National Defense Authorization Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to discuss critical parts of today's funding bill that is before us this week. These are the result of bipartisan work that we have done. And the Presiding Officer is a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, a valued member who has contributed significantly to the legislation before us.

As chairman of that committee, I am so grateful for your participation because I am going to talk about some things that we have been able to do on the Environment and Public Works Committee together and in a bipartisan way. You have done such a remarkable job with the Save Our Seas legislation, and we continue to support that.

Now I am going to talk about a couple of additional things that are part of this end-of-the-year legislation that we will be voting on later this evening.

The first is historic, bipartisan climate innovation legislation. The second is comprehensive legislation to upgrade America's water infrastructure. So I want to talk about two different things: One is the climate innovation legislation and then what is commonly known as the WRDA bill, the Water Resources Development Act. Both of these measures passed the committee with unanimous bipartisan support.

The Republicans and Democrats on this committee have worked together to reduce emissions and to do it through innovation--not taxation, not regulation, but do it through innovation--free market innovation, not punishing government regulations. I believe that is the best way to go as we address the challenges of our environment and our climate.

We have reached a historic agreement in the committee, and we will on the floor tonight in the Senate, to include environmental innovation provisions in this government funding bill.

The environmental innovation agreements include three specific bills that will significantly reduce greenhouse gases. I have had the privilege of working closely with my friend, the committee ranking member, Tom Carper from Delaware, on each of these three.

The first is called the USE IT Act. This legislation ensures that Washington is a willing partner in the research and the development of carbon capture technologies and projects. Carbon capture holds the key to significant carbon emission reductions. These captured emissions can be used to create building materials, medical supplies, even clothing. They can also be used to extract more natural resources to provide more energy for all of us.

The USE IT Act is going to expedite permitting so that important carbon capture projects can get moving. It supports the research and the use of carbon capture. It includes direct air capture--actually, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere--that will take carbon emissions straight out of the air. It is very innovative.

This kind of research is now already happening in my home State of Wyoming, in Gillette, WY, at the Integrated Test Center, which is associated with the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources.

I have worked closely with Senators Whitehouse and Capito and Carper on the USE IT Act in having it passed, first, through our committee, then through the full Senate, and tonight, in a bill that will be ultimately sent to the President of the United States for his signature.

The second measure, part of this innovative work, is a bill sponsored by Ranking Member Carper to reauthorize the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act.

This program has already significantly reduced the amount of black carbon in our air by replacing older engines in buses--school buses and trucks and other vehicles. This is working well. These replacement engines make diesel equipment cleaner and more efficient.

The legislation that we will reauthorize this evening sees that this important program will then continue all the way through the end of 2024.

The last element of our bipartisan agreement will phase down the use of chemicals known as HFCs. These chemicals are in every home in America, from cars to refrigerators to air conditioners.

This agreement is going to authorize a 15-year phasedown on the production of these chemicals. Innovative breakthroughs in chemistry have led to the development of cleaner replacement chemicals. This legislation tonight will help protect our air while keeping costs down for the American people.

Importantly, the agreement, the bipartisan agreement we have come up with, safeguards the essential use of HFC chemicals when substitute chemicals are less effective. Some examples including bear spray. We use it in Wyoming. I know they use it in Alaska. It protects hikers. It is also used in fire suppression systems on planes that protect travelers. And we need it.

I know in my hometown of Casper, the defense spray manufacturer, the Safariland Group, employs about 75 people. They use HFC chemicals to make defense sprays. It is a critically important part of their business.

If they were forced to use replacement chemicals, those sprays would be far less effective. Well, if you are around a bear, you want to make sure you have the most effective spray available. So with the changes we have negotiated into this important bill, companies like the Safariland Group will be able to continue making high-quality products that people want and people need and that can save their lives.

We also made sure that the manufacturers using these chemicals have a clear set of rules to go by--one clear set of rules to go by. So our agreement preempts State and local laws to ensure that the specific essentials that are being used are protected.

Now the manufacturers won't have to deal with different sets of rules in different States, which has been a real problem. This clears that up. The end result is clean air and clear rules. We need both of those.

I really want to thank Ranking Member Carper, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana for working with me to reach an agreement that will reduce the use of HFC chemicals while protecting consumers and manufacturers alike.

All of these three measures support market innovation. All three will reduce greenhouse gases, and they will do it in ways that will not harm the economy.

The government funding bill that we are going to be addressing a little later this evening also includes bipartisan water infrastructure legislation. I know in the Presiding Officer's home State of Alaska and in my home State of Wyoming, water is critical, as it is across the entire country. But you and I have focused specifically on this.

Certainly, in Wyoming, dams, levees, ports, reservoirs, and water systems are important to every community all across the country. The infrastructure is critical. People say the word is ``infrastructure,'' but when we think about it, what it really means is dams, ports, reservoirs, levees, and water systems. That really, I think, shows more what we are talking about than just this overall word ``infrastructure.''

It protects all of us from dangerous floods and storms, while also providing water for our families and our farms.

The government spending bill tonight includes the Water Resources Development Act of 2020. It is the result of months of negotiations between committee leaders from the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The bipartisan legislation is fiscally responsible. It helps grow the economy; it cuts redtape; and it makes our communities safer. It will spur economic growth by creating jobs and by authorizing vital projects.

In my home State of Wyoming and across the Rocky Mountain West, access to consistent water supply is essential for ranchers and farmers. The water that we need in our home States to grow crops and raise cattle has to be delivered on time.

In several communities, the water reservoirs that serve farmers and ranchers happen to be old. These aging reservoirs and irrigation systems need maintenance or full rebuilding. This bill makes these projects a significant priority.

The legislation will also establish a new Army Corps of Engineers program for construction of new, small water storage projects or the expansion of existing ones. It will also authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to carry out sediment removal projects in water reservoirs. This improves water quality, and it increases water quantity.

The bill authorizes projects to maintain shipping lanes, to deepen ports, to upgrade aging dams, and to increase water storage across the West. Maintained shipping lanes ensure that American-made goods are shipped from the heartland to the coasts and around the world. Deepened ports result in increased commerce. If our major ports are dredged and deep, then more ships can use them to export more goods.

These projects that we are getting ready to adopt tonight will all create jobs and expand commerce in America's cities and the heartland. To ensure these important projects get moving, the bill cuts redtape to speed up the Army Corps of Engineers' process.

The Water Resources Development Act is going to expedite the permitting, the construction, the repair, and the maintenance of many Army Corps projects. Communities can't afford to wait years and years for flood management or water storage projects to be completed. They need them now.

Finally, this legislation will make communities safer. The critical infrastructure projects included here will help prevent damaging floods by maintaining dams and levees. Floods can take a terrible toll in property damage and on human life.

The legislation allows the Army Corps of Engineers to focus efforts on fixing aging flood management infrastructure. It prioritizes the dams and levees most at risk.

I would like to really thank the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman, Peter DeFazio, and the ranking member, Sam Graves, for working with us to get this legislation to the finish line.

I want to thank Infrastructure Subcommittee Chair Capito and Ranking Member Cardin for their work as well.

I say to the Presiding Officer, as I wrap this up and thank you for your involvement, I want to thank every member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and specifically the ranking member, Tom Carper--whose staff has worked so closely with mine--for working with me on this bill. I am so grateful for his partnership as we have worked together over the last 4 years as I served as chair and he served as ranking member. We have not always agreed on every issue, but we have respected the positions of each of us. We have worked and found common ground, found solutions, and I believe made a real difference for the economy and, most importantly here, the environment.

Thank you.

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