Energy Secretary Steven Chu will continue making the rounds on Capitol Hill this week to push for clean energy technology, and he has even more to talk about now that President Obama has doubled down on his energy-heavy budget proposal with a new plan to extend some of the tax breaks for the industry.

Following up on testimony earlier this month to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Chu will appear tomorrow before the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees his agency's spending.

Earlier in the day, as part of an agency-sponsored conference, Chu will sit on a stage with Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates for a "fireside chat" on energy technology. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former President Clinton are also scheduled to speak at the third annual summit held by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.

ARPA-E would get another $350 million under Obama's proposed fiscal 2013 budget, part of a blueprint that would increase research and support for renewable sources of fuels and electricity, as well as other cutting-edge technologies, while reducing funding for more established energy sources such as hydropower, coal and nuclear reactors.

"Our country faces a stark choice: We can create jobs making and exporting the energy technologies of tomorrow or we can cede leadership to other countries that are investing in these industries," Chu said last week before the Senate committee, echoing an argument that Obama has repeatedly tried to drive home since his State of the Union address last month.

Republicans have tried to trim the administration's spending on renewable energy, labeling many of the programs as risky and costly to taxpayers. During the recent Senate hearing, some of them also took issue with the loss of funding for fossil fuels and nuclear power under the proposed 2013 budget.

The budget would direct $27.2 billion in federal funding to DOE for the fiscal year that starts this September, an increase of 3.2 percent from current spending levels. That includes a 25 percent increase for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, bringing its budget to $2.7 billion.

It also allots $5 billion for the Office of Science, up 2 percent, with most of the gains going to ARPA-E and basic energy sciences research.

Chu will testify on that section of the budget Thursday, when the House Science, Space and Technology Committee will meet to examine DOE's research proposal.

Schedule: The DOE budget hearing is tomorrow at 2 p.m. in 2359 Rayburn.

Witness: Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Schedule: The research budget hearing is Thursday, March 1, at 9:30 a.m. in 2318 Rayburn.

Witness: Energy Secretary Steven Chu.