Expanding Access to Sustainable Energy Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Johnson for this opportunity and for her bipartisan leadership of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology during this Congress.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R.

I am proud to represent Houston, Texas, the energy capital of the world, and our country leads the world in energy production and innovation because of the work that we do in Houston. We innovate, we create, we research, and we power the world.

H.R. 4447 will help ensure that we continue to do so with a meaningful increase in the Federal resources necessary to develop critical energy technologies that we will rely on in our energy mix into the next century.

As the center of energy expertise and experience in the country, my constituents in Houston are well-positioned to utilize the financial support provided through this bill and to help chart the course for our energy future.

I am particularly glad that to expand research and development of large-scale demonstration of carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies, this package includes legislation I helped lead with my friend from Fort Worth, Mr. Veasey, the Fossil Energy Research and Development Act.

Critical work on carbon capture is going on right now in my district, and we have a real opportunity to reduce carbon emissions through these and other carbon capture efforts.

To continue the important work of modernizing the use of fossil fuels, Houston companies and universities will be eligible to compete for an estimated $14 billion in grant funds made possible by this bill.

I am also glad that this bill includes the ARPA-E Reauthorization, legislation passed through our subcommittee to reauthorize funding for the Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy to help advance high-potential, high-impact technologies in the early stages of development.

While I support these and other important provisions of this bill, I recognize that it is not a perfect bill. I am disappointed that my amendment to address some outstanding issues related to eminent domain and pipeline construction was not made in order.

Our conversation about our energy future is vital for all of us. I look forward to continuing my work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that we are able to build the infrastructure we need to ensure the reliable delivery of American energy across the country and to collaborate on the essential research that we need and that we focused on so much in our committee work.

In the energy capital of the world, we have unique and critical expertise to offer this conversation, and it will help us chart a path forward together.

Madam Speaker, this bill represents some of the things we can do together. And for that reason, I will vote in favor of it, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

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