Lng Ban Hurts Americans
Floor Speech
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, it is a sad day to see an administration choose party over country, radical views over the common good, and leftwing environmentalists over the American people. However, that is what happened a week and a half ago when President Biden halted permitting additional liquefied natural gas export facilities.
Let's be clear, this is not a pause. It is the first step of a process to ban outright any future export of LNG. This was a political decision to pander to the far left that will increase energy prices for American households. It will abandon our allies in their time of energy need. It will harm family-sustaining jobs, and it will relinquish American global energy leadership.
We will hear tonight from my colleagues of the many ways LNG exports strengthen our economic well-being and how this ban will weaken American security around the world.
First, before we get ahead of ourselves, let's quickly discuss the LNG industry, what it is, and why it is so important. LNG stands for liquefied natural gas. In a process where natural gas is cooled to a temperature of minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit, the gas becomes a liquid with a volume of one-six hundredth of its original size. This decrease in volume is what creates the possibility for LNG to be shipped around the world.
The exportation of LNG is only possible because of two incredible American technological achievements. The first took place in 1959 when an American proved that you could successfully and safely ship liquefied natural gas. The second was the shale revolution of the 2000s, and suddenly States like Pennsylvania, Texas, North Dakota, and Louisiana were able to produce huge amounts of natural gas.
This production dropped energy costs for Americans and led to our Nation being a net exporter of energy for the first time in 60 years. It was the technological innovation of extracting natural gas from shale that dramatically increased production. That, paired with our ability to liquefy natural gas and ship it, has allowed all of this to happen.
The American people have benefited significantly from these advances. The ability to export natural gas has driven investment to continue increasing natural gas production. This means more jobs in districts like mine in Pennsylvania and across rural America. It means more jobs in the pipeline industry, as companies invest in infrastructure to get the resources from the gas fields to the processing facility. It means more jobs on the coasts, where LNG export facilities are being operated and new ones are being built.
Important for all Americans, more production means more supply in the market, so natural gas prices have stayed lower and less volatile for American families. Finally, and ironically, given LNG's environmental detractors, it is better for the environment. American LNG is one of the cleanest baseload power fuel sources on the planet. President Biden's own Department of Energy trumpets the fact that U.S. LNG exports are 41 percent cleaner than competing Russian natural gas.
In summary, if exporting LNG leads to lower prices, more family- sustaining American jobs, and lower emissions, why would President Biden attempt to ban it? That is the question that we are struggling with tonight.
This action reeks of shortsighted election year politics that will have harsh, long-term effects on America. Along with all of my colleagues this evening, I urge President Biden to reverse this decision.
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for his remarks.
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana for his passionate presentation.
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his comments.
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, our Nation has been blessed with abundant natural gas reserves, and thanks to the shale revolution, the resources under the feet of my constituents have been unlocked. The boom in natural gas production has brought jobs and hope back to small towns throughout Pennsylvania.
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Ohio.
Mr. Speaker, the graph beside me tells an incredible story. It talks about the volatility that occurs in natural gas prices. We see the spikes, but those spikes have diminished because of the shale revolution.
The access to natural gas has actually leveled off the price. This allows families to sit at their kitchen table and make budget plans because they know that next month they are not going to pay double or triple the cost of natural gas.
The shale revolution, the ability to utilize the resources that are under the feet of so many Americans, has allowed American financial stability to occur for American families.
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his passionate presentation.
Mr. Speaker, as we discuss this issue, it is important to recognize that liquefied natural gas actually has a positive impact on emissions rather than a negative one. Because of the clean power that natural gas provides, the United States continues to lead the world in carbon emission reductions.
In the last 20 years, natural gas has led to a 32 percent reduction in carbon emissions right here in the United States. As I said before, President Biden's own Department of Energy trumpets the fact that U.S. liquefied natural gas exports are 41 percent cleaner than Russian natural gas.
Our continued innovation, our continued development has helped lead to new technologies that have made our energy sources cleaner and more affordable.
As we look around the world, no other Nation has matched our work in this area. If the Biden administration is truly serious about reducing carbon emissions, then a ban on LNG exports is truly a massive mistake.
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Indiana.
Mr. Speaker, I think there is a point that cannot be missed today: That we have Members of Congress from North, South, East, and West, from all corners of the U.S., questioning the Biden administration's reckless ban on the export of liquefied natural gas.
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, it is important to remember that every shipment of LNG that does not come from the United States has to come from somewhere else. Often that means that gas is being sold by our adversaries, including Russia and Iran.
At a time when Iranian-backed terrorists are killing American troops, the Biden administration is voluntarily opening up avenues for the Iranian Government to profit on the sale of liquefied natural gas.
