Functioning in the Face of An Affordability Crisis

Floor Speech

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Mr. LATIMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because American utility prices are going up and those currently in charge of this country are doing nothing about it. My constituents are looking at monthly bills that have increased by 19 percent, and that is not affordability-plus- plus-plus.

Rather than looking for bipartisan solutions to make energy more affordable, this majority and the Trump administration continue to fixate on putting young people back in coal mines and opening Alaska to oil and gas drilling. There is no set correlation between more drilling and lower consumer prices.

We must act now to fix our outdated electric grid to bring more renewable energy sources online. This will make us less reliant on natural gas prices that fluctuate.

This week, the majority brought bills before this House, claiming to save Americans money on utility bills. These bills did nothing to update our electric grid, interconnect clean energy projects, or combat the Trump administration's attacks on clean energy permitting.

Mr. Speaker, while we waste our time on this legislation, I continue to hear from constituents worried about being able to afford their next utility bill. This is not how Congress should function in the face of an affordability crisis, and this crisis is real.

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