Lower Energy Costs Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. STRICKLAND. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 1, the deceptively named Lower Energy Costs Act. This bill will not lower energy costs, and it won't prevent price gouging because Republicans have no plan to lower energy costs.

Here is what it will do: It will increase the deficit by $2.4 billion in handouts to big oil and gas. It will worsen the climate crisis, and it ignores the future of our country's clean energy workforce.

Republicans are more focused on undoing Democratic accomplishments-- which, by the way, have already created over 100,000 jobs--than helping the American people. Polluters over people.

This bill forces the government to lease government land to oil and gas companies even if those companies don't plan to use it. This bill will allow anyone to stake a mining claim on our public lands for less than $10 an acre, even if they haven't discovered any minerals. After that, any mining activity, including dumping toxic mining waste, is considered the highest and best use of those lands.

My Republican colleagues will claim that this bill supports permitting. If you look closely, that simply is not true. The main barrier for getting permits approved is staffing levels. There simply aren't enough staff to get permits approved.

However, I have good news. Democrats have already secured $1 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act for Federal agency permitting offices, which will address this issue and is expected to drastically shrink the timelines for permitting without sacrificing safety. The Republican bill fails to address these issues.

When Democrats were in charge of the House, we passed transformative legislation to lower the deficit, address climate change, create good union jobs, and actually improve the lives of the American people. We put people over polluters.

Instead of helping our constituents, this bill will weaken State and Tribal authority under section 401 of the Clean Water Act. This section was meant to protect communities and water resources by giving them a voice when projects planned to impact their borders. This bill, though, allows special interests to override what Tribal nations and States know is best for their own communities.

In the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, my colleague, Representative Huffman offered an amendment to keep Tribal rights intact under section 401 guidelines, but House Republicans chose again not to prioritize the people.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. STRICKLAND. Mr. Chair, I will remind my colleagues that these protections are meant to prevent environmental disasters. We see all across the country radioactive water spills, water crises, chemical pollutants seeping into groundwater and poisoning communities.

These catastrophes are not just tragic, they are preventable. It is the American people, especially marginalized communities, who are left with the consequences.

We can make bipartisan strides to protect American energy and security. We can promote innovation without sacrificing our environment or State and Tribal rights. Unfortunately, this is not what the majority has brought to us. I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source