04.03.25

Cantwell: “Bad Idea” for Department of Energy to Sell Off BPA Assets

House Republicans are considering proposals to sell off public lands to fund Trump tax cuts for corporations and the ultra-wealthy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), senior member of the Senate Finance Committee and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, pressed James Danly and Katharine MacGregor – President Trump’s nominees to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE) and Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) – on their commitments to not sell off public assets owned by Bonneville Power Administration after DOGE recently ordered the sale of the BPA Portland building. Sen. Cantwell also secured a commitment from Danly to uphold the Hanford Tri-Party Agreement, and she pressed MacGregor to oppose DOGE proposals to cut funding and staff to fight wildfires. 

“Do you commit to opposing any proposal to auction off assets, including those owned by Bonneville Power Administration?” asked Sen. Cantwell.

Danly responded, “I know there have been talks at different times for the Power Marketing Administrations to be privatized, and like, I have no interest in in that subject historically in my career, and I don't really know enough about that to give an informed answer here.”

“Maybe take a little homework assignment. Bad idea,” responded Sen. Cantwell.

During the Q&A, Sen. Cantwell also secured a commitment from Danly to uphold the Tri-Party Agreement: “The budgets are not the purview of the position to which I've been nominated, but I will say this, the cleanup of the of the legacy waste sites is one of the handful of the truly core missions of the department, and I have every intention of abiding by the agreement,” said Danly.

Sen. Cantwell then questioned MacGregor on funding for wildfire preparedness, DOGE cuts, and reporting from earlier in the day that Republicans are now considering proposals to sell off public lands to help pay for Trump’s tax cuts for corporations and the ultra-wealthy.

“The department has the responsibility to fight [fires],” said Sen. Cantwell. “How do you make sure that we have the workforce that we need as part of our incident command teams [and fight fires]? And if confirmed, will you not support a plan that includes selling off public lands that would reduce our access?”

Cantwell continued: “The two of you are the first witnesses to come before us since all the DOGE cuts. So, I'm asking you specifically -- will you stop any cuts that will affect wildland firefighting efforts?”

“I will absolutely evaluate any proposed cuts, should they be, you know, proposed for wildland firefighting cuts, and review those very closely,” MacGregor responded. “I can't imagine a situation where that would occur, but if it did, I would want to make sure that we're balancing and keeping the resources we need to fight fire.”

The Department of Interior serves a critical role in fighting wildfires fires. However, DOGE cuts have threatened wildfire preparedness by firing 3,400 USDA Forest Service employees and about 1,000 National Park Service (NPS) employees. Many Interior employees have “Red Cards” which certify them to fight wildland fires. In addition, over 140 Department of Interior employees are part of Incident Management Teams which lead wildfire fighting efforts.

In response, Sen. Cantwell led a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz demanding details about the Washington state personnel who were fired, including how many held Red Cards, and asked for the immediate reinstatement of all fired USDA and USFS personnel. While some employees have been reinstated, many experienced employees, including fire fighters, have retired and it has been reported that federal agencies, including the Department of Interior, will be implementing an additional reduction in force.

“I think most of us would just be able to agree today, no one here wants those cuts. We think we need more resources,” said Sen. Cantwell. “The Palisades fire is more than a wakeup call, more than a wakeup call. So, we need more resources, not less.”

Sen. Cantwell has long championed Hanford clean-up and played a leading role in overseeing the DOE’s cleanup efforts, fighting numerous Administration proposals to cut Hanford budgets. 

Throughout the first Trump administration, Sen. Cantwell repeatedly led the charge in opposing drastic cuts to the Hanford budget, and in 2020 she led a successful effort to defeat a provision in the annual National Defense Authorization Act that could have diverted billions in funding from ongoing clean-up projects.

In January, Sen. Cantwell voted against Chris Wright for DOE Secretary, citing his waffling commitment to uphold the Tri-Party Agreement – a newly negotiated agreement between the State of Washington, DOE, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that directs cleanup of the Hanford nuclear site in the Tri-Cities.

Video of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks today are available HERE, audio HERE, and a full transcript is HERE.

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