Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding the time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4690. This is a dirty and costly bill for Republicans to bring to the floor of the House on Earth Day. It would be funny if the cost of living was not so soul-crushingly expensive for families and small business owners back home.
The policies of the Trump administration and this GOP Congress are really squeezing the folks who we represent, and the special interests have way too much power. Otherwise, we wouldn't be bringing a bill that keeps Federal buildings hooked up to expensive fossil fuels rather than help taxpayers save money, help lower electric bills, and help cut pollution.
Let's face it, because of the policies of my Republican friends and the Trump administration, electric bills are way up, on average, over 13 percent. Back home in my home State of Florida, the three largest investor-owned utilities have now gotten the largest rate increases in the history of the country. Trump's war in Iran has sent energy shocks not just across America, including households, but it is rippling throughout the economy with huge price spikes.
Energy inflation is up over 10 percent. It is the highest it has been in 20 years, Mr. Speaker. Gas prices jumped over 21 percent in March. Our folks back home understand that very well. That is the biggest increase since records began in 1967.
Americans are grappling with these wildly higher gas and diesel prices, and diesel is very expensive because that is how consumer goods are transported across the country with trucks running on diesel fuel. Diesel is up 38 percent. That will lead to higher costs for consumer goods. Consumer goods are already expensive because of Trump's arbitrary and illegal tariffs. After the Supreme Court ruled that those were illegal, big companies are able to apply for refunds. Now, I haven't seen any bills here from the majority that would say those savings should go back into the pockets of hardworking Americans.
This bill comes at a terrible time. It is not just Earth Day, but I noticed last week that Republicans here in the House were celebrating the big, ugly bill that not just yanked away healthcare from millions of hardworking Americans but remember what else that bill did? It rolled back many of the clean energy incentives that were included in the Inflation Reduction Act that help consumers save on their energy costs.
They eliminated tax credits for cleaner, cheaper energy like solar and wind, electric vehicles, and home efficiency upgrades. They have also declared war on energy efficiency, and Ranking Member Pallone shined a light on this. Why do they keep catering to the big fossil fuel companies and stick it to hardworking Americans, making their lives more expensive and more difficult? Isn't life chaotic enough that you don't need Representatives in Washington, D.C., making life more expensive? That is what this bill does.
The chaos has just come way too fast and way too hard for people who we represent back home. If you want to keep energy prices low, why in the heck is the Secretary of the Department of Energy illegally canceling energy projects that would help lower the cost of living and lower electric bills?
Since taking office, Secretary Wright has illegally killed over 350 new energy projects and threatened over 300 more with termination. Many of these projects were bringing new technologies online. They were strengthening our power grid against extreme weather and natural disasters.
If you haven't noticed, on this Earth Day, a large portion of the United States is in a very serious drought. We are also experiencing the hottest year on record to date, and that is saying something because high temperatures continue to escalate.
It is not just the temperatures. It is the higher costs that all of this throws off. Yes, it is the air-conditioning bills in Florida. It is all of the bills in these Federal buildings that you now want to make more expensive, increasing pollution.
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Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding more time because I want to vent the frustration that hardworking Americans are feeling, and sometimes it takes more than 5 minutes.
The damage Republicans are doing, the higher costs they are inflicting on people, starting wars of choice that are now rippling across the economy with pain and destruction, and just this crushing affordability squeeze, let me say on behalf of my neighbors that I want to claim mercy. Mercy. Enough of this.
Stop doing the damage and making life so much more expensive. When is it going to stop? I don't want to have to wait until an election.
Mr. Speaker, you would think that the pain and frustration that the majority is hearing from their businesses and neighbors back home would be able to overcome the fossil fuel lobby in Washington, D.C. If my Republican colleagues pass this bill, I guess they are going to demonstrate to folks that, no, they are going to side with the powerful special interests, the folks who are banking millions of dollars.
Mr. Speaker, this is one thing I wanted to include. Do you know who is making out like bandits right now? It is oil and gas executives. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump's war in Iran is yielding a windfall for some of America's top oil executives, particularly CEOs. They have now pocketed over $1.4 billion over the past few months.
The Chevron chief executive sold $104 million worth of shares. ConocoPhillips' CEO netted about $54.3 million in share sales in March alone. The CEO of an oil services company sold about $33 million worth of stock the same month.
Do they need more handouts and giveaways while Republicans stick it to hardworking Americans? I don't think so.
People deserve better. They deserve better than what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are giving them, and it is an insult for them to bring this pro-polluter legislation to the floor on Earth Day at a time when people are just trying to scrape by.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill and send it back to where it belongs: into the garbage bin.
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