North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Ms. MCCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition of The North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act (H.R. 8). This bill would reverse America's progress on energy efficiency and energy security. In a time when we need a forward-looking comprehensive energy policy that preserves the environment and provides sustainable energy to American consumers, we cannot afford to reverse course.

The North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act would cripple ongoing efforts to curb energy use and promote energy efficiency. This bill removes the effective provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 which require federal buildings to reduce fossil fuel-generated energy. Additionally this bill would make it much harder for the Department of Energy to provide assistance for building code development at the national, state, and local level.

Instead of making needed investments in our energy infrastructure, H.R. 8 continues to protect big oil and gas companies by attacking newer environmental standards and procedures. Section 1101 of this bill makes extremely hazardous changes to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission natural gas pipeline permitting process undermining environmental protections and land owners' rights. This section would force FERC to decide on pipeline applications within 90 days even in cases of extremely complex proposed projects. Additionally, it would undermine land owners' rights by allowing oil and gas companies to use aerial or remote surveys for environmental data instead of actual surveying the land.

As the Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, I am disappointed that H.R. 8 would make it easier for oil and gas companies to get approval for pipelines through our nation's most treasured areas, our national parks. It also threatens protections in the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Federal Power Act by allowing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to override conditions placed on hydropower project licenses by state and federal agencies that serve to protect wildlife from the potential impacts.

President Obama has stated that he will veto this legislation should it come to his desk because H.R. 8 sidesteps important environmental procedures and actually increases energy consumption and consumer costs. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, H.R. 8 would actually cost American citizens nearly $20 billion dollars through 2040. Instead of this misguided legislation, I support President Obama's ``All-of-the-Above'' energy strategy for our country which includes a combination of fossil fuels, renewable energy, and energy efficiency.

I am committed to advancing America's energy policy by moving away from depending on fossil fuels and towards clean and renewable sources of energy. For these reasons, I will vote against the backward path of H.R. 8, The North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act.

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