Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, there is a lot going on in America today. President Trump is waging a reckless war in Iran, and prices are soaring for the American people. Thanks to Republican policies, drivers are paying about 35 percent more for gas than they were when the war started, and diesel prices are up 47 percent. Residential natural gas prices have increased by 13 percent since Trump took office, and inflation tripled last month.

With everything that is going on, House Republicans should be focusing their efforts on helping Americans with the affordability crisis. Rising energy costs impact all aspects of life--keeping a house cool, driving to work, the price of groceries--and Americans need help. Trump and Republicans promised they would lower costs on day one, but Americans are over $5,000 poorer today--per person, that is--because of their actions, because of Trump's actions.

However, rather than pursuing policies that help everyday Americans and provide them with much-needed relief, Republicans are focusing their efforts on saving the oil and gas industry once again.

This bill, H.R. 4690, the so-called Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act, repeals the phaseout of fossil fuel for onsite generation at new and renovated Federal buildings. The phaseouts were a bipartisan effort signed into law in 2007 by then-President George W. Bush. What was bipartisan in 2007, I would say, is now viewed as extreme by today's Republicans.

At a time when energy prices are soaring, Republicans are focused on ensuring that taxpayer dollars continue to go to their fossil fuel friends. The phaseouts repealed by this bill are projected to save about $3 million per year for Federal buildings constructed beginning in 2025, and these savings will be lost if this bill becomes law, wasting taxpayer dollars to the benefit of Republicans' fossil fuel friends.

The Federal Government is the largest consumer of energy in the Nation. With this type of purchasing power, we have the ability to support emerging and efficient American technologies that drive down energy consumption. The Federal Government should be a leader in this space but, instead, Republicans want to ensure that we are stuck in the past.

We have already come to the House floor eight times during this Republican Congress to repeal energy efficiency and electrification measures that are saving American families money on their power bills. With this bill, it will now be nine bills wasting taxpayer money.

Republicans have repeatedly prioritized their anticlean energy and antiefficiency agenda at the expense of Americans over and over again. Their policies are driving up energy costs on the American people, but they simply don't care. They are wasting time on the House floor, ignoring real problems, and continuing to reward their Big Oil and Gas friends.

At a time when everyone is feeling the squeeze of rising energy prices, it is just crazy to pretend that this bill actually helps anyone other than Big Oil and Gas.

Mr. Speaker, I will be brief. The gentleman from Texas knows that I respect him a great deal, but when he mentioned the American Gas Association, I couldn't help but say that the lists of the organizations that endorse this bill, that put out a press release announcing their support back in July, is like a who's who of the oil and gas industry: The American Gas Association, The American Public Gas Association, Independent Petroleum Association of America, American Petroleum Institute of America, The National Gas Supply Association, the list goes on, and it is no surprise. All of these organizations stand to benefit from the bill because they are just a giveaway to the fossil fuel industry.

The Republicans like to pretend that these bills are in the best interest of everyday Americans, but if you look at this list that endorsed this bill, it is just the opposite. It is the oil and gas industry. That is who they are helping out with this legislation.

Castor), the ranking member of our Energy Subcommittee.

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Mr. PALLONE.

Mr. Speaker, I was in Congress in 2007 when the phaseouts targeted by this bill were signed into law. As I already said, President Bush signed section 433 of the EISA into law. At that time, it was considered a good thing for the Federal Government to try to lead the way and lower its reliance on fossil fuels. The Federal Government is the largest consumer of energy in the country, and it makes sense to try to figure out how to lower our energy consumption.

In 2007, it made sense to harness the purchasing power of the Federal Government and support emerging efficiency and electrification industries in the United States so that we could become competitive. I don't think anything has changed. It still makes sense to try to lower our emissions.

As we have seen over and over these last few years, today's Republicans have no interest in America's leadership in the energy transition. They are perfectly comfortable watching China bypass us with clean energy development, and they are content to keep the Federal Government tied to the energy resources of the past, especially when it means that their friends in the fossil fuels industry keep getting paid.

Rather than recognizing the clean energy transition as an opportunity to lead the way and compete and overcome China, House Republicans are only interested in seeing us move backward.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to see this bill for what it is. It is just a way to guarantee that American taxpayers' money keeps flowing to the fossil fuel industry. That makes absolutely no sense today, given what we see in terms of prices and in terms of what is happening with competition from China and other countries that are moving toward clean energy.

For all these reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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