Strategic Production Response Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. VASQUEZ. Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer an amendment to H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act.

I represent the Second District of New Mexico, home to the Permian Basin. Public lands are where I hunt; they are where I fish; they are where I live. They are part of who I am, and they are part of the culture and the tradition of my district.

Now, my amendment is simple. It requires the Departments of Energy and the Interior to publish a report on the number, the location, and the owners of all unused permits to drill for oil and gas on Federal land.

We must proactively look at the resources the energy industry already has and is not using.

I am proud that my district in New Mexico is one of the top energy producing districts in the United States, so I am well aware of the vast resources that are available to us.

Today, there are over 9,000 unused permits for drilling across 26 million acres of public land. I will say that again: 9,000 existing unused permits locking up public lands for no other use.

Why wouldn't we look at these existing permits before locking up new Federal land? That is just common sense.

I know that in my family, when the pantry is full, we don't go to the grocery store to look for more. That is called hoarding.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a critical tool to ensure that Americans don't pay the price for global shocks in the energy market and the volatility in the global energy market.

When I was in my district last week, I traveled more than 1,600 miles between constituent meetings, from Albuquerque to Santa Teresa to Carlsbad. Those meetings included meetings with oil and gas producers, with folks in Carlsbad and in Hobbs.

My constituents make these commutes every single day, paying more at the pump because we are not passing commonsense legislation that allows us to lower the cost of gas in this country, which the SPR allows us to do.

I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. VASQUEZ. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
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Mr. VASQUEZ. Mr. Chair, I rise to offer an amendment to H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act.

My amendment removes the needless, burdensome paperwork for Federal agencies and simply says that the Department of Energy should seek to stock the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with American-produced energy.

This will help Americans, including my constituents who commute hours--countless hours--every day across our expansive State, save money at the gas pump.

If the goal is to support American workers, then my amendment to prioritize existing American production is the answer.

If the point of this legislation is to support American workers in the energy industry, many of whom are in the Permian Basin in New Mexico, then I urge my colleagues to support my amendment.

Pass my amendment to prioritize domestic energy over reliance on foreign nations because the reality is that the bill before us today adds more government bureaucracy and more needless paperwork.

Why would we pass a bill that would delay using the SPR in the times of our country's greatest need?

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a critical tool to ensure that Americans don't pay for these global energy shocks.

H.R. 21 is a bill to make Americans pay higher prices for longer. This doesn't make sense.

Last week, as I mentioned, I was in my district, traveling across the vast district almost the size of the State of Pennsylvania, and I heard directly from my constituents, from energy officials, from folks that are in Carlsbad and Hobbs, and I know what it means to support American workers.

Mr. Chair, if we want to support our workers we should pass my amendment, to guarantee that the first place we turn to restock the SPR is right here in the United States, without the needless paperwork.

I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

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