Ranking Member Lofgren Opening Statement for Hearing on Nuclear Solutions for AI
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology's Subcommittee on Energy is holding a hearing titled, "Powering Demand: Nuclear Solutions for AI Infrastructure"
Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren’s (D-CA) opening statement as prepared for the record is below.
Good morning and thank you, Chairman Weber and Ranking Member Ross, for holding this hearing today. And thank you to the witnesses for being here this morning.
We have a real challenge ahead of us. We have seen incredible strides in the capabilities of artificial intelligence over the last few years and its applications to research, industry, agriculture, and various other sectors of our economy.
However, we also know that training and running AI models can consume enormous amounts of energy. While certainly not the only solution, advanced nuclear technologies are quite promising in their potential to meet these expected needs. And over the past decade in particular, this Committee has developed and enacted bipartisan, comprehensive legislation to explore and advance this resource.
This is another reason why I am frankly so disappointed with the Administration’s budget proposal for 2026. While the budget plainly states that it “unleashes America’s energy dominance through funding for nuclear energy,” it would cut support for DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy by 21%, and slash funding for its flagship Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program by 51%.
The budget also states that it is “prioritizing fusion research” while proposing to cut fusion research by 6%. Call me old fashioned, but I think words actually need to mean something, especially when they come from the U.S. government, and these words are sadly hollow.
Now some may note that the budget request does include support for loan guarantees for nuclear technologies, and that’s all well and good until you look at the House-passed Republican reconciliation bill, which of course the President endorsed. If enacted, that bill would eliminate more than 4 times as much support for DOE’s loan guarantee program as this budget proposal would provide. And it would gut tax incentives that industry has informed us are absolutely critical, in tandem with a robust federal loan program, to enabling the widespread deployment of new nuclear power plants.
So, I look forward to discussing these stark contradictions and other challenges to our clean energy future with this excellent panel of witnesses. With that, I thank you all again for being here, and yield back the balance of my time.
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