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Floor Speech
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Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.
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Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chair, recollection serves me that you guys on that side of the aisle blocked an amendment or a bill that Republicans put up during the Trump administration that actually made this very point, to allow President Trump to buy oil at a low price and refill the SPR. You all said no. You can't make this stuff up.
The government should not be in business. The government is here to serve the people, to meet the constitutional responsibilities enumerated in the Constitution of the United States, and I don't see that the government is a business that should make a net profit on anything.
Taxpayer dollars go to purchase something as a strategic asset for emergencies, not to be traded as a commodity so that the government can make a profit. I guess you all wanted to make a profit so you could keep spending money--over $31 trillion in debt.
The government shouldn't impose price controls at all. That is not what a democratic republic does.
If Democrats are so concerned with fiscal oversight of the Department of Energy, they should take a look at the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which allocated over $400 billion in Federal funding to clean energy.
Picking winners and losers in the marketplace, that type of government control over our energy is the exact type of policy that got us here in the first place, that got us to where we are today, why we are even having this debate.
I look forward to conducting future oversight over the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act during this Congress, and I will say once again, and I will say it ad nauseam, the SPR must only be used to protect Americans in the time of a true emergency--natural disaster, war, that type thing--not for political purposes, as it was used by this administration to lower gas prices before a midterm election to influence politics in this country. That was the wrong use of it.
If a Republican administration had done that, you would be making the same argument that I am making, that it was wrong. It was wrong then; it is wrong today; and it will be wrong tomorrow. It shouldn't be used that way. It is for national emergencies, period.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment.
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Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chair, this amendment seeks to delay the operation of the bill pending an unregulated contingency.
Let me just say this: I was on the Natural Resources Committee for a while, and I think the person in the chair was on that committee, as well. I remember we were talking about seismic testing, and there was this huge outcry that seismic testing would harm marine mammals.
We got a letter on BOEM's website that said that there is not a single verifiable instance anywhere in the world, off the coast of Africa and the Mediterranean, off the coast of the United States, anywhere in the world, that a marine mammal was harmed or killed by seismic testing.
I just read an article this week, though, that whales are washing up onshore, and they believe it might be attributed to offshore wind production. Are you going to include that in this? Those are marine mammals.
It is just amazing that these amendments are put in place. This amendment invokes an entirely different statute and agency, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Department of Commerce. I could make the argument that it is not germane. I am not going to do that.
This amendment prohibits a leasing plan from including any tract on the Outer Continental Shelf if it would adversely impact marine mammals. Show me where a marine mammal has been killed from oil and gas production or exploration.
As I just pointed out, there is not a single verifiable instance, and ironically, that was during the Obama administration. That was Obama's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that had the letter on their website, their chief biologist.
That was a fun debate in that committee. They were holding up seismic permits, but they would permit a wind farm offshore, a solar panel that was frying birds or knocking endangered species out of the air in a heartbeat, but wouldn't let us go after these abundant resources that we had offshore and onshore.
This is nothing more than an attempt to delay the implementation of H.R. 21. There is nothing in the bill that changes any laws relating to protection of marine mammals.
It is worth noting that about offshore wind.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this messaging amendment from the other side, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment.
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Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chair, the Biden policies are causing inflation across this country and not allowing America to come roaring back after the pandemic.
The first thing he did was stop oil and gas production in this country--ended leases, stopped Federal leasing--and that has caused gas prices to go up, which affects all of our constituents, not just the lower income ones, but all of them.
The lower income people pay a higher percentage of their discretionary income for energy due to this administration's policies. That means they have less money to spend on other commodities that they want to buy to improve their lives.
If you want to lower inflation in this country, let's get the economy back. One way to get the economy back is to provide cheap diesel fuel so that those commodities can be transported across the country and so that diesel fuel is affordable for the farmers to plant their crops and harvest their crops.
Inflation is going to continue because of this administration's policies affecting energy prices for our farmers. Commodities are going to be higher than they are today because of the input costs. Fertilizer comes from energy sources. That is an input cost. Diesel fuel for tractors and trucks transports the crops from the farm to the processors to the store.
If we want to lower inflation in this country, we do it through American energy dominance. We have the resources. All we have to do is go tap them. Increase supply to meet demand. That is how you lower prices, and that is how you address the inflationary data that we are seeing.
Inflation is caused by this administration spending too much money, printing too much money, and not increasing American energy security. Providing plans under H.R. 21 that will lead to an increase in production of American energy creates wealth, creates jobs, creates tax revenues, leads to lower prices, and definitely combats inflation.
