all this petty baloney, but the really big choices. as i went around both states talking about $2.50 gasoline, having the elite media saying, no, that's not possible. on saturday, "the wall street journal," there is a piece, newt gingrich is ri

. >> dr. chulking a very fine line trying to not say we want higher prices when they really do want higher prices. >> now, to make expensive alternatives like electric cars seem more affordable as you said earlier take the chevy volt which saves gas but costs more than $40,000. chevrolet temporarily halted production because of slow sales as a result. those bracing the president's policy says we should be patient though that every new technology starts out expensive and clunky then gets better. >> remember the original cell phone with the size of a shoe. and now they can fit in half the palm of your hand. technological innovation takes time. >> everybody in america is screaming for lower gasoline prices and is he talking about well we need to get on to something else. it may be more expensive. that doesn't seem to bother him. >> the president's alternatives can take even locker than drilling to effect gas prices. government projections show it will take years even decades before they can compete w

and this afternoon, we were told that the secretary of anti-energy, dr. chu, announced -- >> good evening, this is msnbc's special coverage of the republican primary elections in both mississippi and alabama. here on a live edition of "the ed show" tonight on msnbc. nbc news projects rick santorum as the winner of the alabama republican primary. in mississippi, nbc news has now called the race for rick santorum. this is a major victory for rick santorum and a major defeat for newt gingrich and mitt romney. just hours ago, romney was saying santorum's campaign was running on fumes. >> the reagan tradition of visionary conservatism is based on proverbs and the very deep belief that without vision the people perish. i believe we need a visionary leader who's prepared to talk about a dramatically better future with dramatically more jobs, dramatically more energy and a much safer and stronger america. i think that's the key to winning this fall. not all this petty baloney but the really big choices. as i went around both states talking about $2.50 gasoline, havin

gasoline, maybe ultimately as high as $9 or their 10 a gallon, which is what his secretary of energy, dr. chu, says he wants it to be. >> chris: mr. speaker, gas experts make two points. first of all, you pointed out that gasoline was $1.89 a gallon when president obama tooka office. they say that's misleading because it was the depths of the recession, so understandably gas price his gone down. six months before, it was $4.11 under president bush. the other point they make is that even if you were to begin a big onslaught ofde domestic drilling that it would take 3 to 5 years for that to result in more production, here domestically, which isn't to say we shouldn't start doing tbut it wouldn't indication or cause gas prices to go down in the two-year thyme frame you are talking about. >> it's a question of what the futures market does and whether it anticipates production. secondly, i led drill here, drill now, pay less. we got 1.6 million signatures in '08, when gas prices were up to $4. if we started there, we would be inside the window you are notice describing. natural gas production has

. >> this president and his secretary of anti-energy, dr. chuas a goal of getting to us pay european-level prices of $8 or $9. >> he has done everything in his power to make it harder for us to get oil and natural gas in this country, driving up the price of those commodities, in the case of gasoline. >> so they're sharing talking points. what else is new? all these guys are lying, as president obama pointed out today in nevada. >> i just want everybody to be clear, because sometimes when you listen to the news and you listen to some of these other politicians, they seem a little bit confused about what i'm saying. we are going to continue producing oil and gas at a record pace. that's got to be part of what we do. >> fact, domestic oil production is at its highest level in eight years. there are more oil rigs working in the united states that be the rest of the world combined. you won't here that on fox news. and tomorrow, the president is expected to announce his administration will help exneed the southern portion of the pipeline. but all of

expensive gasoline, maybe ultimately as high as $9 or $10 a gallon which what his secretary of energy, dr. chu, says he wants it to be. he has said publicly he wants us to pay european levels. that would be 9 or 10 dollars a gallon. >> mr. speaker, gas experts make two points. first of all, you pointed out the fact that gasoline was 1.89 a gallon when president obama took office. they say that's a bit misleading because it was the depths of the recession, so understandably gas prices had gone down. the fact is that just six months before, it was 4.11 under president bush. the other point they make is even if you were to begin a big onslaught of domestic drilling that it would take three to five years for that to result in more production here domestically which isn't to say we shouldn't start doing it, but it wouldn't indicate or wouldn't cause gas prices to go down sharply in the two-year time frame you're talking about. >> well, first of all, it's a question in part of what the futures market does and whether it starts to anticipate production. secondly, i led the effort called drill here, d

