Providing for Consideration of H.R. Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act; Providing for Consideration of H.R. Recovering America's Wildlife Act of and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of and for Other Purposes
Floor Speech
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Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1170 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: H. Res. 1170
Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 2543) to amend the Federal Reserve Act to add additional demographic reporting requirements, to modify the goals of the Federal Reserve System, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Financial Services now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 117-49, modified by the amendment printed in part A of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, shall be considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto, to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Financial Services or their respective designees; (2) the further amendments described in section 2 of this resolution; (3) the amendments en bloc described in section 3 of this resolution; and (4) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 2. After debate pursuant to the first section of this resolution, each further amendment printed in part B of the report of the Committee on Rules not earlier considered as part of amendments en bloc pursuant to section 3 of this resolution shall be considered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, may be withdrawn by the proponent at any time before the question is put thereon, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
Sec. 3. It shall be in order at any time after debate pursuant to the first section of this resolution for the chair of the Committee on Financial Services or her designee to offer amendments en bloc consisting of further amendments printed in part B of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution not earlier disposed of. Amendments en bloc offered pursuant to this section shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Financial Services or their respective designees, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
Sec. 4. All points of order against the further amendments printed in part B of the report of the Committee on Rules or amendments en bloc described in section 3 of this resolution are waived.
Sec. 5. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 2773) to amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to make supplemental funds available for management of fish and wildlife species of greatest conservation need as determined by State fish and wildlife agencies, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Natural Resources now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 117-47, modified by the amendment printed in part C of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, shall be considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto, to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources or their respective designees; (2) the further amendments described in section 6 of this resolution; (3) the amendments en bloc described in section 7 of this resolution; and (4) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 6. After debate pursuant to section 5 of this resolution, each further amendment printed in part D of the report of the Committee on Rules not earlier considered as part of amendments en bloc pursuant to section 7 of this resolution shall be considered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, may be withdrawn by the proponent at any time before the question is put thereon, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
Sec. 7. It shall be in order at any time after debate pursuant to section 5 of this resolution for the chair of the Committee on Natural Resources or his designee to offer amendments en bloc consisting of further amendments printed in part D of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution not earlier disposed of. Amendments en bloc offered pursuant to this section shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources or their respective designees, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
Sec. 8. All points of order against the further amendments printed in part D of the report of the Committee on Rules or amendments en bloc described in section 7 of this resolution are waived.
Sec. 9. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 7606) to establish the Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters within the Department of Agriculture. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Agriculture now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 117-50, modified by the amendment printed in part E of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, shall be considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto, to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Agriculture or their respective designees; (2) the further amendments described in section 10 of this resolution; and (3) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 10. After debate pursuant to section 9 of this resolution, each further amendment printed in part F of the report of the Committee on Rules shall be considered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, may be withdrawn by the proponent at any time before the question is put thereon, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question. All points of order against the further amendments printed in part F of the report of the Committee on Rules are waived.
Sec. 11. House Resolution 188, agreed to March 8, 2021 (as most recently amended by House Resolution 1153, agreed to June 8, 2022), is amended by striking ``June 17, 2022'' each place it appears and inserting (in each instance) ``June 22, 2022''.
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Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the debate only. General Leave
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Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, yesterday, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 1170, for three measures.
First, it provides for consideration of H.R. 2543 under a structured rule. The rule self-executes a manager's amendment, provides 1 hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Financial Services, makes in order 27 amendments, and provides one motion to recommit.
Second, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 2773 under a structured rule. The rule self-executes a manager's amendment, provides 1 hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking member of the Committee on Natural Resources, makes in order eight amendments, and provides one motion to recommit.
Third, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 7606 under a structured rule. The rule self-executes a manager's amendment, provides 1 hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Agriculture, makes in order two amendments, and provides one motion to recommit.
Finally, the rule extends recess instructions, suspension authority, and same day authority through June 22, 2022.
First, I will say a few words about the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act. Times are tough for working families across our country. Food prices are rising and gas prices are at an all-time high. At the same time, food companies and Big Oil are making record profits at the expense of these same hardworking Americans.
Costs are rising up and down the supply chain. The cost of fertilizer and pesticides has risen 50 percent over the past year, in part due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Rising energy prices, increasing trucking costs, and the worst outbreak of avian flu in 7 years are all contributing to the higher prices consumers are paying at the grocery store.
Plus, combine oil companies' irresponsibility with Putin's war in Ukraine, and you have an unbearable situation for American consumers. The Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act will help us look out for working families, not just big corporations and their billionaire CEOs. This package of bipartisan legislation supports farmers and lowers prices for America's families at the grocery store and at the gas pump.
This rule also allows us to consider a package of legislation aimed at addressing racial and economic inequities that limit opportunities for Americans to buy homes, access loans, and earn fair wages.
