Assistant Secretary Karsner Testifies Before Congress
March 07, 2007
Assistant Secretary Alexander Karsner addressed the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Science and Technology on Wednesday, March 7. He spoke about the President's fiscal year (FY) 2008 budget request and the funding for diverse programs within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Karsner noted that the FY 2008 budget requests $1.24 billion for EERE, roughly five percent ($60 million) more than FY 2007. He addressed the President's "20 in 10" initiative, seeking to reduce petroleum consumption by 20 percent in ten years, as well as increases in funding for biomass (particularly for cellulosic ethanol R&D) and vehicle technologies research. Karsner also pointed out the need for greater attention to be paid to efforts to commercialize EERE's technologies, citing government's pivotal role in making these cutting-edge technologies available to the American public.