dr. chu, i would like to thank you for your testimony today, especially for waiting for us to come back after votes but it's appreciated. i'd like to ask you a few questions related to the electric grid, because as you are surely aware, the potential for conflict between grid reliability and environmental rules is greater now than ever. and in the interest of time i would appreciate it if you would simply answer yes or no to the following questions. question number one, are you unaware that under section 202 of the federal power act, d.o.e. can issue emergency orders to require a generator to run? >> yes, i am aware of the. >> that's what i thought, thank you. question number two, are you aware that generates complaints within an emergency order could result in a violation of environmental law and subject generators to lawsuits? >> i am aware that. >> thank you. question number three, do you believe it is fair to make generators choose between complying with an emergency order or comply with

probably get a letter to you and ask you about that because having watched what happened with another dr. chu at the university of houston and the success both with state funding and federal funding, i appreciate it. the president's fy-13 budget includes an interagency study that the doe, epa and u.s. geological service are partnering on to examine environmental and health effects of -- [inaudible] can you explain the purpose behind this study and how is this different than what the epa's been already doing, and then what is your energy advisory board has already addressed? that combination of the interagencies compared to what epa's done and what department of energy's already done with their energy advisory board. >> right. our -- the subcommittee, the secretary of energy advisory board felt that the department of energy in collaboration with other agencies, notably usgs, would be in a good position to help industry develop the natural gas and natural gas and oil resources safely. we want to see those resources developed, but we want to see them developed in an environmentally safe way. so

dr. chu, i also congratulate you on your wedding anniversary and birthday. had this anniversary would be just one day before my cents per day, so i congratulate you for that. .. read little or no merit to the department fostering technological advances or breakthroughs for products they will not ultimately be manufactured domestically. the government can drive policies however ibm as i have said before very concerned about making sure the department exercises strong leadership in fundamental management reform. the need to be forthcoming in the department of energy. if not, it will significantly cut up the chance that the successful energy policy. i know contract and project management seem tedious and dole. i certainly am tired of encouraging more year after year administering administration after administration and believe you are the seventh secretary of energy i of question on the topic. i continue to be appalled that the cost overruns and schedule slips of the department of energy's major construction projects. in 2009 the subcommittee had a hearing on t

he appointed as his secretary of energy who i call the secretary of anti- energy, dr. chu.t gasoline pricing should be about at the level of europe, which is $9 or $10 a gallon. [boos] he went in front of the house committee last week and when he was asked about the current gas price and the congressman suggested that this was higher than people wanted to pay, and when asked what the secretary of energy was going to do, he said, nothing. he said, i'm interested in getting people off the gasoline -- off of gasoline, not lowering the price of gasoline. he then told the two stories, what about a battery break through that may matter in the next 10 or 15 years. and the other, about natural gas. that does have some interesting potential. and i do believe in flex fuel cars. i talked about having an american energy policy and i talked about the idea that having an american energy policy makes as independent of the middle east. [applause] and i said, one way to frame that goal is that no future american president should ever again bowed to a saudi king. [applause] and the president

dr. steven chu, who now serves as president obama's energy secretary, said "somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in europe." well, mr. chu, it looks like we're headed that direction. and if we continue to follow this administration's energy policies, we may get there. as a member of the senate's energy and natural resources committee, i was somewhat surprised as a suggestion was made just a few days ago that there are some who believe that there's no relationship between u.s. production of petroleum and the price of gasoline in the united states. that simply is not true, and it cannot be true. with oil being the input ingredient into gasoline, it is the precursor for gasoline, any time you do anything that cuts off or restricts or limits the supply, that's necessarily going to have an impact on the price. and it does. the fact that it's indisputable that there are other factors that also influence the price of gasoline makes it no less true that we do have to produce petroleum here at home in addition to buying it from other places in order to kee

dr. steven chu, th. >> thank you.hank you for the opportunity to discuss the department of .nergy's 2013 budget request president obama has called for an all-the-above strategy that develops every source of american energy. the president wants to fuel our economy with domestic energy resources while increasing our ability to compete in the clean energy race. the 2013 request is guided by the president -- >> secretary, excuse me for interrupting. mr. rush says he cannot hear you. is your microphone on? >> i am having a little difficulty hearing you as well. that seems to be better. thank you. to promote economic growth and strengthen security, president obama has called for an all-the- above strategy, to develop a resource of american energy. the president was to fuel our economy with domestic energy resources while increasing our ability to compete in the clean energy race. the department's 2013 request of $22.7 billion is guided by the president's vision. our 2011 strategic plan on our quadrennial manage your review.