Income and wealth inequality is higher in the United States than in any other developed country, and there are examples of it in almost all parts of our lives. The reforms in this package will help us better target and measure outcomes for underserved populations.
Finally, the Recovering America's Wildlife Act helps protect the more than one-third of all fish and wildlife species in the United States that are at risk of extinction.
This legislation funds conservation efforts for more than 12,000 species of wildlife and plants, and the recovery of 1,600 species already listed as threatened or endangered.
Taken together and taken separately, these bills will all lead to real important change for Americans.
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Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I always, as we have these debates with my good friend from Pennsylvania, encourage that we do work together acknowledging that we have differences of opinion and reminding people who are maybe watching that we are in a global economy that has inflation globally and that what we are doing in this package is to try to provide some small instruments for oversight accountability so that we can have as much control as we can in a global economy that is impacting this inflation that is so hard for working Americans.
So with all due respect to my friend from Pennsylvania, I am always willing to work with him. But this package is intended to provide more accountability, not more bureaucracy.
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Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I just want to remind folks that 50 percent of inflation is caused by the war in Ukraine and actions by Vladimir Putin. In terms of energy, we believe in supporting American energy, but we also accept the reality that we are transitioning to more choices in energy like we do in California.
Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a June 10, 2021, USA Today article titled: ``Fact check: Rising gas prices due to high demand and low supply, not Biden's policies.'' [From USA Today, June 10, 2021] Fact Check: Rising Gas Prices Due to High Demand and Low Supply, Not Biden's Policies (By Miriam Fauzia) The claim: Joe Biden is to blame for higher gas prices
The rising cost of gasoline is being felt across the U.S., as the national average price has gone up from $2 per gallon last year to $3 per gallon as of June 9, according to data from the American Automobile Association.
Many on social media claim President Joe Biden is to blame for this change. A June 1 Instagram post put the title ``Joe Biden's America'' atop a graphic showing the price jump from January to May 2021.
``Man I haven't seen gas prices this high since the last time (a) Democrat was in office!'' claims one meme shared to Facebook on May 22.
``It's called the Biden effect,'' commented one Facebook user under a similar May 18 Facebook post. Blaming Biden for this uptick isn't a new phenomenon. These claims have been in circulation since January and particularly allege Biden's cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline significantly impacted gasoline, ``ensur(ing) a huge increase in gas prices for millions of us.'' USA TODAY has reached out to the posters for comment.
While it's true gasoline prices have risen significantly since Biden took office on Jan. 20 the upward trend predates Biden's time in office and is related to COVID-19 and market factors, not who occupies the White House. Pandemic's effect on supply and demand
As with any commodity, the price of gasoline is determined by the simple balance of supply and demand: a high supply and low demand means low prices, while a low supply and high demand mean prices rise.
The most important driver of this fluctuation is crude oil, from which gasoline is derived. This fossil fuel typically accounts for between 50 percent and 60 percent of the price at the pump, said Jeanette McGee, a spokesperson for AAA.
In 2020, crude oil prices became extremely cheap, so much so it was being traded at negative prices, McGee told USA TODAY. Brent crude oil, for example, a blend supplying most of Europe, was being sold at $9 a barrel, its lowest price in decades, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported.
The primary reason for this drop in crude oil prices was the pandemic, said McGee and Mark Finley, a fellow at Rice University's Center for Energy Studies.
``The pandemic drove the world's oil market to become massively oversupplied, inventory dramatically increased and prices collapsed,'' Finley told USA TODAY.
In response to the low demand due to reduced travel and lockdown restrictions, Finley said major oil-producing countries like Russia, Saudi Arabia and member countries of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, decided to cut down on their own oil production. But the cut meant oil producers weren't ready to meet the demand for crude oil once it renewed this year thanks to easing of COVID-19-related restrictions.
``This year, demand has so far increased more quickly than production rates, which means the United States had to draw more on its gasoline storage inventories, which has contributed to prices going up,'' EIA spokesperson Chris Higginbotham said in an email to USA TODAY. ``We expect oil producers in the United States and globally to increase their production levels through 2022, which we expect to contribute to lower crude oil prices, and lower gasoline prices.'' Gas price uptrend predates Biden
While presidential actions and policies can have some impact on the crude oil market, they don't have as much influence over gasoline prices as one might think.
``Some of (a president's) decisions can impact or contribute to market changes, which can then impact (future) crude oil, but they don't dictate gas prices,'' said McGee. ``If you go back and look at historical data, whether it was Bush, Obama, Trump or Biden, (gas prices) go up and down no matter who's in office.''
