Strategic Production Response Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 21 because what President Biden and this administration have done with our Strategic Petroleum Reserve is nothing short of abuse.

What is worse is that the administration has drained our SPR to bribe the American people into forgetting about the failure of its policies.

Since day one, the President and his administration have waged a war against our energy independence and security. When, to no one's surprise, prices rose to the highest they have been in a generation, instead of reversing course, they doubled down and tried to pay off the American people by emptying the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill, and I sincerely hope all of my colleagues on the floor support it today.

This bill not only limits the President's ability to abuse the SPR, as he has done in the past 2 years, but it also requires the administration to have a plan to increase production if it does pull from the SPR outside of our emergencies.

This is energy security, and it is sorely needed in today's uncertain world.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I reserve a point of order.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I withdraw my reservation of a point of order.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, this amendment would condition the enactment of the bill upon the Secretary of Energy certifying that the leasing in the plan is necessary to get the SPR back to where it was on February 23, 2022. This is nothing more than an attempt to delay implementation of H.R. 21.

We cannot trust the Secretary of Energy to responsibly manage the SPR and ensure it is adequately filled.

Under President Biden, the SPR has been depleted to its lowest level since 1983. Two of the four caverns are nearly empty. The Biden administration's plan is attacking American energy using every regulatory tool available to drive the oil and gas industry out of existence.

I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment. I support the underlying bill, H.R. 21, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I insist upon my point of order against amendment No. 85.

Clause 7 of rule XVI prohibits the House and its committees from considering nongermane amendments. This amendment is not germane because it violates the fundamental purpose test of germaneness.

The fundamental purpose of H.R. 21 is to require the Secretary to develop a plan to increase the percentage of Federal lands leased for oil and gas production before the next drawdown of petroleum products in the reserve.

The purpose of this amendment is to prevent financial benefit of our enemies. It delves into limiting foreign exports and creates trade prohibitions. Meanwhile, this simple bill before us proposes a mere plan for leasing. It is purely domestic and purely at the Department of Energy.

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

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, 2 weeks ago, the House voted in strong bipartisan support of the Protecting America's Strategic Reserve From China Act. More than 100 Democrats voted in favor. Republicans opposed sending SPR resources to our adversaries, and that is why we are opposed to this amendment.

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

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I reserve a point of order.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I withdraw my reservation of a point of order, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I withdraw my reservation of a point of order.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, this amendment prohibits an entity from providing oil and gas to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of the Secretary's plan if those activities will negatively impact air quality. Yet, the amendment does not define negative impact.

Under this amendment, you could have 1 hour of emissions increases that are below Federal requirements for air quality, and you would be disqualified under this bill.

The oil and gas industry has made great strides in reducing the emissions of their operations.

This amendment is creating an extralegal and difficult to ascertain and comply with standard that will prevent us from being energy secure for real emergencies.

Let's not forget that we produce American energy in the most environmentally responsible way, and our environmental standards are the highest in the world.

Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I reserve a point of order.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I withdraw my reservation of a point of order.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, this amendment would condition enactment of the bill upon the Secretary of Energy certifying that increasing lands leased for production will not result in increased greenhouse gas emissions.

I know you find this hard to believe, but this is another attempt to delay the implementation of H.R. 21. I am afraid that this amendment is not sincere.

Since day one of the Biden administration, Democrats have attempted to block fossil fuel projects at every turn.

As gasoline prices surged out of control, the administration raided the SPR--raided the SPR--selling oil to China while begging our adversaries in OPEC and Russia to produce more oil.

This amendment would double down on that, while also making it more difficult for us to assess our resources to develop a plan to refill the reserve in case of a legitimate emergency.

Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment. I support the underlying bill, H.R. 21, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

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