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Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I just heard the minority leader of the U.S. Senate come here to the floor to talk about energy--the cost of energy, the impact of what we are doing here legislatively with regard to energy. The minority leader's comments, I would say, were laughable, but if I had to describe them in one word, that word would be ``rubbish,'' and let me explain why. It is because this week, Senate Republicans are going to continue to point out the benefits of our comprehensive economic plan, and Americans are going to be able to see for themselves how our growth agenda delivers for them what they want, what they need, what they voted for. And they voted for safety and prosperity.

This is a 180-degree turn from the past 4 years of high prices and open borders. The Biden administration caused the worst economic disaster in our Nation since the 1970s. Democrats went on a tax-and- spend binge, and they piled job-killing regulations on the economy to the tune of over $1.8 trillion. The reckless spending and the regulatory rampage fueled the worst inflation in 40 years.

So I hear him talk about energy. Prices were up across the board by 21 percent from the day Joe Biden came into office until the day he left. Energy bills climbed 31 percent as a result of the Democrat policies.

Families saw their savings evaporate, families saw their credit card debt skyrocket, and families struggled to keep up. Young families were locked out of homeownership because mortgage rates continued to climb.

Over 10 million illegal immigrants flooded into our Nation. Millions of these illegal immigrants were given free food, free housing, free phones, free travel, and free healthcare.

The American people have had enough, and they spoke up about it, and they elected Republicans to clean up the mess. We are delivering, and under Republican leadership, America is getting back on track.

Inflation is down. Grocery prices are down. Gas prices are down. Wages are up. Jobs are coming back. And consumer confidence is rising.

For the first time in the history of polling, a majority of Americans say our country is headed in the right direction. That is in the history of polling. That is what the American public is saying because the state of our economy is strong.

Friday's job numbers just showed more new jobs were created last month than they even expected--than the experts expected. Republicans' comprehensive plan is going to make it even stronger.

Our plan cuts taxes. It targets waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption. Our plan unleashes American energy, which will continue to bring down prices.

At the heart of our plan, of course, is tax relief. Republicans are going to stop a crushing $4 trillion tax increase. This is a tax increase that every Democrat wants and has promised to vote for. That would be the biggest tax increase in American history.

Additionally, we are going to eliminate taxes on tips, on overtime, and on Social Security. Now, that is going to be a pay raise for hard- working Americans and for seniors.

The Republican plan puts more money in Americans' wallets, pockets, and purses. Families will have more money for gas, for groceries, and for emergencies. Families will have more money to pay the rent, to pay a mortgage, and to save for their kids' education.

Remember, it was Democrats who vowed to vote for a $4 trillion tax increase. They actually said they are going to fight with everything they have to stop us from passing our bill. Our bill prevents that tax increase. How can they look at waiters, seniors, bartenders, police officers, and firefighters and admit that they voted to raise the taxes on all these hard-working Americans?

And let's not forget why Democrats want to raise taxes. They want to pay for healthcare for illegal immigrants. That is what they have been doing. Over a million illegal immigrants have had healthcare paid for because of what the Democrats have been doing.

Oh, and they want to subsidize electric vehicles that most people don't want, don't need, and can't afford.

The question is simple: Are you for stopping a $4 trillion tax increase that will hit every working family in America--for the average middle-income family, $3,000 of increased taxes--or are you not for stopping that and letting it go through?

While Republicans are standing with Americans families, Democrats are opposing them.

But, specifically, on what the minority leader addressed this morning, which was affordable energy, let's talk about that, because Americans want, need, and voted for affordable American energy, and Americans are starting to feel that relief.

Now, the Republicans are in the House, the Senate, and the White House. This Memorial Day, just a week or so ago, gas prices were 50 cents a gallon lower than they were a year ago. You know, you go fill up a vehicle in Wyoming, and you are going to save about 10 bucks.

Why? Why is it better? Because Joe Biden's war on American energy is over.

I will never forget when Joe Biden told members of his Cabinet to prioritize climate over energy that is affordable, available, and reliable--climate over affordable energy, the mantra of the Democrats.

President Trump has taken more than 50 bold actions to unleash and unlock American energy. He has done it onshore, offshore, and in Alaska. He overturned crushing regulations on available and affordable American energy. He took the handcuffs off of our energy workers and our energy producers.

I spent Friday in Laramie, WY, at the Wyoming Mining Association meeting. People from all around the State and country come together to that annual meeting. The hard-working men and women of Wyoming are celebrating the actions of President Trump.

The Republicans' comprehensive economic plan unleashes American energy like never before. It opens up new Federal land and Federal waters leases to all-of-the-above energy production. That means oil and natural gas, coal, geothermal, and critical mineral production. It also refills our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Remember when Joe Biden drained the Strategic Petroleum Reserve? Why? Because gas prices were so high under his punitive administration. It was the era of massive Democrat inflation. He drained our Strategic Petroleum Reserve rather than allow us to produce more American energy here at home. He drained it to a dangerously low level. It was the lowest level in over 40 years. He actually sold some of our reserves to China. That is the Democrats' approach to energy.

