Energy Secretary Granholm’s 4 Junkets in 5 Months to Puerto Rico Sparks GOP Demands for Justification

Republican Lawmakers Demand Documents on Energy Secretary’s Frequent Trips to Puerto Rico

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) are calling for Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm to provide documents related to her four taxpayer-funded trips to Puerto Rico in just five months. The lawmakers expressed concerns about Granholm’s attention to her other duties, especially with rising energy costs and threats to the country’s energy independence.

Granholm has made rebuilding Puerto Rico’s electrical infrastructure a top priority, with a focus on converting it to solar-generated electricity. However, McMorris Rodgers and Griffith question whether her frequent and extended presence on the island is critical to these activities.

The lawmakers also pointed out that Granholm traveled to France, Australia, Mexico, and Singapore in 2022, seemingly prioritizing visits to these international locations before finally visiting the Hanford site in Washington state, one of the most costly and challenging cleanup sites in her agency’s Office of Environmental Management complex.

McMorris Rodgers and Griffith requested copies of all documents related to Granholm’s multiple trips to Puerto Rico and other overseas locations, including an itemized list of all expenses, lists of DOE staff members involved in planning and executing the trips, itineraries for all of the trips, and minutes for all official events that Granholm attended in connection with all of the trips.

Greening of Puerto Rico

Granholm’s efforts to convert Puerto Rico to an energy infrastructure of solar and other renewable sources is part of the Biden administration’s plans for the entire United States. The initiative is required because of the seriousness of climate change, according to the president.

During a Nov. 2, 2022, address before the Storage and Energy Storage Association of Puerto Rico, Granholm described being asked by President Joe Biden to lead a comprehensive effort by the federal government to create a “Puerto Rico powered by 100 percent renewable energy by 2050.”

Biden’s 2023 budget proposal invests a total of $52.2 billion in discretionary budget authority to tackle the climate crisis, $10.9 billion more than FY 2023 or an increase of nearly 26 percent.

• McMorris Rodgers and Griffith are demanding documents related to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm’s frequent trips to Puerto Rico.
• They expressed concerns about Granholm’s attention to her other duties, especially with rising energy costs and threats to the country’s energy independence.
• Granholm has made rebuilding Puerto Rico’s electrical infrastructure a top priority, with a focus on converting it to solar-generated electricity.
• Granholm traveled to France, Australia, Mexico, and Singapore in 2022, seemingly prioritizing visits to these international locations before finally visiting the Hanford site in Washington state.
• Granholm’s efforts to convert Puerto Rico to an energy infrastructure of solar and other renewable sources is part of the Biden administration’s plans for the entire United States.
• Biden’s 2023 budget proposal invests a total of $52.2 billion in discretionary budget authority to tackle the climate crisis.

A spokesman for Granholm didn’t respond to the lawmakers’ request for comment on the matter.