brouillette. finish great to have you with us, mr. secretary., and this is a happy time, i would think, to be the secretary of energy as an energy-independent nation. >> it's a very happy time, lou. thanks for having me. it's a pleasure to be here. i look forward to our conversation. i have to tell you, this is probably the most exciting time at least in my lifetime to be in the energy business. lou: the -- oil is an extraordinary story. its power on the economy, its influence on the economy and national security is extraordinary because as we are watching what is unfolding in the middle east, we still have serious and deep-rooted alliances that we have to honor, and the obligation is longstanding. but to be energy independent ourselves is to fundamental to our national security. how do you feel about the importance of energy independence in terms of national security? >> you're absolutely right, lou. let me just take a quick step back. you mentioned in the opening, you know, for the first time in 70 years we are now a net exporter of petroleum

mr. brouillette. senator feinstein of california and i are the chairman and ranking member of the energy subcommittee. we've worked very well together over the last nearly ten years in supporting the department both under the obama administration and under the trump administration. we've worked in a bipartisan way with strong support from our colleagues. that's been made possible by excellent secretaries of energy. i believe mr. brouillette will be yet another one of those. he knows the department well. he's been the secretary -- deputy secretary since 2017. in my conversations with laboratory directors and others across the country, they feel like he knows them well. i know that's true in tennessee. for example, in the oak ridge national laboratory which is our largest science and energy laboratory located in tennessee, mr. brouillette has been crucial in the building of the world's fastest super computer frontier which is housed at oak ridge and he also has been crucial in making sure as senator fei