July 23, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 124 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
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SUPPORT INCREASED DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 124
(House of Representatives - July 23, 2019)
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[Pages H7229-H7234] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] SUPPORT INCREASED DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2019, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, we are here tonight, as the House Energy Action Team, to discuss the numerous economic, national security, and environmental benefits of the American energy renaissance. The HEAT team will never be supportive of policies that increase electricity prices for consumers, favor foreign-based production over domestic, and deter the development and construction of energy infrastructure. Due to policies that incentivize private investment and production, the United States has become the global leader in natural gas and oil producing, as well as refining. This has given us the ability to export energy to our friends, allies, and countries that want to import U.S. energy. Energy Secretary Rick Perry recently said, ``The United States is not just exporting energy. We are exporting freedom.'' I couldn't agree more. There is no national security without energy security. We understand that in the House Energy Action Team. Looking at this graph, in 2018, U.S. crude oil production exceeded 11 million barrels per day, surpassing Russia as the world's largest crude oil producer. The U.S. produced 12.16 million barrels per day of crude in April 2019. I was just out in North Dakota, in the Bakken. I am amazed at the production going on in that little corner of the world. I say ``little,'' but the Bakken is huge. It is a tremendous resource for the Nation. In fact, we are producing more oil and natural gas in the Bakken in North Dakota and Montana than they are in the country of Venezuela, which is known for its natural resources, known for its oil production. They are producing more in the Bakken. Robust domestic energy production is essential to global leadership in the United States. According to the U.S. Energy Information Institute, natural gas and oil supplied about two-thirds of American energy used in 2016. Oil and gas will continue to be a prominent source of energy. The Energy Information Institute estimates that fossil fuels will account for nearly 70 percent of the country's energy used by 2050. The goal should be to produce, develop, or make fossil fuels available cleaner through private sector innovation, not regulation. That should be the goal, private sector innovation, not the heavy boot of government telling the innovators what they should or should not do. The innovators are actually making things cleaner. We are producing a lot, and we are exporting a lot. One thing I applaud President Trump for doing is challenging Chancellor Merkel and Germany to lessen their dependence on a foreign source of energy, in this case, not the Arab states, Saudi Arabia, or others, but lessen their dependence on Russia. A lot of Europe, Eastern Europe and Western Europe, get their energy from Russia, Gazprom and Rosneft, which support Vladimir Putin. By lessening Europe's dependence on Russia for their energy, Russia is no longer an influencer. It can't turn the spigot on and off to influence political policy in Europe. Europe still has to meet its energy needs. It can do that looking west to the United States through our export of LNG, liquefied natural gas put on ships, sent to Europe, and off-loaded to provide the natural gas and energy security for our friends and allies overseas to lessen their dependence on Russia. Exports of U.S. LNG are set to rise 72 percent this year, as compared to 2018. Russia is just a gas station masquerading as a country, but they are providing that natural gas to Europe. They use their levers of influence, turning that spigot on and off to affect policy not only in Eastern Europe but in Western Europe. Those policies and those pipelines continue to be built to provide that natural gas. We need to provide that from this country. We have an abundance. We have an abundance of oil, too. We are now an exporter of oil. If we look at what the U.S. energy sector has been able to do during this American energy renaissance, it will show that we are a leader in energy production and energy technology. We can help other countries around the globe to meet their energy needs with our technology as well. Madam Speaker, we have a great group of House Energy Action Team members who want to talk about what is going on, maybe in their States, maybe things they know about in this Nation. I know Rick Allen wants to talk about nuclear power and what is going on in Georgia. I know Bruce Westerman wants to talk about what is going on in Arkansas. We have so many others. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) to talk about what is going on in his part of the world. Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman, my friend from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan), for yielding. Madam Speaker, I want us to take a moment to reflect tonight, reflect where our country has been and where our country is going. I think about my grandparents who grew up in a home that didn't even have electricity, didn't have running water. Even my parents were young when they got electricity in their home. Madam Speaker, it was just 150 years ago when the main source of energy in this country was wood fuel. We have come a long way in this country. We have seen a better way of life. We have seen nicer things because of the technology and innovation that we have had in this country. Our energy policy should be the same energy policy that got us to where we are today because we have a bright future ahead. That energy policy is simply to provide the cleanest energy possible for the lowest cost possible. We shouldn't discriminate against energy sources. Energy is energy. It is carbon atoms. It is hydrogen. It is the energy that we have that we convert to things like electrical energy. Just because one energy is viewed as dirtier than another energy doesn't mean that, someday, that energy can't be clean energy. If we look at recent developments, it wasn't long ago that natural gas was an expensive form of energy. It wasn't in abundant supply. Through technology, we have been able to release vast amounts of natural gas across our country. As a matter of fact, we are seeing a lot of coal plants converted to natural gas, not because of regulatory requirements but because of the economic benefits of burning natural gas, clean natural gas. We know the control technologies to get very high combustion rates and also the ability to capture the NOX , or nitrous oxides, that are released from burning natural gas. It wasn't that long ago that we didn't think we had enough natural gas. Because of great technology, we can experience an environment here in the United States where our carbon emissions are actually dropping. We shouldn't punish one energy source over another energy source. We should strive to use technology to make energy as low-cost and as clean as possible. We can do this, whether it is renewables, solar, wind, biomass. All of those are valid sources of energy that we can, hopefully, learn how to capture, to distribute in a manner that people can enjoy all across the country in a way that gives consumers reliable supplies at a low cost. With this, we will see our economy continue to grow. We will see our quality of life improve. It is really not something that should be partisan or that we should argue about, simply to provide energy at a low cost. [[Page H7230]] Let's look at transportation fuel. Some are in favor of doing away with all fossil fuels in transportation. What would that do to our environment? If we look at global emissions across the world, the United States is responsible for 15 percent of carbon emissions throughout the world. If we look at that a little bit closer and break it down on transportation fuels, transportation fuels account for 27 percent of carbon emissions in the United States. Twenty-seven percent of 15 percent is only about 4 percent. If we did away with all gasoline, all diesel fuels, got rid of all combustion engines, if we did away with jet fuel, with ships, if we took fossil fuels out of every form of transportation in the United States, it would wreak havoc on our economy. It would wreak havoc on our way of life. But it would reduce global carbon emissions only by around 4 percent. There is a better, smarter way to do that. Let's take the abundant energy that we have. Let's apply our wonderful research facilities, the great minds and innovators that we have in America. We can figure out how to use all of our energy sources in a low-cost, clean way. We can all continue to experience a brighter future ahead. I thank my colleague for hosting this time tonight where we can, hopefully, get some of the facts and common sense about energy out on the table. Just remember, as low-cost and as clean as possible, that is a winning formula for American energy. Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman). He was out in North Dakota with me. One thing we saw with natural gas and oil being produced out there, and the understanding of a need for infrastructure in this country, gas utilities the United States added over 730,000 miles of pipeline to serve almost 220 million more customers. At the same time, methane emissions have fallen 70 percent, 75 percent, and CO2 emissions from U.S. power systems are at their lowest level since 1985. Pipelines are the safest way to transport natural gas, but some parts of the country refuse to accept this reality. For example, New England has moratoriums on natural gas extraction, and the inability to construct a pipeline caused an increase in electricity prices. These policies are just asinine and need to change. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Kevin Hern), a freshman Member of Congress and a leader on the House Energy Action Team. We will hear about what is going on in his great State of Oklahoma. {time} 2030 Mr. KEVIN HERN of Oklahoma. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for yielding me a few minutes here to talk about the energy dominance in our country, and tonight we are celebrating American excellence and innovation in a field absolutely essential to the future of our country: energy. There is a lot to be debated and argued on, but the crux of the matter is that energy independence--better yet, energy dominance--is the only pathway to a stable, fruitful, successful American economy. We use energy every day. We power our homes, our offices, our cars, our phones, and our devices. All of this uses energy in a different way. Since energy is such a pervasive need in our society, it should be a top priority in Congress. Completely cutting our energy sources like clean coal, which we have relied on for centuries, is simply not the answer. Making drastic, astronomical changes to our economy and way of life are simply not feasible, let alone rational. My district is home to the oil and gas sector. One in five jobs in Oklahoma are supported by the oil and natural gas industry. Every new direct oil and gas job supports more than two additional jobs statewide. The average