Setting the Record Straight on Energy
Floor Speech
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Mr. CASTEN. Madam Speaker, Vladimir Putin's horrific war against the Ukrainian people has all of us talking about how to prevent him and other oil-rich autocrats like him from being able to afford to commit these heinous acts in the future. It has also, all of a sudden, made everybody in this town an energy expert. I am here to set the record straight about a few things.
One, Russia is a petrostate. Fossil fuels are funding Putin's war crimes against the Ukrainian people. Fossil fuels are funding Putin's assault on democracy. Fossil fuels are funding the demise of post-World War II stability in Europe. Putin's power comes from fossil fuels and our world's dependence on them.
Two, you cannot end an addiction by increasing the supply. No amount of increased fossil fuel extraction in the United States, which, I should note, would take years, can take away Russia's influence on the global energy market. Since fossil fuels are a global commodity, as long as we depend on them, Americans will continue to be subject to wild price fluctuations based on the whims of petro-dictators.
Three, when the fossil fuel industry and the conservative politicians they bankroll go on television claiming the solution to the pain you are feeling at the pump today is to drill more in the U.S., they are lying to you. They are lying in a cynical attempt to take advantage of a tragic situation to line their own pocketbooks. You deserve the truth.
The truth is that there is only one long-term solution to stop funding oil-rich autocrats and insulate Americans from energy price inflation: Double down on our transition to cleaner, cheaper, domestically produced renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The horror that we are seeing in Ukraine makes it abundantly clear that clean energy isn't just necessary to protect against climate devastation. Preventing wars and protecting our national security demands investments in clean energy. American energy independence demands investments in clean energy. Lowering costs demands investments in clean energy.
Every day we fail to reach an agreement on the baseline climate investments that were passed in the House is a day that Americans pay the price at the pumps and oil-rich autocrats profit.
That is why I have led nearly 90 of my House colleagues in calling on President Biden to lead a climate restart to reconciliation negotiations centering the cost-saving clean energy investments as the path forward to deliver tangible results to the American people. This is a code red moment, and it cannot wait any longer. Supporting Women Who Are Sexually Abused
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Mr. CASTEN. Madam Speaker, sexual assault is common among female students of all ages, races, and ethnicities. On college campuses, one in five women in college experience a sexual assault. Studies show that students are at the highest risk of sexual assault in the first few months of their first and second semesters in college.
This is unacceptable. Every woman everywhere has the right to live free from abuse. This is why it was so important to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, and I am proud that we finally passed that reauthorization into law in our omnibus package.
But we also have to ensure that women who are at risk have trained, trusted professionals who they can reach out to when they are at risk. That is why I was pleased to introduce, and see included in the final package, my amendment to ensure that appropriate campus faculty, such as academic advisers or professionals who deal with students on a daily basis, are trained to recognize victims of sexual and domestic violence. We have to ensure that our campuses are equipped with the tools and knowledge to combat violence against women.
If you are sexually assaulted, your experience is valid. It is not your fault, and you are not alone. Please know there is a community of people ready and willing to believe you, trust you, and support you. Trading in Individual Stocks by Congressional Staff and Members
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Mr. CASTEN. Madam Speaker, there is an iron rule of investing: unless you are Warren Buffet or have access to insider information, you won't make money trying to outsmart the market. Invest in mutual funds and index funds to build your wealth.
And yet, according to a recent New York Times article, Members of Congress are not only buying and selling a lot of individual stocks, but we consistently outperform the market.
I don't see Warren Buffet here nor do I see a lot of people with long track records of successful stock picking before they came to Congress, but I do see a lot of people with access to a lot of inside information, who know when we are about to change our defense contracts or invest in domestic semiconductor capacity, update our antitrust laws, or buy vaccines, and have the ability to trade on that inside information.
Our responsibilities as Members of Congress are a trust from the voters. Ethics matters. That is why I don't personally own or trade individual stocks, and I encourage every Member of Congress to stop trading stocks immediately. Even the appearance of impropriety by one Member cheapens us all.
That is why I am a proud cosponsor of the Ban Conflicted Trading Act, which would bar Members of Congress and senior congressional staff from buying or selling individual stocks and other investments and from serving on any corporate boards while in office.
We owe it to the American people to pass that bill and sign it into law.
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