Opposition to H. Res. H.R. H. Con. Res H.R. H. Res. and H.R. 1023

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1121-- Protecting American Energy Production Act; H.R. 6009--Restoring American Energy Dominance Act; H. Con. Res. 86--Expressing the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the United States economy; H.R. 7023--Creating Confidence in Clean Water Permitting Act; H. Res. 987--Denouncing the harmful anti-American energy policies of the Biden administration and for other purposes; and H.R. 1023--To repeal section 134 of the Clean Air Act, relating to the greenhouse gas reduction fund.

Republicans have dubbed this their Energy Week. And the American people would be better off if Congress really was undertaking a broadly focused energy week where we came together to discuss innovative strategies to diversify our energy supply and ensure our energy sources and grid are resilient for decades to come. Instead of having those meaningful policy debates, however, the House is wasting this week considering bills that undermine bedrock environmental laws, jeopardize our clean energy future, and prioritize big oil and gas corporate profits.

Republicans are once again putting polluters over people. Let's be clear about what these bills do:

H.R. 1121 would prohibit any president from banning hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas--or fracking. Neither President Biden nor the Secretary of the Interior have proposed a ban on fracking, but Congress should not take away any of the tools that the executive branch has at their disposal to combat the climate crisis, including fracking bans if necessary.

H.R. 6009 would reverse long overdue fiscal reforms passed in the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure taxpayers don't pick up the bill for big oil and gas production on public lands. This is a Republican gift to big oil and gas corporations, who could walk away from public lands that need to be cleaned up and reclaimed after drilling and leave taxpayers on the hook.

H. Con. Res. 86 is frankly a waste of our time. With this resolution, it's clear that Republicans have no plan to address the climate crisis or issues that matter to working families. They're too busy shutting down even the possibility of considering solutions if they might reduce the corporate profits of carbon polluters.

With H.R. 7023, Republicans are attempting to roll back over fifty years of clean water protections. Thanks to the years of attacks from Republicans and an anti-regulatory majority on the Supreme Court, clean water protections have already been weakened. Congress should be considering legislation that restores Americans access to clean water, not further undermining the clean water protections that are still in place.

H. Res. 987 denounces efforts taken by the Biden administration to address the climate crisis, protect our natural resources, and invest in our clean energy future. Thanks to Biden administration polices, Xcel Energy is building Minnesota's largest-ever solar project in Becker, transitioning the site from coal generation. Thanks to Biden administration policies, Canadian solar panel maker Heliene Inc. has invested $145 million to open a plant in the Twin Cities. But Republicans falsely claim the policies that created these investments are ``anti-American energy'', because they reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

H.R. 1023 would repeal two critical Inflation Reduction Act programs, the Methane Emissions Reduction Program and the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. These programs cut climate pollution and promote clean air for our communities. Repealing these two provisions will only help big oil and gas corporations and take away resources from local communities.

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