Lower Energy Costs Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the ranking member for yielding.

Mr. Chair, I rise today to speak in opposition to H.R. 1, the polluters over people act. I will take my time to point out two glaring flaws with this bill: First, H.R. 1 will make energy more expensive for Granite Staters.

Right now, natural gas is the single largest source of electricity in New England. When natural gas prices go up, electricity prices in New Hampshire go up, yet H.R. 1 makes it easier for natural gas producers to export American fuel to foreign adversaries like China. Making it easier for natural gas companies to export fuel to China, where the prices are currently higher, will cause U.S. natural gas prices to rise.

As a result, electricity prices in New Hampshire will rise, too.

My amendment to H.R. 1, which the Rules Committee did not make in order, would have addressed this problem, but instead of putting American consumers first, the majority is focused on lining the pockets of Big Oil and Gas companies.

The solution to our Nation's energy problems is building new low-cost renewables so we aren't reliant on expensive carbon-polluting forms of energy.

Second, H.R. 1 is going to actually weaken control on PFAS chemicals. In New Hampshire, we know just how damaging PFAS can be to our water supply and the communities that rely upon them. Congress should be making it more difficult to bring new PFAS chemicals to the market, but H.R. 1 erodes the chemical review process under the Toxic Substances Control Act, allowing new PFAS chemicals to come on the market without any consideration for the danger that they may present to the public. It is the responsibility of Congress to prevent these dangerous chemicals from coming to the market.

Rather than wasting our time pursuing legislation that puts polluters over people, let's focus on coming together.

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