We know this from the shale revolution, which helped hardworking Americans; added to their jobs, added to their bank accounts, added to their spending, increased economic activity, a healthy economy, limited inflation.
Energy is the foundation of everything in modern life. When the price of energy goes up, everything does. It is not just transportation fuels.
When you put a barrel of hydrocarbon under pressure, it separates, and miraculous products are produced that are used by this Nation and the world, so it is not just for transportation fuels.
Low-income Americans feel the pain the most. Let's support building a healthy economy to reduce inflation and ensure American energy security.
I will go back. This bill deals with the SPR. The drawdown by this administration to affect energy prices for American constituents-- voters--right before an election wasn't a proper use of it then, it won't be a proper use of it today, and it will not be a proper use of it in the future. It is there for emergencies for this Nation. That is what it should be used for.
We need to replenish the SPR so it will be available in a time of a true emergency in this country.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chair, I reserve a point of order against the amendment.
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Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chair, I insist on the point of order.
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Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chair, the amendment violates clause 7 of rule XVI of the Rules of the House because it is not germane to the underlying bill. It fails the tests for subject matter and fundamental purpose.
The amendment opens up new statutes and topics. Specifically, the amendment would amend section 3009 of America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018; page 27, line 8 for reference.
That statute is not amended by H.R. 21. It is not even discussed.
The amendment would create a new regime of government supply and price controls not at all contemplated in this bill's simple leasing plan. It is totally different in subject matter, totally different in purpose, totally different in the end game. For that purpose, the amendment is not germane.
I would also note that this amendment has been determined to have an impact on direct spending, although CBO has not yet determined the magnitude.
I say the amendment is not germane in so many ways, and I look forward to the ruling.
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Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chair, I move to strike the last word.
The ACTING Chair. The gentleman from South Carolina is recognized for 5 minutes to strike the last word.
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Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chair, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Members of Congress are standing on this floor talking about buy low, sell high.
I look back two Congresses ago during the Trump administration, and the Republicans stood on this floor and offered this very thing: to allow the President of the United States to buy a commodity--oil--at the lowest price possible so that we could replenish the SPR. Thank God for acknowledging that fact.
Unfortunately, oil isn't cheap right now. You're not going to be able to buy oil very low. Unless we change the policies of this country and start producing American energy, increasing supply to meet demand lowers prices. It is very simple: Economics 101.
The answer to our energy insecurity is not reflexive Democrat Big Government price controls which will restrict energy resource development and supply and drive up energy costs, which we are seeing, adding to the current inflation rate which is over 6 percent.
The GDP numbers came out today. Very slow growth in this Nation. We have a solution: produce American energy, fuel the economy, help your constituents, lower transportation fuels, lower energy costs for their homes through American energy resources. Price controls always end with gas lines and fuel shortages.
Truckers were stuck this year on the side of the interstate for days because of diesel fuel shortages. I talked about that earlier.
Consumer prices are through the roof. Anything transported by an 18- wheeler is going to cost more on the consumer shelf because the price of diesel fuel is passed on to the consumer in the prices. It is how the economy works.
Cargo ships, planes--everybody is paying more for fuel. That will result in higher prices and inflation as a direct result of the Biden administration's policies to end American energy production and ultimately, American energy dominance.
The U.S. is the number one oil and gas producer in the world, and we have the resources here to produce millions more barrels a day.
H.R. 21 is about restoring U.S. leadership in the world in the realm of energy production. It is about reducing political interference in markets and unleashing the benefits of free and open markets and encouraging innovators to invest and take risks, and end our dependence on OPEC to demand and set price controls for our global market.
The shale revolution just didn't happen in countries with price and supply controls. It happened because of innovation in this country. It happened in America where we encourage the entrepreneurial spirit instead of a top-down government-controlled economy. It is estimated that the shale revolution saves U.S. consumers $203 billion annually. That equates to about $2,500 per family.
Guess what?
Because of the Biden administration's policies, those same constituents of ours are paying about $2,500 more per year in costs; not just energy costs, but inflationary costs all across the spectrum.
It also lowered energy-related greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 527 million metric tons per year because of natural gas.
If we want to alleviate the burden of record-high energy prices on the American people, the American families, Democrats should reverse the regulatory death grip on the policies they have on the oil and gas industry.
I have a solution: Build more pipelines in this country, and let's get the resources where they are needed in our States and in our communities, in our homes.
Rather than destroy the SPR by turning it into a political tool, as we saw the Biden administration do, let's unleash American energy production and become American energy dominant once again.
Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time. Announcement by the Acting Chair
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