Oklahoma oil and natural gas worker makes more than $94,000 per year. Not only is Oklahoma's energy sector a major job creator and economic stimulator, but it is also a nationwide leader in oil production and innovation in the industry. In 2017, Oklahoma was the Nation's sixth largest crude oil producing State. As of last year, we had five operable petroleum refineries with a combined daily processing capacity of over half a million barrels per day, accounting for almost 3 percent of the U.S. total. More than a dozen of the country's 100 largest gas fields are located in Oklahoma. These are things to be celebrated, not criticized. If you were to listen to some of our colleagues across the aisle, you would think oil and gas are the enemy. That is not the case at all. Oil and gas are the foundation to build on. Renewable energy like wind and solar are great, and I agree that we need to continue investing in them and researching how to improve them, but they are not a replacement for oil and gas. The future of energy in our country is dependent on an all-of-the-above approach. All of these energy sources can and should work together to make America successful and energy dominant on the world stage. I look forward to working with my colleagues on HEAT this year to find out energy solutions that play to our country's strengths as well as incorporate the innovation that new technologies provide. Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I tell you, in Oklahoma, they know energy. I think one of the first wells ever drilled in the United States of America was over in Oklahoma. And another place they know a lot about energy is down on the Gulf Coast in my adopted State of Louisiana. The gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves) knows energy, and they have got a lot going on in The Pelican State. I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana. Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Carolina for hosting this event tonight. Madam Speaker, this is really important because it impacts every single American. Energy is one of those pervasive issues that, if you drive a car, if you ride in a taxi, if you take public transit, if you have a house or you have an apartment, you have to pay the energy bills. It affects every single one of us. Madam Speaker, we have options before us. We can choose to go down this path of ignoring the energy abundance that the United States has; we can pivot in this direction of blindly seeking these lofty goals or ambitions without any technological basis, without any basis in infrastructure or reality; or we can move in a direction where we can produce American energy, and we can produce it safely and we can produce it affordably. Madam Speaker, let's go down the paths of what these options look like. If you look back in 2011, Madam Speaker, one half of this Nation's trade deficit, one half of it was attributable to us importing energy from other countries--one half. That means that we are sending hundreds of billions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of jobs, we are sending them, we are empowering them in countries like Iran, in countries like Venezuela and other Middle Eastern and African nations in many cases, Madam Speaker, that don't share our values. They are taking those dollars and coming back and directly challenging American interests around the globe. This doesn't make sense. You don't arm those who wish harm upon you. But that is what our energy policy was back in 2011. Again, one half of this Nation's trade deficit attributable to us importing energy. Now, more recently, Madam Speaker, you have seen folks who have come in and said: Hey, we want to migrate to no fossil fuels whatsoever. Think about it. If you were running a business and if your greatest asset was this abundance of American natural gas, of oil, of coal, think about if that is what your asset was and if you had this objective of achieving environmental sensitivities or this objective of reducing our emissions and providing more clean energy solutions, would you just go and say: Look, we are just going to ignore all these resources? No. You would develop technologies on carbon capture and storage, on utilization to where you could take that resource and you could actually market it and make products from it or you could sequester it. That way you can continue to have a robust economy; you can continue to have affordable energy; you can continue to have American jobs without harming our economy. [[Page H7231]] Now, Madam Speaker, when you look at the option that some have chosen where they have chosen we are going on an aggressive renewable strategy, let's look at the State of California where you have double or triple the cost of electricity as you have in my home State of Louisiana--double or triple. On top of that, Madam Speaker, look at what the State of California has done. They have increased--increased--imports of oil from countries like Saudi Arabia and others, increased their dependence upon foreign energy, exporting jobs, exporting untold dollars to these other economies. It is fascinating. Let's go over to the Northeast, where, recently, you have seen them object to transmission sitings, object to natural gas pipelines. Madam Speaker, what they have done there, in doing so, they had to burn heating oil to warm the homes in the winter, one of the least efficient means of emissions. They had to import gas from Russia--from Russia-- putting who knows how many dollars in Vladimir Putin's hands to challenge U.S. interests around the globe. Madam Speaker, these strategies are flawed. By rejecting some of these policies of the past, by pursuing the U.S. energy dominance agenda, we have been able to reduce emissions in the United States more than the next 12 countries combined, while continuing to have a robust economy, some of the lowest unemployment rates we have seen in decades, and ensuring that the United States can export energy like we are doing with liquified natural gas right now to 35 countries, rather than being dependent upon those other nations. We have two choices, Madam Speaker. I urge American energy dominance. I want to thank, again, the gentleman from South Carolina for yielding. Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments. Natural gas is being produced in this country in a tremendous amount, so much so, that we can export it anywhere in the world. But those on the other side are refusing to accept the reality of the benefits of natural gas. In fact, Berkeley, California, is the first American city to ban natural gas from being used in new homes and businesses, being banned from being used in new homes and businesses to heat and cook in their homes, probably banning transportation fuels, as well. Natural gas is affordable for so many Americans, and I can tell you what. When Americans go to the pump, they are conscientious about the price because the money they put in that tank could be the difference in discretionary income they could use for other things. When you help keep energy prices down, not only transportation fuels, but energy prices through the electricity generation in this country-- folks over in Georgia understand electrical generation. In fact, they are building the Nation's only nuclear power plant over in Augusta, Georgia. I yield to the gentleman from Savannah, Georgia, to talk a little bit about that. Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank the gentleman for hosting this here tonight. This is extremely important, and the House Energy Action Team and the Members who have spoken here and the Members who will continue to speak play an important role in making sure that we get this message out, because, Madam Speaker, I am here to join my colleagues in discussing America's energy resurgence and to bring to light the many developments and advances that have been made in our Nation, and there are many. Lots of developments, lots of advances have been made in our Nation. We are in the midst of an economic boom. We all know that. We know that our economy is booming. We know that we have seen record low unemployment rates and that we have seen growing incomes. Simply put, jobs are being created and people are going back to work. As we look to the Nation's energy needs and output, people will often forget about how energy costs impact both people and the economy. I have always said that I subscribe to the all-of-the-above type of energy strategy, and I do; and I think it is extremely important for a number of different reasons, not the least of which is to make sure that we in America have energy independence, to make sure that we have affordable energy, that we never put ourselves in the position that I can remember us being in in the late seventies, where we were dependent and were literally held over the barrel, if you will, by other nations for our energy needs. We as a nation benefit from lower energy costs, meaning our monthly home energy bills are lower and the costs to do business are lower. Lower costs translate into the ability of companies to invest in their businesses and in their employees. American energy independence has been crucial to the growth we have seen since the recession. There is also significant investment by companies across the United States to be good stewards of their communities. Yes, it can be done. Yes, we can have energy independence. Yes, we can be good stewards of our communities. We are seeing significant investments in new, cleaner technologies, taking old and inefficient plants off-line, looking to energy efficiency and actively managing emissions. As has been mentioned by other speakers, we have done a great job in America of decreasing our emissions and still keeping our economy growing. There is a lot to be said for that. Carbon management has really caught on for a number of employers, and the technology that can make it more effective is very promising. For instance, there are companies actively looking to pull carbon from the air, to sequester it into the ground through direct air capture. This technology continues to develop and to mature. There are also important carbon capture systems being developed in my home district. We are seeing incredibly efficient turbines being built that produce much lower emission numbers than similar products or plants. In addition, I have the honor of serving on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and we have done quite a bit of work addressing the regulatory issues that would prevent these innovative and new technologies from coming to market. We are doing everything that we can to get the government out of the way. I have always said that the greatest innovators, the greatest scientists are right here in the United States of America, and they are. That is why I look toward the future with great anticipation, because I think this is going to be a great opportunity for us as Americans. I look at renewable energy. I look at everything that is going to be done in the way of energy production, and I see America leading the way, and it is important the Federal Government not be an obstacle, not be a barrier to that. As more regulatory hurdles are put up, the costs increase. That is why we focus on innovation and technology, new ideas and making sure that the private sector has the ability to explore these opportunities. As I mentioned earlier, there are countless examples of employers seeking new options to reduce