Comer Statement on OIG Report Revealing DOE Secretary Granholm Abused Taxpayer Funds on Summer EV Road Trip

WASHINGTON—Today, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) released a statement following a report by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) revealing Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s 2023 electric vehicle (EV) road trip was ripe with waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer funds.

“Today’s OIG report is further evidence of the Biden Administration failing to protect taxpayer dollars and leaving funds exposed to serious waste, fraud, and abuse. After Democrats rushed trillions of dollars in government spending without guardrails, the Department of Energy and Secretary Granholm embarked on a taxpayer-funded EV summer road trip to showcase its radical Green New Deal priorities. This publicity stunt not only illustrates how out of touch the Biden Administration is with the consequences of its policies, but came at the expense of American taxpayers. The Oversight Committee looks forward to working with the incoming Trump Administration to safeguard taxpayer dollars and remains committed to combating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the federal government.”

The Oversight Committee initially sought information from DOE on September 26, 2023 to understand the purposes, costs, and consequences of Secretary Granholm’s summer 2023 EV road trip. Documents produced to the Committee by DOE contained examples of staff lodging above per diem rates, travel expenses not included on the original authorization, and the use of government issued purchase cards inconsistent with DOE policy. On January 24, 2024, the Committee raised concerns over of a potential pattern of waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer funds at DOE and called on the OIG to initiate a review.

The DOE OIG report released today determined the following:

• 36 of the 42 travel vouchers (86 percent) associated with the Secretary’s EV road trip consisted of lodging expenses that exceeded Government per diem rates.
• Travelers could have chosen different nearby hotels to reduce taxpayer-funded travel costs.
• DOE OIG found that travelers did not use Government-issued travel cards required by law.
• Travel voucher audit warnings to address potential policy deviations and issues were unaddressed or inadequately justified.
• Travelers were reimbursed for amounts that exceeded the Department’s policy.
• DOE OIG found travel vouchers with inaccurate locations and dates.