Coal

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BARRASSO. But, Mr. President, I come to the floor today to talk about a different topic, and that topic is coal--and, specifically, Wyoming coal, which is world-class coal, clean coal, low-sulfur coal.

This is Wyoming coal. We need more of it--not less of it--to power our Nation. It is available, affordable, and reliable. This has powered our Nation for over a century. It continues to be a major source of power for our Nation, and we need it far into the future.

And today, to that case, President Trump is going to sign an Executive order making clear his commitment to American energy independence. The President is moving very quickly in terms of boosting the coal industry. It is part of his bold plan that the administration has to restore American energy dominance.

We have more coal in this country than any other country in the world. It is one of our most affordable, reliable, and abundant sources of energy on the planet. And in America, we can use that coal cleaner than ever before.

Wyoming's Powder River Basin produces the cleanest burning coal in the world. Nearly half of all coal produced in America comes from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and our neighboring State of Montana. Wyoming's energy warriors will lead the way.

For years, Democrats have held coal captive with reckless regulations, making it harder for us to use American energy and making us more dependent on foreign sources of energy. Joe Biden took coal offline in America. Democrats' war on American energy strained our grid, subsidized unreliable energy, and as a result, energy prices spiked in their administration by 31 percent. That hit American consumers, American manufacturers, American families; and it hurt our economy.

Meanwhile, what we know is that China is opening up two new coal- fired powerplants each and every week. It is hard to believe, but they are doing it. They continue to build those powerplants in China.

We will talk about what they want to do with that energy and what we need to do in America because President Trump is cutting redtape so we can compete again--compete with China. And coal is making a comeback. Wyoming wins, America wins, but not China.

What do Americans want? They want affordable, reliable, available power. We need the energy, and clean coal will deliver it. American energy is rocket fuel for a stronger economy--also, for a more secure Nation.

What does more energy mean? It means lower prices for consumers and manufacturers and producers. Electricity demand is projected to double by the year 2050. We cannot meet this demand if we lock up our valuable energy resources, but that is what the Democrats wanted us to do. That was the purity plan that they had the last 4 years.

High energy prices under the previous administration drove up food prices, fuel prices, and strained families. All of this hurt our Nation and hurt our economy. President Trump wants to produce more American energy, and that includes coal.

Investing in American energy lowers the cost of food. It puts more money back into families' pockets. This is how we need to deal with the energy crunch that we are facing.

Plus, this creates more American jobs, brings jobs back to our country. Coal is an engine of our American economy, and the Democrats continue to treat it as an enemy. Everything we do in this country relies on energy. We need more energy, not less. Steel producers, manufacturers, data centers need steady, reliable power if we are going to compete and win. The electricity needed for data centers alone is predicted to increase by up to 20 percent each year over the next 5 years. Coal will help power them. It will give our industry an edge, a competitive advantage. In turn, more workers will find that they get steady, reliable paychecks. Coal miners will also get new opportunities. All of America will get a boost.

More American energy also means that data centers, artificial intelligence--which are major users of energy--will grow here in America, not overseas. With it, we can power our economy; we can win the energy race; we can win the AI, artificial intelligence, race against communist China.

More energy secures our Nation. Energy security is national security. Republicans understand it. President Trump understands it. That is why he is going to do what he is doing this afternoon at the White House, and I am delighted to have been invited to be part of it.

We don't need more liberal energy chokeholds. Energy independence is what matters for our Nation and our future. Europe, last year, spent $23 billion on Russian oil and gas because they didn't have enough of their own energy. That is more money than Europe sent in aid to Ukraine. This shows you that Europe's energy crisis proves dependency upon our enemies for energy is self-defeating.

American energy dominance, including clean coal, reduces our Nation's vulnerability. The climate alarmists--and we hear them, and we understand they will come to the floor to talk about this--claim that coal is the energy of the past. They are misinformed. Clean coal is a fuel for the future. It is affordable, it is reliable, and it is ready to go.

President Trump knows that. He knows that coal is a key ingredient in an all-of-the-above energy strategy and agenda for our Nation. So I look forward to standing today with President Trump to celebrate this victory for Wyoming and for America and for a strong energy future for our Nation.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source