During former President Donald Trump's term, the national average for gasoline had gone up to nearly $3 a gallon in May 2018 and hovered close to that price until fall 2018, according to data maintained by AAA. The cost rose yet again to nearly $3 a gallon in May 2019 before dropping slightly below $2 per gallon when state and local governments mandated lockdowns in March 2020.
Gas prices slowly crept from $2.20 per gallon in September 2020 to $2.40 by the time Biden took office in January 2021. McGee said elections typically drive gasoline prices up.
This upward trend was expected to continue due to pandemic recovery, reduced crude oil supply and the approach of summer--historically considered a peak travel season--but arrived sooner due to the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline, the East Coast's major fuel supplier.
``We have expected gas prices to hit $3 a gallon around Memorial Day, but with the (Colonial) pipeline offline, it actually jumped the national average to $3 and more prior to Memorial Day,'' said McGee. Keystone XL, other Biden policies don't affect today's gasoline costs
Many critics point to Biden's decision on the Keystone XL pipeline as fueling the gas price spike, but experts say there's no such connection.
The extension of the Keystone pipeline, first proposed in 2008 by TC Energy based in Calgary, Canada, was rejected by former President Barack Obama in November 2015 but later approved by Trump in March 2017. Biden then suspended the project in January. And on June 9, TC Energy announced it was terminating the project.
Even if construction wasn't halted, the Keystone XL pipeline wasn't in operation and therefore wouldn't have an impact on current gas prices, said Finley of Rice University.
``That was something that would impact down the road,'' he said.
David Dismukes, economist and executive director of Lousiana State University's Center for Energy Studies, agreed, telling USA TODAY the pipeline would have had a ``longer-run impact in providing a diversity of supply for refineries in the Gulf Coast.''
Similarly, other energy policies rolled out by President Biden, such as postponing oil lease sales, have a long-term, but not short-term, effect.
``If you look at some of the actions taken by the administration with regard to offshore drilling, drilling on federal lands, the outlook for fossil fuel energies in general, those are impacting the price of crude and expectations about crude oil,'' said Diskmukes. ``(Biden's policies do) have an impact, but that's not what you're seeing at the pump right now.'' Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim President Joe Biden is to blame for the current higher gas prices. The upward trend in gas costs we see now began months before Biden took office. Because of reduced demand amid the COVID- 19 pandemic, oil companies had to cut back on the amount of crude oil produced. Now with restrictions being lifted and more travel happening, the demand has increased, which, coupled with lagging supply, has led to increased gasoline prices. Canceling the Keystone XL pipeline and other energy policies enacted by Biden have a long-term effect on crude oil supply but no present impact on gasoline prices.
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Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, President Biden nor his administration have direct control of setting gas prices. The real issue is Big Oil's desire to pad their profits.
The CEO of Occidental Petroleum said it herself, ``I feel now that we do need to return cash to the shareholders in the form of dividends or buybacks, especially during the better cycles.''
They are thinking in their shareholders' best interest, not the interest of the American people.
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Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
I thank my friend from Pennsylvania and the Rules Committee for his remarks.
I remind folks that the economy under Joe Biden has created over 8 million jobs since he took office. The unemployment rate has dropped from 6.4 percent to 3.6 percent under President Biden. And his first year was the greatest year of job creation in American history.
The Federal Reserve has found that household financial well-being reached an all-time high last year. GDP grew in the President's first year by 5.2 percent, the fastest rate since 1984.
The U.S. was the first advanced economy that reached prepandemic rates of growth, and we are seeing wages increase for workers.
There is no doubt that inflation and the high cost of gasoline are a challenge. That is the purpose of some of our actions today. It is to hold the private sector accountable, to be responsible to their consumers and the American people. That is why these bills are on the floor, to do something about inflation and the high cost of energy.
At the same time, we are preparing for an energy transition. Michigan, California, we are aware of the realities of the current energy economy, but we are getting ready for the new one.
In the area I represent, Madam Speaker--you have been out to visit me--I have five refineries. I have represented them in local, State, and Federal Government. Two of them are closed because of the pandemic. They are about to reopen using biofuels that will help everybody, and they are a better business model, according to the oil industry. So all of these things have combined for a challenge.
I would agree with my colleague. This is too important, although we have our differences about the approach, that we should engage in problem-solving for Americans.
I thank all of my colleagues for these bills and their ideas to deal with inflation and the challenges to American workers. Each of these bills in this rule are worthwhile and impactful, and I look forward to voting for them all soon.
I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and the previous question.
The text of the material previously referred to by Mr. Reschenthaler is as follows: Amendment to House Resolution 1170
At the end of the resolution, add the following:
Sec. 12. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 6858) to strengthen United States energy security, encourage domestic production of crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce; and (2) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 13. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the consideration of H.R. 6858.
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Mr. DeSAULNIER. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.
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