their impact on their communities and looking to ways to be good stewards. In manufacturing alone, companies are looking at how to turn those challenges of reducing consumption into new opportunities. While one side of industry is looking at that, the energy sector is also investing in researching ways to become more efficient and effective when it comes to reducing emissions and expanding their energy mix. Madam Speaker, if you want to see a country that can innovate, if you want to see a country that can lead, you look to the United States of America. Again, that is why I am so excited about the future of our energy production. Just up the river from my district, Plant Vogtle has the only two nuclear units under construction in the United States. For a nation that once developed and dominated the nuclear sector, we have lagged behind direct competitors. As the largest carbon-free source of power in the world, it makes sense to move forward with developing next-generation technology that can lower costs. Nuclear energy is an area we can and should continue to once again have a leading role in the world. Whether it is nuclear, more efficient equipment, carbon capture, or some [[Page H7232]] other form of energy, now is our chance to really drill down and focus on the innovation and technology development that is needed. I join my colleagues here on the HEAT team as we continue to work towards policy solutions to these issues facing our country. Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia, and he was one of the first members of the House Energy Action Team. He comes from the Energy and Commerce Committee, working with me alongside some others on the HEAT team. I want to applaud Whip Scalise for allowing the House Energy Action Team to be reformulated, give us a chance to talk, communicate directly with the American people about American energy renaissance, American energy issues. {time} 2045 I would like to recognize the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson). Before I do, I will say that one of the biggest honors I have had in my life came this year when Governor Abbott made me an honorary Texan. So I am proud to stand alongside my fellow Texan, Pete Olson from Texas, to talk about what is going on in the great State there. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson). Mr. OLSON. Madam Speaker, I thank my dear friend from South Carolina for those kind words about being an honorary Texan. We Texans take no offense to the comments he gave to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves) about that being his home away from home, with all the ties between South Carolina and Texas. The Battle of the Alamo commander, William Barret Travis, who died for our freedom, came from South Carolina. Two football players who would take our Houston Texans to the Super Bowl, Jadeveon Clowney and Deshaun Watson, are products of South Carolina. I am happy to join my friend and the HEAT team tonight to talk about the American energy renaissance. Texans like to call this the era of America crushing OPEC's monopoly and finally tearing down Mr. Putin's wall of energy control over former Soviet Union states, nations like Estonia. My wife and I went there about 2 years ago on a Baltic cruise. We saw happy, happy people, like people in that picture. As my friend knows, that is a merchant vessel called Independence. It has been loaded with liquefied natural gas from Sabine Pass, Louisiana, by a company known as Cheniere, our first LNG port plant in American history. Two years ago, that ship pulled up in the capital of Estonia. As you can see, thousands and thousands of people waved flags and said welcome to Estonia, American liquefied natural gas, because they know that is not just a product. That is their freedom from Mr. Putin's autonomy and brutality. They know we exported liquid American freedom to Estonia. In contrast, our port in Houston is 52 miles long. If I got five people to walk out and see a tanker pull up, that would be huge. Our battleship, the USS Texas, is over 100 years old. She is about to be moved to be repaired, to be moored permanently, at Galveston Island. If I got 10 people, maybe 20, to watch our battleship be moved, that would be awesome. Those people came out in droves because they know their control by Mr. Putin is over. Let's talk about a great new ally called India. Their Prime Minister, Mr. Modi, is coming to Houston September 22. I have met the man four times. They are a growing economy of 1.4 billion people. They have our values. They have a problem with their energy. They have none that they can use in a clean, efficient manner. They have a lot of coal, but coal is dirty. They have no natural gas. They have no fossils, no oil. They can't have a pipeline deliver those products to their nation. Coming from the west, that pipeline has to go through Iran and Pakistan, enemies. To the north are the Himalaya mountains. If you could get a pipeline over an 18,000-foot elevation, God bless you. That is the eighth wonder of the world. To the east is a place in the world that is falling apart, Bangladesh. Their only solution to have cleaner air and energy independence is American LNG coming via the sea, a ship. One showed up last year loaded with LNG, again from Sabine Pass. We signed a contract, private sector to private sector, in India to deliver 14.4 megatons of LNG to India for over 20 years. That means there is no way we, the government, can get involved here in America or India. It is private sector to private sector freedom. Finally, Madam Speaker, to my friend, I have to brag about Texas. Liberal friends want to address climate change with carbon capture. We are okay with that, but it must be viable in our