Lower Energy Costs Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 1. This bill puts the needs of the oil industry over the health and well-being of the American people. Instead of protecting the communities we are here to represent, the bill will cause real harm to people's health and further degrade our environment.

While my colleagues on the other side of the aisle claim the bill will help lower Americans' energy costs and make us energy independent, in fact, the bill does just the opposite.

Here is why. By opening LNG exports and doubling down on fossil fuels, this legislation will further increase our reliance on the global oil and gas markets. It will further subject us to the volatility of the global marketplace. Frankly, it will do nothing to increase our security here at home because we simply can't drill our way toward lower energy costs.

The only way to bring energy costs down here in America, and to make our Nation truly energy independent, is to expedite the transition to more renewable forms of energy.

In addition, any claim that this legislation does not touch some part of our Nation's most important environmental laws is just untrue. The bill decimates the laws that were put in place to protect our air, water, and, most of all, our health. It repeals key provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, provisions that actually bring down the costs for Americans and reduce emissions.

So now, instead of working with us to find real bipartisan solutions to the crises we face, the majority severely limited amendments to this bill in violation of the promises they made at the beginning.

I offered some commonsense amendments to the legislation that, unfortunately, were not made in order. One would have restricted the use of eminent domain for natural gas pipelines to ensure communities have a voice in our energy decisions. The other would have required a simple analysis to eliminate methane emissions from projects under NEPA review.

However, we don't have the ability to have those conversations because the majority doesn't want to hear it. I want to say what I said in the committee markup: Mr. Chair, once my colleagues on the other side of the aisle get this out of their system, I stand willing, ready, and able to work on a bipartisan solution that will both help increase our energy security in the United States and will make us independent from a volatile foreign oil market.

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