Alexander to chair subcommittee that oversees funding for ORNL, Y-12, DOE cleanup work

The Senate Appropriations Committee announced Wednesday that U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, will serve as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development for the 115th Congress.

That subcommittee oversees funding for national priorities such as energy research, nuclear weapons modernization, and waterways infrastructure that are funded through the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a press release said. It also oversees funding for Tennessee priorities, including the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Y-12 National Security Complex, cleanup in Oak Ridge, and Chickamauga Lock.

In the press release, Alexander said: “It is Congress’ job to set the nation’s spending priorities in a responsible way and use our taxpayer dollars wisely by supporting government-sponsored research and by controlling the costs of big construction projects in Tennessee and across the country. Supporting government-sponsored basic research is one of the most important things our country can do to encourage innovation, help our free-enterprise system create good jobs, and make America competitive in a global economy. If we’re going to power our 21st-century economy, we need to pursue policies that don’t pick winners and losers in the marketplace. That means unleashing nuclear power and other sources of the cheap, clean, reliable energy we need.”

Along with leading the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Alexander is the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and will also serve on the following committees this Congress:

• Energy and Natural Resources Committee
• Rules and Administration Committee

More information will be added as it becomes available.