economy, and it must be viable in a free market. A company back home called NRG has a power plant 10 miles from my house called the Parish Power Plant. Parish generates energy from eight sources, four natural gas and four coal generators. Wanting to improve their business and make the air cleaner, make more money, and help out the world, on their own, they reached out to a Japanese company to build a carbon capture system that grabs over 92 percent of CO2 up one of the coal stacks. But that technology was very, very expensive, over $1 billion. Our friends want energy to swallow that product and bury that money in the ground, that captured carbon in the ground. That means you will bury $1 billion in the ground. How can clean energy do that? By passing those rates on to the ratepayer. Unacceptable. What did they do? They grabbed that CO2 , and they have a pipeline that goes 85 miles southeast to an old, depleted oil field. It is like fracking fluid. That CO2 puts more pressure, so oil comes out, and we sell it in the market. It is viable. In short, LNG dominance by America makes my home State of Texas great; it makes America greater; and it makes the whole world the greatest it can be. Drill, baby, drill. Frack, baby, frack. Export, baby, export. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for the time. Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson) for being here tonight. We hear a lot about the Green New Deal. That proposal is based solely on solar, wind, and hydropower in an effort to drastically cut carbon emissions across the country. In my State of South Carolina, we have seven reactors that produce 95 percent of the State's emission-free electricity, 53 percent of our total electricity costs. I want to show a graph really quickly before I introduce the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen). This graphic shows the magnitude of one nuclear reactor and compares the capacity factors of one reactor, rated at 1,154 megawatts, to wind turbines. To match one reactor, it takes 2,077 windmills. Yes, there are 2,077 windmills on this graph, and 2,077 would be needed. Think about the amount of acreage that it would take just to put the windmills up to meet the electricity generated from one nuclear reactor. I mentioned earlier the State of Georgia is building the only nuclear reactor being built in this country right now, and that is down at Vogtle in Augusta, Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen), from Augusta, and I am sure he is going to talk about nuclear energy. Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan) for chairing this Special Order tonight. Madam Speaker, I am proud to be a member of this House Energy Action Team. It is a special coalition of Members of Congress who are focused on energy policy. I was honored to be selected as the nuclear subteam leader. This will allow me to do my part to advance our nuclear energy priorities through Congress and allow America to remain a dominant player in the global nuclear industry. The theme for this Special Order is the American energy renaissance. I have to tell you, after President Trump took office, the war on energy and the war on business was over. It was like flipping on a light switch. America was open for business again, and the American people responded. We have the best economy in the world. Since then, we have continued to invest in our own energy resources and [[Page H7233]] have successfully made the United States energy independent. Who would have thought that 10 years ago? Georgia's 12th Congressional District is on the front line of the American energy renaissance, with the first two new nuclear reactors being built in the United States in the past 30 years at Plant Vogtle. Just in March, I had the opportunity to be with Secretary of Energy Rick Perry to see the placement of the top of the Unit 3 containment vessel, truly a historic moment. There is Secretary Perry, and there is the setting of the top of that vessel. Finishing construction on these two units means that Americans can still do big things. I look forward to Units 3 and 4 coming online soon. Nuclear energy plays an important role in Georgia's energy portfolio, as it accounts for more than a quarter of all power generated and is the only clean air source that can produce large amounts of electricity around the clock. Georgia 12 is also home to all of Georgia's nuclear capabilities, with four nuclear reactors, two already online at Plant Vogtle and two at Plant Hatch. These facilities currently employ almost 2,000 people, year-round, high-skilled employees. The construction of Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle is the largest construction project in Georgia, with more than 8,000 workers onsite. When we talk about clean energy in this country, we don't need out- of-touch, costly socialist policies like the Green New Deal that would devastate the best economy in the world. We are talking about unleashing private-sector innovation, like nuclear power. According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, Georgia's nuclear energy facilities alone avoid more than 21 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, the equivalent of more than 4.4 million passenger cars. It is of the utmost importance that we ensure these nuclear plants continue to provide energy in a safe, reliable, and affordable manner. Georgia has been selected 6 years in a row as the best State to locate your business. A big reason for that is our low energy costs. Overall, I believe we must continue to pursue a proactive, responsible, and all-of-the-above energy policy that will benefit hardworking Americans and lower the cost of energy in this Nation. The House Energy Action Team will continue to be laser-focused on continuing America's energy renaissance, and I am so glad to be a part of it. Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's comments, and I thank him for leading the group down to look at that nuclear reactor. Madam Speaker, it was cold this winter up in Michigan. Had it not been for fossil fuels, a lot of folks would have had a hard time. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg) to talk about his role on the Energy and Commerce Committee and here on the House Energy Action Team. Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan) for yielding. Often during that polar vortex, I thought of South Carolina and sometimes wished that I could enjoy the warm breezes. Madam Speaker, as a member of the House Energy Action Team as well as a proud member of the Energy and Commerce Committee serving on the Energy Subcommittee, I rise today about an important subject we have been talking about here, and that is American energy security and independence. Madam Speaker, like many of my colleagues, I understand the importance of being a good steward of our environment. As an avid outdoorsman, a proud representative of the energy district of the Great Lakes State, a district that has wind, solar, nuclear, hydro, and coal power, along with natural gas, we have it all there. But I want my children and my grandchildren to experience the same beautiful world that I have experienced. In fact, Madam Speaker, I want them to experience even better. We can do that in the use of our energy as well, but we are not going to get there through socialist policies like the Green New Deal that will cause energy prices to skyrocket and commit, really, a fraud on the American people. {time} 2100 Instead, we should focus on solutions that spur innovation and encourage investments in new technologies that support these goals while keeping a reliable, resilient grid. These investments are happening now, but the transition needs to happen in an orderly way that doesn't hinder economic growth or the security of our country. One step we can take right now is to update our energy policies for the 21st century. The energy landscape looks totally different than it did 40 years ago. Energy resources are abundant instead of scarce. It is a more diverse market than ever before, and it will continue. With that in mind, I introduced H.R. 1502, the PURPA Modernization Act. The bill simply increases competition and reforms outdated regulations from the 1970s, so that consumers are not burdened with unnecessary costs on their utility bills coming from stale, outdated green energy regulations. We also can't forget that an all-of-the-above energy approach will continue to utilize safe, clean, and resilient nuclear-based power, like that produced at the Fermi plants in my district. Getting new technologies, like advanced carbon capture, out of a lab and into the market is also crucial. This past winter, we saw the importance of baseload power when temperatures in Michigan and other places in the north plummeted to lower than 40 degrees below zero. I would point my colleagues to bipartisan legislation that I helped introduce last week with my friend and colleague from Texas, Representative Crenshaw, which would provide a jump-start to those innovative technologies at commercial scale. In closing, Madam Speaker, let's get to work on legislating, not political messaging. The American people sent us here to work on solutions that impact their pocketbooks and, yes, also promote their pursuit of happiness. That is what America is about: unleashing American energy. And bringing down prices for families we represent is certainly an important crucial discussion to have. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman tonight for leading this. Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, America watching tonight will see that we have got a lot of great leaders in Congress that understand energy, and they come from a lot of different States. The State of Arkansas produces oil, produces coal, produces a lot of biomass, and produces hydroelectric. They also produce a lot of ducks. I enjoy going to Arkansas and hunting. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) to talk about what is going on in his great State. Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from South Carolina for yielding. He is welcome in the beautiful rice country of Arkansas to hunt ducks this fall at any time. I appreciate his leadership of the Sportsmen's Caucus, the largest bipartisan caucus we have here in the House, and all of the good work it does in wildlife conservation and conservation of our public lands, so I thank my friend for that. It is true, I appreciate also his work in the House Energy Action Team and that of our whip, Steve Scalise of Louisiana. And that is because we all are talking tonight about the importance of energy to our economy, the importance of energy to our families, and how that has to be balanced in the world of public policy. Madam Speaker, in 2018, crude oil was the world's number one export product. Last year, the U.S. accounted for 98 percent of global growth in oil production. Since the Congress lifted the 40-year ban on oil exports in 2015, U.S. production continues to set records, and, just last month set a new all-time high of exporting 3.3 million barrels of crude per day. Lifting the ban has filled pipelines and sparked a surge of investment across this land in new shipping infrastructure around the U.S. Total crude imports have also dropped significantly as we rely now more on domestic production and that production produced by our friends in Canada. Likewise, exporting clean natural gas is a leading export of the