Strategic Production Response Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chair, I have amendment No. 15 at the desk.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chair, this amendment would ban leasing for offshore oil and gas drilling off the northern California coast.

Offshore drilling poses unacceptable risks. Where you drill, you spill. That is why Republican and Democratic Governors on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts have voiced their opposition to any new oil and gas leasing off their coasts.

We should not put our oceans, fisheries, coastal communities, economies, and planet at risk just to enrich the fossil fuel industry.

While folks were hurting at the pump, Big Oil companies were raking in record profits, and they were sitting on millions of acres of unused leases, capitalizing on the war in Ukraine in order to gouge U.S. consumers. Giving them even more control over our public lands is not necessary, and it won't do a darn thing for consumers.

At a time when the climate crisis is ravaging communities across the globe, adding new leases on public lands makes no sense unless you value Big Oil profits above making sure our children have a livable planet.

Now, the north coast of California is an amazing, pristine place that I am privileged to represent. It supports a thriving blue economy, including fishing, tourism, and some of the other values that we have heard discussed here today. It deserves the same kind of protection that President Trump gave reluctantly and very selectively to certain communities in Florida and on the East Coast after there was a backlash from Republican Members of Congress and Republican Governors to his drill everywhere plan.

The north coast of California deserves at least that same level of protection, and by passing this amendment, it will get it.

Mr. Chair, I thank my friend and colleague, the gentleman from my neighboring district, Congressman Mike Thompson, for joining me on this measure.

Mr. Chair, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chair, I have amendment No. 65 at the desk.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chair, this amendment would block this legislation from allowing increased oil and gas leasing on any Federal land where outdoor recreation takes place. Our public lands are for the public, not for the wealthiest industry in the history of the world to drill and to spoil with impunity.

Being active in the outdoors and experiencing wild places is a way of life not just in my district but for many communities around this country.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when we were unable to gather the way we liked to indoors, we learned just how important our parks and our public lands are, how getting outside helps our well-being. This is why we must protect and expand our public lands for recreational use, not give them away to a single polluting industry.

We all depend on the ecological, economic, and mental health benefits that our public lands provide. That is why my amendment protects these important lands.

If we are good stewards, our public lands can simultaneously support a thriving outdoor recreation economy as well as natural resiliency against the climate crisis, all while preserving and protecting these precious lands for future generations.

These are the goals of the Biden administration and the State of California in their efforts to protect 30 percent of our lands by 2030 because these lands are meant for everyone to use, enjoy, and pass down to future generations to do the same. However, H.R. 21 would create an arbitrary increase in oil and gas development for the benefit of one single group: the oil and gas industry.

This bill may seem simple--it is just three pages long--yet it does something really big and dangerous. It stands to open up over 300 million acres to be destroyed for oil and gas drilling, an area equivalent to three times the size of California or six times the combined size of all our national parks. This is unacceptable, and it is another example of the dangerous extremism we see from this new Republican majority.

The fact of the matter is, there are currently 9,000 permits held by the oil and gas industry right now that are not being used. Additionally, the majority of the roughly 26 million acres that are currently under lease to oil and gas companies on our Federal lands and waters are not being used. Industry is simply sitting on them to keep prices artificially high.

What would industry do with the dramatic expansion of new leasing opportunities on our valuable public lands? Well, the evidence shows that they will simply lock them up so that they couldn't be used for other activities such as recreation or renewable energy.

I represent the north coast of California, and my constituents know the value of public lands for outdoor recreation, from hiking and climbing to kayaking and angling. I hope folks on both sides of the aisle agree that we need to protect the future of these cherished recreational activities on our public lands. Our public lands used for outdoor recreation should not be sacrificed at the altar of Big Oil.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source