Strategic Production Response Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. 74.
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Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Chair, this amendment prohibits fossil fuel companies that have engaged in stock buybacks over the last decade from leasing land for oil production, particularly with respect to the strategic reserve.
I sat here for much of today and listened to many of my colleagues, particularly those on the opposite side of the aisle, introduce amendments and legislation that conveniently benefit the fossil fuel industry while fearmongering about things like the Green New Deal and positive climate action, to which I say: Boo.
Last year, four of the major oil companies, Shell, Chevron, BP, and ExxonMobil posted record profits totaling $75 billion.
Speaking of $75 billion, yesterday it was announced that Chevron will spend $75 billion on buying back their own stock after reaping record quarterly profits in 2022, driving up their own stock prices and padding CEO compensation.
This reckless Wall Street profiteering at the public's expense and the planet's expense should have consequences.
In this bill, the Republican majority seeks to give away even more sensitive land for oil and gas development without even the pretense of a guarantee that it would even lower gas prices.
This amendment is simple. Companies who engaged in stock buybacks in the last 10 years should be prohibited from leasing new land for oil and gas production.
Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
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Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. 72.
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Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Chair, let's get to our second point of business here and break down this myth that oil companies need even more permits. This is simply not true.
In fact, the oil industry already possesses more than 9,000 unused drilling permits on Federal lands. Nearly 5,000 of those permits were approved in 2021 alone.
The oil industry already has at least 10 years' worth of unused leases at its disposal. They are only producing oil or gas on roughly half the area that is already leased. There are nearly 14 million acres onshore and more than 9 million offshore that are currently under lease but not being used for oil production.
Why lease even more?
My amendment prohibits oil and gas leasing on Federal lands in a way that would increase even further our net carbon emissions. That is to say, we shall not include any Federal lands where oil and gas leasing would increase net carbon emissions.
Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Chair, I understand in this body it is not the first time that it seems as though the opposing side can't seem to be able to debate the issue, and so they must come after my character.
While I cannot control the fact that the other side seems to have made the assumption that I am uneducated or what they may say about my world view, one of the things that I can say is I may not work for Wall Street; that is true. I may not be here with the mission to increase profits for corporations; that is true.
My mission here is for the well-being and dignity of our family and our planet's future, and for our children's ability to live on this planet. That is what this amendment is about.
Moreover, when we talk about education, we should all take it upon ourselves in this body to educate ourselves on the science of the challenge of climate change that is before us. In 2050, we are looking at the Western States to be projected to further increase--that wildfires will increase two to six times. And that is just scratching the surface.
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Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
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Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. 73.
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Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Chair, lastly, this final amendment requires and states that we shall not include tracts where oil and gas leasing would be inconsistent with our goals and the goals of the Paris accords.
We know that leasing more lands to fossil fuel companies does not guarantee that gas prices will drop. As we have seen this past year, even when these companies have record profits, they do not pass along those savings to their customers.
What leasing more land does do, however, is guarantee that we will accelerate the devastating impacts of climate change and see more deadly and destructive weather events.
In 2015, the nations behind the Paris Agreement set a target for keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. The latest IPCC report spells out just how difficult it will be for the world to stay under that limit unless we drastically slash emissions in the very near future.
If we do not course correct now, the impacts on the daily lives of our children and grandchildren will be devastating. No one will be immune, and the most vulnerable communities right now will continue to be hit the hardest moving forward.
Even in rainy regions like the Southeast, wildfires are also projected to increase by about 30 percent. The Southeast United States is also expected to see a rise in new mosquito-borne diseases as temperatures warm. Farmers in all parts of the country will suffer enormous losses, and grocery prices will continue to rise.
We don't even need to look toward the future to understand the cost of climate change. In 2021, the Federal Government estimates that 20 different natural disasters that year alone cost the Nation an estimated $145 billion and killed nearly 700 people.
The only way to guarantee consumers reliable, affordable energy is for the United States to invest in renewable energy. It is also the only way to protect our country from increasingly devastating weather events and rising temperatures.
Mr. Chair, I urge the adoption of the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
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