Researching Efficient Federal Improvements for Necessary Energy Refining Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the time.

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to me that our friends across the aisle say that we already have enough oil. It is also interesting that President Obama, when he--the gentleman from Georgia, Buddy Carter, mentioned the Keystone pipeline. It would have come into my district in Texas, 830,000 barrels of oil a day. That is what we are talking about refining on the Gulf Coast of Texas. If you transfer that to 18- wheelers, it is about 5,253 18-wheeler tankers on the road every day. The pipeline is the best way to do this.

Mr. Speaker, in Texas, we understand better than anyone else that America's energy strength depends on what happens to the oil after it comes out of the ground. The Keystone pipeline is a good example.

Mr. Speaker, it is our refineries, the men and women who run them, and the communities built around those businesses that turn our resources into fuels and products that power everyday life.

The REFINER Act takes on a question that Washington has ignored for far too long: Are we doing enough to protect and expand America's ability to refine the energy we produce? Right now, unfortunately, the answer is no, we are not.

Over the last several years, America's refining capacity has gone backward. We have lost more than a million barrels of capacity per day, and several facilities have shut down altogether. The gentleman from California mentioned one of them.

In several States, hostile policies are pushing refineries out so fast that families are now facing higher prices and increased dependence on foreign fuel.

That is not how you build energy security, Mr. Speaker. That is how you weaken it.

Meanwhile, global demand for fuels is still rising and is expected to grow as much as 20 million barrels a day by 2050.

The world isn't slowing down, Mr. Speaker, and neither should American energy.

The REFINER Act takes a serious look at that situation, directs the National Petroleum Council to review our refining capacity, identify where we are vulnerable, and highlight opportunities for us to expand. In other words, it gives us the facts we need to strengthen a critical part of our energy supply chain.

When refineries close, families suffer; small businesses suffer; transportation costs rise; and prices jump at the pump. The whole region becomes dependent on foreign suppliers.

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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, that is exactly the opposite of the energy dominance vision that we are working toward under President Trump.

Let me tell you this, Mr. Speaker--you know this--in Texas, we know what happens when refineries thrive. We fuel the Nation. We even supply our allies. We make money doing this, and we support thousands of good- paying jobs.

The REFINER Act recognizes that refining isn't an afterthought. It is a foundational piece of our national security, as well as our economic strength.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3109.

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