Methane
Floor Speech
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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on the methane CRA, today, Senate Republicans will advance a measure undoing one of the most important tools we have to lower energy prices and hold Big Oil and Gas accountable.
The Republicans, once again, in obeisance to the oil and gas industry, are pushing a resolution to reverse the methane emissions charge, which Democrats passed in the Inflation Reduction Act.
It makes big oil companies pay when they leak excessive and harmful levels of methane. Typically, the more methane a company leaks during drilling, the more these companies will have to charge for the methane they do deliver and the more gas prices will go up for families and businesses.
The oil companies, they don't believe in what our economists call externalities. They think they can just throw methane into the air and let everyone else pay the price in terms of climate change, in terms of bad health for people, et cetera.
What they want to do, our Republicans colleagues, will make gas prices go up for families and businesses.
Our law was a reasonable, commonsense, and a carefully tailored safeguard to prevent consumers from footing the bill of Big Oil's methane waste, paired with Federal funding to help big oil companies reduce their waste.
Reducing methane waste in the atmosphere saves consumers money. It protects local communities from pollution; and methane, as you know, is a superpotent greenhouse gas.
Scientists agree that reducing methane is one of the best things we can do to combat climate change. Its deleterious effects on the atmosphere are many, many times greater even than CO
So why do Republicans want to overturn it so badly? Because, as typical, Republicans are putting the needs of big oil and gas companies over the needs of the American people, over the health of the American people, and over the health of our globe.
Americans don't want Big Oil and Big Gas running the show. Americans don't want more pollution in their communities. Americans don't want higher gas prices. But that is what the Republicans are doing with today's CRA vote. Today's vote will show the American people, once again, who is on your side and who is on the side of Big Oil and Gas. I hope everyone watches closely.
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