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Sarbanes Urges Congress to Modernize and Secure America’s Electric Grid [Video]

May 22, 2019

At Energy and Commerce Committee Hearing, Congressman Sarbanes Emphasizes Infrastructure Improvements to Boost the Resiliency and Efficiency of the Nation’s Electric Grid

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing today on the Leading Infrastructure For Tomorrow's America (LIFT) Act, Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) called on Congress to modernize, strengthen and secure America's electric grid.

"I know that typically when we hear infrastructure, the first thing that comes to mind for many people is roads and bridges – and obviously those are important pieces of our physical infrastructure and are in dire need of important resources," said Congressman Sarbanes. "But we can't forget about other infrastructure that is vital to the health and well-being of Americans: drinking water infrastructure, the electric grid and infrastructure for community health centers being among them."

In a nod to the 21st Century Power Grid Act – a bill authored by Congressman Sarbanes and included in the LIFT Act – the Congressman continued, "There's growing demand, there's need for reliability, integration of new technologies, the need for resiliency against climate change and extreme weather events… These are all challenges that require that our electric grid adapt to 21st-century requirements."

Sarbanes concluded: "I'm very pleased that a bill I was able to work on and introduce, the 21st Century Power Grid Act, is included in this package, because it would empower the Department of Energy to support projects that improve grid performance, security, resiliency and it would do that through grant making and cooperative agreements. Those kind of federal investments in our grid infrastructure are essential if we're going to overcome the challenges that we're talking about here today."

See below for the Congressman's full remarks.

For more information about the LIFT Act, see here.

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Issues:Environment