Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. FLOOD. Mr. Chairman, my amendment is simple. It would bar the Department of Energy from spending taxpayer dollars on lab-grown meat.

Under President Biden's radical climate agenda and regulatory regime, the Department of Energy has chosen to target our Nation's food and beverage industry. Hardworking producers across the Nation wake up every day and raise the highest quality livestock in the world, and they are already making significant investments in long-term sustainability.

My home State of Nebraska leads the Nation in beef and veal exports and is among the top-producing States for hogs. Raising our Nation's food is a way of life for many in my home State and across the Nation. Instead of subverting the efforts of farmers and ranchers, the Department of Energy could invest in lowering energy costs, working to regain energy independence, unlocking energy exports, or any number of issues facing everyday Americans.

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Mr. FLOOD. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) sharing her concerns about my amendment.

Every time a Nebraskan farmer wakes up and faces the day, folks on that side of the aisle are looking to shut down confined animal feeding operations. They are looking to different ways to produce meat so that we can't produce what we do in Nebraska, which is the number one beef State in the Nation.

There is no trust. There is no trust with the Biden administration and this Department of Energy that our way of life is going to be protected.

This amendment should send a clear signal to everybody on the other side of the aisle that the producers that feed the world are ready to fight, to stand up for our industry, and to fight for livestock across this country.

This amendment ultimately sends a clear message that it is inappropriate for the Department of Energy to spend taxpayer dollars on lab-grown meat.

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Mr. FLOOD. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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