Hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee - Opening Statement of Rep. McCaul, Markup on H.R. 5105, H.R. 5141, H.R. 5433, H.R. 5535, H.R. 5677, and H.R. 5681

Hearing

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Engel,

Thank you for holding today's markup.

The bills before us are critical to strengthening U.S. engagement and protecting our national security interests across the globe. I would like to commend the bipartisan efforts of my colleagues and I look forward to helping advance these measures to the Floor.

I also thank Chairman Royce for including my legislation, the Energy Diplomacy Act, as part of this markup.

Across the globe, our friends and allies are looking for a stable and reliable supply of American energy.

However, in regions such as Eastern Europe, our allies are still living under the heavy hand of Russia - a destabilizing regime that constantly exploits the vulnerabilities posed by Europe's reliance on their natural gas.

Since coming to Congress, I have advocated for a foreign policy that helps alleviate our allies' reliance on unpredictable regimes to meet their energy needs.

In 2015, I helped champion the repeal of the outdated crude oil export ban.

Now, U.S. producers are finding new customers in both Asia and Europe.

But we must go a step further.

This is why I authored the Energy Diplomacy Act.

This legislation elevates the Bureau of Energy Resources at the State Department by replacing the international energy affairs coordinator with an assistant Secretary to carry out the Department's functions internationally on behalf of the United States.

It also ensures the State Department is staffed with sufficient personnel to support our mission.

This will empower the State Department to promote and advance a bold energy diplomacy policy abroad.

Chairman Royce, ranking member Engel, thank you again for holding today's important markup. I yield back the balance of my time.

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