Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOLT. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Colorado says that this would send a signal to European countries, and as my friend from California makes clear, it would not be a signal that help is on the way any time soon. The natural gas would not come soon, but the signal that would be heard loud and clear by manufacturers and homeowners is the price of gas would be going up.

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Mr. HOLT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 2 minutes.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment that I am offering, along with Mr. Quigley of Illinois.

The effects of the natural gas boom have been felt throughout our economy, but before we hurry to ship our energy advantage overseas, we should ensure that we are not exporting our ability to create jobs, keep energy prices low, and to fuel a resurgence in American manufacturing that is so badly needed.

The Holt-Quigley amendment will ensure that the Department of Energy--before approving additional LNG exports--adheres to unambiguous congressional guidance in consideration of how such exports will affect our economy, our communities, and our environment.

H.R. 6 would essentially approve all pending LNG applications, in addition to those that have already been approved. All approved and pending export facilities add up to an ability to export 36 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas per day.

Thirty-six billion cubic feet per day is about 40 percent of U.S. peak daily consumption during this past winter--a winter, I should note, with volatility in the domestic natural gas market resulting in shortages in some areas--while, elsewhere, prices spiked, resulting in up to a 250 percent increase in natural gas prices from the previous year.

Now, we know that exporting more LNG will raise prices, but what we don't know is by how much. We know that higher prices will create problems for U.S. manufacturing and homeowner heating, but we don't know how badly.

We should take the time to consider what greater volumes of LNG exports will mean for energy prices, jobs, manufacturing, the environment, and the economy.

As with all the bills on the floor this week, H.R. 6 is about supporting oil and gas interest at the expense of American manufacturing, American families, and the environment.

Our amendment has the support of both America's Energy Advantage and the Industrial Energy Consumers of America.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. HOLT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Groups representing a diverse group of businesses and manufacturers support this amendment--groups that believe we should proceed with caution when making decisions about vast quantities of domestic energy resources.

The Department of Energy has already approved LNG facilities that are capable of exporting 9.3 billion cubic feet per day, and before we irresponsibly and hurriedly expedite the approval of up to 36 billion cubic feet--nearly four times as much of LNG exports per day--I believe we should consider the effect this will have across our economy.

Mr. Gardner says this amendment of ours might slow exports. Well, it might because the idea is not to do it as quickly as we can, but to do it as wisely as we can. Our responsibility is not just to look after the oil and gas interests. Our responsibility is also to look after American workers, American manufacturers, American consumers, and homeowners.

No one in this Chamber should want our domestic natural gas prices to increase on a par with those in Europe or Asia, and a vote in support of the Holt-Quigley amendment will ensure that that is not the case.

I urge support for this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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