Sadly, this is business as usual for an administration that fails time and time again to understand how its decisions can impact our national security.
We saw this when President Biden telegraphed his plan to withdraw from Afghanistan ahead of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, emboldening the Taliban.
We saw this last week when the President failed to respond quickly to strikes carried out by Iranian-backed terrorists. We are seeing President Biden's failed foreign policy on display once again with this decision to withhold American liquefied natural gas from our friends and from our allies who need it.
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for her words.
Mr. Speaker, from my home State of Pennsylvania to the Gulf Coast, natural gas creates family-sustaining jobs that are vital for our communities. From 2005 to 2019, more than 1.4 million manufacturing jobs were created in the natural gas industry.
When President Biden stops the flow of LNG, he is sending a message to American families that are supported by these jobs. Biden is sending a message that his political welfare is more important than American families' livelihoods. Biden is sending a message that keeping his far- left base happy is more important than American families' financial stability. It is shameful. It is shameful for the President to pretend to care about the American workers and then make decisions that directly harm them.
Mr. KEAN of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time, and I thank him for leading us here together in this Special Order.
Mr. Speaker, President Biden's decision to indefinitely pause LNG export approval permits is misguided and wrong. It prioritizes radical activists over American energy security and the security of our allies abroad. This pause is economically and strategically dangerous and unnecessary.
The Department of Energy has consistently found that American LNG exports serve the public interest by providing positive economic benefits and strengthens our energy security.
Mr. Speaker, our European allies are seeking American energy leadership to counter Putin's weaponization of Russian natural gas exports. In December 2023 alone, over 87 percent of U.S. LNG exports went to the EU, U.K., or Asian markets.
Any action that slows or halts the U.S. ability to export LNG would weaken global energy security. In Congress, and within this administration, we should be doing everything in our power to incentivize reliable natural gas and to grant the export permits that allow access to markets around the world. Policies that encourage LNG exports create good-paying jobs here in America and strengthen our allies abroad.
Mr. Speaker, I urge the Biden administration to end this pause.
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for his comments.
Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons that our allies rely so heavily on American-made liquefied natural gas is because of its reliability.
In recent years, we have seen billions of tax dollars used to prop up failing energy producers like wind turbines and solar farms. While wind and solar should certainly be available, the fact is they are unable to sustain major electric grids. Without battery technology to store the energy collected by renewable energy sources, the United States and our friends and our allies will continue to rely on natural gas.
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his words.
Mr. Speaker, from New Jersey to Florida, from Pennsylvania to California, liquefied natural gas, its production and export, has a positive effect on so many Americans.
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Idaho, a fellow member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for his insight and comments.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining?
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, as we have stated, the impact of stopping the export of liquefied natural gas affects all Americans.
We have had individuals from all over, Representatives, who know the impact financially to their constituents. They know the impact on jobs to each one of the Americans who are in the natural gas industry. We understand, and this is not lost on us.
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Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, I thank all of the Members who have joined us this evening to hold this Special Order to address President Biden's policy failure on liquefied natural gas. Since his first day in office, President Biden has worked to dismantle our Nation's energy production, revoking permits, stonewalling new development, and using red tape to harass our energy producers.
The decision to halt the permitting of LNG exportation facilities is the next step in an agenda that puts Green New Deal policies ahead of American families.
The Biden administration has continually passed the buck for high prices by blaming domestic energy producers. Biden's regulatory assaults destroy any incentive for domestic energy producers to invest in building our natural gas infrastructure.
Now, most recently, President Biden announced that his administration would no longer hold court-ordered offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.
Liquefied natural gas is safe, affordable, and easy to transport. That is why this week 150 of my colleagues and I were led by E&C Chair Rodgers and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to demand that President Biden overturn this terrible decision. We know that this energy source, which is underneath the feet of my constituents, will help power our allies, it will help create American jobs, and it will help reduce emissions.
Instead of embracing this technology, President Biden has caved to his far-left base who refuse to recognize the benefits that LNG has for America. A single shipment of LNG can power an entire city, and, yet, the Biden administration has refused to allow these shipments.
Tonight, we have heard about the dangerous impacts that the cutting of LNG exports have from raising prices here at home to funding our adversaries by forcing European nations to rely on energy from Russia and from Iran.
Let's be clear. President Biden is choosing to cut American jobs and fund our enemies. When it comes to our energy security, appeasing liberal activists can have long-lasting and very dangerous consequences. We all must continue to urge the Biden administration to reverse this disastrous decision and allow liquefied natural gas exports to continue and to power communities around the world.
It is time to return to American energy dominance, and it is time to stop using our energy security as a pawn in political games.
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