Well, Republicans are reversing all of this. Congress is returning to fiscal sanity and energy reality. Both of those were sorely missed the last 4 years.

Joe Biden's energy policies were defined by waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption. I investigated Joe Biden's Department of Energy. It was a disgrace.

The Department of Energy's loan office funneled billions of dollars in taxpayer money to politically connected wind and solar projects. Specifically, one of them is a company known as Sunnova.

I describe them as a very shady solar company. Sunnova was called on the carpet for scamming seniors. They targeted seniors and pressured them into signing leases that were impossible to make. Joe Biden rewarded this malicious behavior by giving them a $3 billion loan, guaranteed by the taxpayers of our country, guaranteed by each and every one of us--a $3 billion loan.

Thankfully, President Trump was able to pull back part of that loan. Sunnova spent $371 million of taxpayer dollars.

Well, guess what. Just yesterday, Sunnova filed for bankruptcy. Here is the article. I plan to put this into the Congressional Record, the article from the Wall Street Journal this morning, Tuesday, June 10: ``Solar Installer Sunnova Seeks Bankruptcy.''

The handwriting was already on the wall, but the arrogant, condescending, and elitist personnel of Joe Biden's Department of Energy refused to read it.

Republicans need to keep investigating, and we will. We need to finish the job we have started.

Today, Republicans in the Senate are unleashing affordable, reliable American energy. It will fuel our prosperity. It will benefit the entire Nation. Families will pay lower energy bills. Small businesses will be able to afford to invest and to expand. Our country will no longer depend on dictators for energy and critical minerals.

America is an energy superpower. Under Republican leadership, we are acting like it.

clean-energy sector as shifting federal policies shake investor confidence.

Sunnova Energy International, once a poster child for America's residential renewable energy boom with a market value above $5 billion and more than 400,000 customers at its peak, plans to sell or wind down its assets in bankruptcy. Now a penny stock with $8.9 billion debt, Sunnova in recent months struggled to take on new business providing solar- panel installations, energy storage and financing for residential customers.

Privately held Solar Mosaic, which makes loans to homeowners for solar installations, also filed bankruptcy on Friday. Both companies blamed political uncertainty around the future of solar-related tax credits, which hurt their ability to refinance debt or attract new investment, according to their filings with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston.

Debt defaults were building among solar companies before Sunnova and Solar Mosaic ran low on cash. Residential installers SunPower and Lumio also filed for bankruptcy last year, while Titan Solar unwound its business, leaving many residential customers with little support.

Weak demand, rising interest rates and shifting government tone toward renewables have pummeled the solar energy sector, especially in recent months as Congressional leaders have moved to curtail incentives.

President Trump's tax-and-spending package passed by the House sunsets certain tax credits for rooftop solar and battery storage, viewed by some analysts as a potential death knell for the solar industry. Further changes to the president's ``Big, Beautiful Bill'' are likely in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 Majority.

Some senators from states benefiting from clean-energy job growth are pushing to preserve certain tax incentives, but investors have lost patience baking businesses like Sunnova with the continuing uncertainty.

Sunnova started out in 2012 in Texas to provide affordable residential solar products across the U.S. by offering financing options for homeowners that couldn't afford the hefty upfront costs for installation. Customers can also lease the panels and pay monthly fees for the energy they use.

After going public in 2019, the company continued to leverage a residential solar boom driven by dropping panel costs and government incentives, expanding to be a nationwide provider. Trouble in its business, which relies on borrowed capital, began to escalate in late 2023 after rising interest rates made homeowners hesitant to install new solar systems.

The company reported a net loss of $448 million for 2024, and its liquidity dried up. By April 2024, its shares lost more than 93% in value from their peak in 2021.

In March, Sunnova warned that even after securing a fresh $185 million loan from asset manager KKR, the company might not generate enough cash to remain operational due to weakness in the residential solar market. The loan from KKR provided a temporary life-line, but at a steep cost of 15% interest.

Creditors holding roughly $2 billion in junior debt hired advisers and began restructuring talks with the company. In the following weeks, Oaktree Capital acquired more than $400 million of Sunnova's debt and has since been driving the debt negotiations, said people familiar with the matter.

In an effort to quell creditor concerns, Sunnova replaced its founder and Chief Executive William J. Berger, promoting its chief operating officer Paul Mathews, who joined in 2023, to the top job. In April, Ryan Omohundro was appointed chief restructuring officer. On Friday, the company said it laid off more than half of its workforce, some 718 employees, in May.

While larger solar and wind projects now face an earlier expiration of federal credits in 2028, three years ahead of schedule, the impact was far more severe for battery storage and residential solar installers like Sunnova. The company recently exited a $3 billion partial loan guarantee program it had secured from the federal government in 2023, citing falling demand for solar loans.

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