North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to offer an amendment that would require the Department of Energy to submit a report to Congress related to carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration, known as CCUS technologies.

This report would explore the potential effects that the commercial utilization of CCUS technologies would have on the Nation's economy and our gross domestic product. It would also examine what these technologies could contribute to our efforts to reach our greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

My amendment is intended to supplement the CCUS evaluation report that is required by the underlying legislation. I am confident that this study's finding will provide concrete evidence that CCUS represents a way to benefit the economy and the environment while meeting our Nation's energy needs.

CCUS is a combination of technologies that allows industries to capture carbon, or CO2, emissions for transport or storage before they are emitted into the atmosphere. These technologies have the potential to allow for the continued use of industries while decreasing the amount of CO2 released into the environment.

America's recent energy boom has shown us that fossil fuels will continue to make up a sizable portion of our Nation's energy portfolio. So, as we continue to pursue an all-of-the-above energy policy, we must also be sure that we use these resources in an environmentally responsible fashion. Carbon capture technologies do achieve that goal. That is evident in the wide range of support it receives from industry as well as from environmental groups.

However, though much is understood about the various aspects of CCUS, commercial or large-scale deployment has not been achieved, and that is for a variety of different reasons. The absence of commercial projects has led to a fractured understanding of its widespread economic and environmental benefits.

So it is important for us to understand the potential economic benefits CCUS could hold for consumers and stakeholders if we continue to urge the Department of Energy to increase its investments in the research and development of these technologies.

The results of this study would also provide industry stakeholders and likely investors with concrete data to make those economic decisions.

Finally, as America continues to participate in the global effort to address climate change, we must also understand what CCUS can contribute to our emission reduction goals. By considering long-term climate mitigation needs, this study could provide reason for the Department of Energy to continue to support CCUS technologies even if a DOE-supported project does not immediately succeed.

These technologies have a variety of possible applications, from oil recovery and so on, and it is time that we really understood how a large-scale deployment of this technology would benefit our country. So I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

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