Providing for Consideration of H.R. Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025
Floor Speech
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Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding the time.
Mr. Speaker, I rushed to the floor this morning to oppose the rule and the underlying legislation because these Republican bills will raise electric bills on the families I represent back home in Florida and likely raise costs on all American families.
The bills will stunt the incredible growth in clean energy manufacturing, providing a gift to China especially. These bills will pad the profits of big oil companies at the expense of hardworking American families and small business owners.
I agree with the ranking member, Mr. Speaker. I am alarmed that the Republicans are already pressing their radical Project 2025 agenda, as it is apparent in these appropriations bills. Let's talk about a few of the policies in here.
First, it is very important that we help our neighbors weatherize their homes. It helps save them on their electric bills. It creates jobs. We estimate that this Republican bill will now slam the door shut for about 54,000 working-class Americans who need those weatherization dollars.
The Republican bills propose to gut energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives at a time when we are seeing a manufacturing renaissance across America. In less than 2 years since the Democrats in Congress passed the infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act, private-sector companies in the United States have announced a more than $360 billion investment in 600 clean energy projects that have created about 300,000 new jobs in America. This is where the economy is going: the clean, sustainable energies. That is why it is so smart to invest in our people, not to cede these industries to China and our adversaries.
This bill would have us look backward, to say: China, you take the lead.
I am not willing to do that. We are the United States of America. We should lead. We should lead in building the batteries, the electric vehicles, the solar panels, and all of the new technologies we need to lower costs and to help solve the climate crisis that is also heaping costs on my neighbors back home in Florida.
These Republican bills also make it easier to ship gas overseas, including to our adversaries. What that does is it hikes prices on people and businesses in our country.
This is a backward-looking bill. There is a better way. That way is investing in cleaner, cheaper energy, creating jobs in America, building the middle class, solving the climate crisis, putting people over politics, putting people over polluters, putting people over this radical 2025 agenda.
Please vote ``no'' on these bills. Vote for the USA. Vote for our future and the future of our kids.
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