Biden's Unilateral Executive Orders Are Harmful
Floor Speech
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Mr. TIFFANY. Madam Speaker, while America and Congress' attention has been diverted from the real issues, we have seen something over the last couple of weeks that is going to compromise American security in three ways.
One is national security; two, our economic security; and most important for millions of Americans, their job security.
First came the White House decision to shred the Keystone pipeline permit, a slap in the face to our friends in Canada and a pink slip for countless Americans who rely on the strategic energy security project for their livelihoods.
But you know what may have happened, most importantly? With a stroke of a pen, a contract was eliminated. Can other countries trust America anymore? Can Americans trust our President and our executive branch when, at a stroke of a pen, they unilaterally say that contract is null and void?
Then came the moratorium on Federal oil and gas leases, the prospect of a long-term drilling ban on public lands, and even steps to halt energy projects on private land.
The White House has also pushed the U.S. back into the U.N.'s Paris climate treaty, subjecting American interests to the whim of international bureaucrats. By the way, the English were smart enough to get out of one of those agreements. They called it Brexit.
These things will kill family-wage American jobs that can't be outsourced, raising prices at the pump and draining trillions of dollars from the U.S. economy. All of this was done with a stroke of a pen, without approval from Congress, and the ramifications will be disastrous.
Madam Speaker, when it comes to national security, it is no coincidence that we have seen peace break out in the Middle East over the last few years. The diplomatic achievements of the Trump administration in that troubled region are a result, in part, of policies that have made American energy dominance a reality. We gained the upper hand when we began producing more petroleum and became energy independent in America. By turning back the clock on these historic gains, the new administration is putting more American lives and treasure at risk.
Closer to home, the economic costs will also be dire. The cancellation of the Keystone pipeline and new energy restrictions have put Wisconsin jobs on the chopping block, including more than 2,000 jobs at Michels and Precision Pipeline, two fine American companies and Wisconsin companies. These companies will not be the only victims of the Biden administration's great leap backward.
Thousands of downstream companies provide support services to pipeline firms, businesses like parts suppliers, steelworkers, fracking sand mine operators, and even restaurants, taverns, and other Main Street businesses that count energy industry workers among their customers. All of these businesses are in the crosshairs for another economic hit, this one inflicted by their own government in Washington, not a pandemic in Wuhan.
Even more galling was the administration's glib response that these hardworking Americans should simply suck it up and find better jobs. Is that what unity looks like, Madam Speaker?
By taking aim at Americans who work in oil and gas, the Biden administration will cripple a key stream of revenues for State and local governments, funding that they rely on to pay for schools, road repairs, first responders, and public health services. In Wisconsin alone, the loss of revenue associated with the cancellation of Keystone is estimated to hit $3 billion.
I would like to emphasize, while we are here with the chair of the Western Caucus and hearing from Members from the west side of Mississippi--Wisconsin is on the east side of the Mississippi--it is Eastern States that are going to be hit with this equally hard, including the States of Ohio and Pennsylvania.
While people in our communities are struggling to pay their bills and find work, this administration is killing jobs and making their lives more expensive.
While those on the other side are pushing a $350 billion State bailout, the White House is choking off their revenues.
While our Nation faces rising threats from foreign adversaries, the other side is taking active steps that will make America less safe, less secure, and less self-reliant.
American workers are tired of being lectured about carbon emissions by people who fly around the world on private jets, like President Biden's climate czar, who admitted that even if U.S. emissions dropped to zero, it would make no difference because 90 percent of CO
The bottom line is that access to affordable, abundant, and reliable energy is essential to a dynamic economy supporting millions of good Made in the USA jobs in American manufacturing.
Madam Speaker, when the White House attacks homegrown energy jobs for purely political gain, China wins and America loses.
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