Lower Energy Costs Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BURCHETT. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the work that the chairman and the committee have done on this very important piece of legislation.

Mr. Chair, I rise today to talk about why we need H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act. I can't think of anybody in this country, especially working folks, especially the people in the Second Congressional District, who I represent, that say to me: Tim, I need to pay more for my energy. They don't. They say: My energy costs are out of sight. We have to feed our kids. We have to buy books for school. We have to buy clothing for our kids. We can't afford these higher energy costs.

The Biden administration, unfortunately, and the Democrats in Congress keep pushing these Green New Deal-style agendas. Honestly, Mr. Chair, they just don't work. There hasn't been a new development in solar in over 20 years, and windmills are just what they are. The wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't always shine in east Tennessee, and I am sure that is the way it is across this great Nation. It is costing Americans way too much.

We are done with all this nonsense, Mr. Chair. H.R. 1 is going to end restrictions on importing and exporting natural gas. What could be wrong with that?

Why in the world are we doing business with our enemies, the people we continue to send money to? We have hundreds of years, by recent estimates, of gas in the ground that we could be getting out using safe and environmentally sound methods.

The burning apparatus now is so much safer than when this was first started, it is ridiculous. We need to fix this permitting process. We keep saying--and I have heard the White House say many times through their spokesperson--that we are permitting all these wells. Well, they don't permit the pipeline to get there. It is like we have a gallon of fuel in the ground and we are trying to pull it out with something about as big around as a needle point.

We have to process our energy projects so they can get off the ground in a reasonable amount of time. By the time we get to the end of it, the cost is so high that it is very cost-prohibitive. We have to make the Biden administration resume the lease on most of our Federal lands and waters that they have restricted.

We have to roll back President Biden's $27 billion slush fund for these Democrat special interest groups and these projects that amount to nothing but woke policy changes.

We have to stop the liberal States from abusing section 401 of the Clean Water Act, which they use to add a bunch of unnecessary red tape to every project they don't like. It seems like when we find a good resource, they put these barriers in place. It is just not right.

Mr. Chair, we need to focus on keeping Americans' homes heated and their lights on. Nothing should be more important, especially since we are forced to purchase it from our enemies overseas--the people that hate our guts. They love our dollars. We pay them and the next thing you know, they are burning our flag. They are saying things about us that aren't true. They are causing us all kinds of problems.

The best energy solution, Mr. Chair, above all, is the solution that we need oil, gas, and nuclear energy--like they are working on at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It is not in the district that I represent, but it backs up to where I am. There are over 6,000 people who work there that live in my district. It is also home to Big Ed's Pizza, which is a wonderful place--I will just throw that in.

Mr. Chair, H.R. 1 is going to spur energy innovation at home, and I am proud to support it. I appreciate the great work that has been done on this issue.

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