In response to politically-charged criticism that has included not a small share of outright disrespect, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has stalwartly defended the Navy’s alternative energy investments. At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, he stated:

I think that we cannot afford not to do this…We cannot afford to be dependent on a worldwide commodity that has the price spikes and the price shocks that we have.

See Secretary Mabus’ prepared remarks here.