United States. South Korea is now the largest buyer of American clean natural gas, Madam [[Page H7234]] Speaker. That is cleaning up their skies, lowering their carbon emissions, and cutting their trade imbalance with the United States. Exporting more gas, exporting more oil, and lifting the ban has allowed us to be an energy leader in the world. We are no longer second fiddle to the Gulf, to Saudi Arabia, or to Russia. This comes as the United States is leading the world also, Madam Speaker, in reducing global climate or carbon emissions. Between 2000 and 2014, the United States reduced emissions more than 18 percent. On the contrary, the world's largest carbon emitters, like China and India, continue to have no policy to reduce their emissions, despite having the lowest marginal cost to do that. In the EU and the United States, it is very expensive for us to lower carbon emissions per unit. But, when you are a major carbon polluter, such as India and China, the marginal cost to clean up their action is so much cheaper. Instead, China is building 300 new coal plants, and not a single country in the EU is on target to meet their carbon reduction goals. These countries must do more to be competitive with us on the efforts we are taking here in the U.S. Like my friends from Georgia and South Carolina, I am a strong supporter of nuclear energy because it is the cleanest, most green form of base power generation. In Arkansas, we get about 19 percent of our electricity generated from nuclear. And I support the idea of better and more effective ways to store nuclear waste, which we have talked about and tried to pass in this House. Any discussion of eliminating carbon emissions must include nuclear energy. We also must invest in longer battery life technologies and lowering barriers towards solar cell innovation. The future of clean energy rests with harnessing the power of the Sun and being able to store that power cheaply and portably. No one, Madam Speaker, is doing more research on that than the United States. We are spending over $550 million a year on advanced energy research to make our country even more energy competitive. So, I believe, like many of my colleagues, we need to pursue an all- of-the-above energy strategy that will lead us to a cleaner, less carbon-dependent world without forcing American families and Arkansas families to bear the burden of flawed policies like the Green New Deal or the Paris climate accord. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from South Carolina for this time, for his leadership, and I look forward to working with him on these issues in the years to come. Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I thank all of the members of the House Energy Action Team for coming to the floor tonight and communicating with the American people about the American energy renaissance. When our constituents think about cost of energy, a lot of times their first thoughts are transportation fuel. How much is it going to cost them to fill up the tank? Is there going to be enough money left over after their transportation fuel costs to feed the family, buy groceries, maybe do improvements, and other things that American families spend money on. But one of the factors in energy cost is what you pay for that electricity and what do our manufacturers pay for that electricity? Where does that electricity get generated? And, most importantly, will it be a 24-7, 365-day baseload power supply always on, available when they want to manufacture that next BMW in Greer, South Carolina, or that next Boeing aircraft in Charleston, or the next component that goes in one of those manufactured all over the country. We take for granted in this Nation that we do have a 24-7, 365-day baseload power supply always on, and it is transmitted over tremendous infrastructure, but that infrastructure needs to be improved. We need pipelines to transfer and transmit the natural gas that is being produced and the oil that is being produced in places like Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. But also the wind power that is generated wherever wind is generated and solar power wherever solar power is generated, there has to be transmission lines to get that power to the grid so that it can be used. So as we have the conversation in America about all of the above--and one thing the House Energy Action Team is about is all of the above; we like wind, solar, and hydro, it is all groovy--but we know what works, and that is nuclear power and that is hydro and fossil fuels, supplemented by the alternative fuels that are coming online. We have got the GrayMatter innovators and entrepreneurs in this country to meet some of the things that Mr. Hill talked about: the battery capacity. And that is there to store that power to be used when needed, when it is generated by wind and solar. It is intermittent to store that power, it's generated when the Sun is shining and generated when the wind is blowing, and it is stored to be used at night or when the wind isn't blowing. Nuclear power always runs, and natural gas always runs. These are components of this debate that we need to talk about. Madam Speaker, I appreciate Members of the House Energy Action Team coming to the floor and talking with America with so much passion about American energy to meet the needs of our constituents, but at an affordable price that helps our constituents meet their budgets. General Leave Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from South Carolina? There was no objection. Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity for this Special Order, and I yield back the balance of my time. ____________________
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