Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Chair, I rise today as one of only 6 percent of the Members of Congress who are mothers of young children under 18 and one of the only 3 percent of mothers of color of young children under the age of 18. I rise out of a concern for the future my children will inherent, a future with extreme weather, continuously rising sea levels, and the detrimental impacts that climate change will have on the habitation of this planet.

For that reason, I rise today to oppose the significant funding cuts and harmful provisions that House Republicans seek in this bill.

At a time when we must double down on our efforts to address climate change, this bill slashes funding for the Department of Energy's efficiency and renewable energy programs by $1.5 billion, hampering our ability to decarbonize the energy, transportation, industrial, and agricultural sectors, undermining programs that not only improve and modernize our electricity infrastructure but lower costs, because energy efficiency programs are the easiest, quickest way not only to reduce our carbon footprint but to lower energy costs.

Agriculture, which is Virginia's largest private industry, would be harmed by the cuts in this bill. This bill jeopardizes low-income communities by proposing extreme funding cuts to the Weatherization Assistance Program, a program that lowers energy costs for low-income households by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes, also improving their health and safety.

The cuts here that include the Weatherization Assistance Program will be detrimental not only to the health of our planet and the health of our constituents, but they will be detrimental to their energy costs as they continue to go up. This bill will increase those costs.

For that reason, I ask that we vote ``no.''

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