Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025

Floor Speech

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Ms. CHU. Madam Chair, as written, this partisan Energy and Water appropriations bill undermines the very programs and principles it purports to uphold. This bill will cut over 5 percent of nondefense spending compared to enacted levels, raising prices and making us less prepared to respond to the growing threat of the climate crisis and related natural disasters.

By slashing the Department of Energy's efficiency and renewable energy programs, Republicans will increase families' energy costs. By reducing the Department of Energy's loans programs by a whopping $8 billion, Republicans will be killing good-paying jobs, and our capacity to confront the climate crisis will be further hindered. By cutting the weatherization assistance program and prohibiting funding for the Department of Energy's Justice40 Initiative, low-income households will see higher home energy bills.

However, this bill goes beyond just harmful energy policies. House Republicans have made it their mission to insert divisive harmful riders in every single appropriations bill this year, and this one is no different. To name just a few, this bill contains provisions that would prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from renaming items commemorating the Confederacy and its glorification of enslavement, prohibit funding of executive orders aimed at advancing racial equity, and it would allow for firearms on public lands.

The Democratic motion to recommit will strike another provision in this bill that would allow discrimination against same-sex couples. At every turn, House Republicans are finding creative ways to entrench homophobia and other forms of discrimination in what should be bipartisan, good-faith funding bills. Rather than equip our country and our constituents with the tools needed to fight existential battles like climate change, House Republicans are committing to sending an anti-equality message that hate should win. House Democrats and I will not stand for this.

For this reason, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to recommit this bill back to committee. If the House rules permitted, I would have offered the motion with an important amendment to this bill.

My amendment would strike the provisions in this bill that would allow for discrimination to same-sex couples, and that would ban the use of Pride flags at facilities.

Madam Chair, I include in the Record the text of the amendment.

Ms. Chu moves to recommit the bill H.R. 8997 to the Committee on Appropriations with the following amendment:

Strike section 507.

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Ms. CHU. Madam Chair, I hope my colleagues will join me in voting for the motion to recommit.

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