Unlocking Our Domestic Lng Potential Act of 2024

Floor Speech

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Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Pallone for yielding me time.

I rise today to oppose the GOP's latest love letter to Big Oil and Gas here the day after Valentine's Day.

This Republican bill is a giant handout to Big Oil and Gas that will enrich our adversaries, including the Chinese Communist Party, and force middle-class families to pay more on their home electric bills.

Gas companies and CEOs want the unfettered ability to send American gas to China and other countries, so I thank the Biden administration for stepping in to analyze the cost to American consumers of doing so.

Folks back home in Florida are paying exorbitant electric bills because we are tied to gas.

The Biden administration is right to study how unfettered gas and methane pollution costs my neighbors more. They are right to understand how that threatens our way of life as the atmosphere is overheating and is causing extreme heat waves, droughts, drying up our lakes and rivers and water supply, wildfires, and deadly hurricanes that are so costly. They are right to consider the national security concerns, as well.

While we are talking about national security, there is a larger context that brought me to the floor today. That is the complete failure of Republicans to govern and accomplish anything for the American people.

They announced last night that we are leaving early for the rest of the month.

Are we going to do a tough, bipartisan border security bill? No.

Are we going to do anything to address mass shootings? No. They just ignore the fact that the leading cause of death among American children and teens is death by gun. I am angry like the Kansas City police chief said she is angry.

How about working on national security? No. The GOP has checked out. They can't govern. It is outrageous that extreme MAGA Republicans are siding with Putin and blocking a national security bill.

How about the basic responsibility of passing appropriations bills? The fiscal year started on October 1, but Republicans have cowed down to the MAGA extremists in their party, who thought a costly shutdown was the way to go.

This is the least productive Congress in modern times, and it shows. If the GOP cannot govern and they want to leave, I have an idea: Let Democrats tackle these problems. We are good at finding solutions. We are good at lowering costs for American families. We put people over politics, while the GOP put politics over the people. They put Putin over the people. They side with polluters every day that we are here.

Vote ``no'' on this bill, and tell the folks here in Washington, especially the GOP, to get to work.

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