Energy

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, 12 years ago, Barack Obama drew a target on the back of American energy producers and, specifically, coal. Coal mines were under attack by the Obama administration, and his deliberate goal was to kill clean, affordable coal--the most available, reliable, secure source of energy we have in this Nation.

He tried to do it by shutting down coal mines all across the Nation and do it by shutting down coal powerplants that use that coal. And one of the targets that he painted on the back was that of the Dave Johnston Power Plant in Converse County, WY.

Now, the Dave Johnston Power Plant uses Wyoming coal. Our coal is some of the cleanest, most affordable, most available, most reliable coal in the world. It is low-sulfur coal. People around the world want to use Wyoming coal in coal-fired powerplants. It supports hundreds of good-paying jobs. It delivers affordable, available, reliable energy all across the Rocky Mountain West.

Obama wanted to take a sledgehammer to coal powerplants and, specifically, to the Dave Johnston Power Plant in Wyoming, and it was scheduled to close at the end of 2027.

Now, fortunately, the Trump administration has reversed the Democrats' harmful, heavyhanded regulations. The Dave Johnston Plant will keep its doors open. The jobs will be protected. The power it produces will continue to keep the lights on for families across the West. This is the difference between Democrats and Republicans.

We just heard the minority leader come to the floor and talk about costs. Well, let me tell you, Democrats love high energy costs because they don't want people to use fossil fuels. They think the higher the energy cost, the fewer fossil fuels will be used. And that is their worshipping of the climate god that they have continued to worship.

That is where we are today. Democrats want coal to remain in the ground. They want to treat coal as something to be punished, taxed, regulated, eliminated.

Here is the difference. Republicans understand national security begins with energy security.

When Joe Biden was President, he told his EPA--his Environmental Protection Agency--to prioritize climate over energy that is affordable, available, and reliable, used by the American people.

President Trump and Republicans see it differently. We put American families and American workers first.

Coal is a key economic driver in Wyoming. Wyoming produces nearly half of the coal in the United States. Wyoming truly is America's energy breadbasket. In Wyoming, the royalties, the taxes from mining their coal pays for education for every child in the State.

Coal mining provides jobs for Wyoming workers. These are good-paying, high-tech jobs.

When powerplants know that they will stay open, when they have that commitment, as they do now from President Trump, our coal producers can plan, can invest, and can produce.

President Trump's actions are going to bring down costs for American families.

And it is not just Americans who want Wyoming coal. Our allies overseas, especially in Asia, want it.

Last week, President Trump made a historic announcement. He announced a $75 million investment to support building the West Gateway Terminal Project in Oakland, CA. This facility will expand America's ability to export coal. It is also going to support good mining jobs.

Wyoming's Governor, Mark Gordon, joined President Trump in the Oval Office for the announcement. Governor Gordon told the President about his recent trips to Japan and Taiwan. Japan and Taiwan want American coal. They need it to keep their lights on, and they need it to power their own economies.

We have needed a new port and a facility like this on the west coast for a long, long time. One was supposed to be built 13 years ago, and the location was Oakland, CA.

What happened? Well, environmental extremists protested. They blocked the project. They sued. A decade of lawsuits followed.

This is no surprise to the Presiding Officer. You have seen these sorts of things.

The case went all the way to California's Supreme Court, and, finally, the court ruled with the people that want to develop the port. We need it. It is legal, now approved by the court.

So the new West Gateway Terminal has now been approved and is ready to move forward.

With support from President Trump and the Trump administration, Wyoming coal will soon reach hungry Asian markets. This is what unleashing American energy really looks like. Clean Wyoming coal is the best in the world, and now it is going to continue to help power the world.

Democrats talk like coal lives only in the past. They are wrong. Coal is the lifeblood of an affordable, prosperous future.

Demand for energy continues to grow. We need more energy, not less, and Wyoming coal is there to deliver. And I am grateful that President Trump is doing what he is doing.

Wyoming's energy workers and our coal communities now have the certainty that they need to do what they do best, and that is to power the country with coal--coal that is affordable, available, reliable--a secure source of energy for a long, long time to come.

With the President's historic announcement, last week, the President continues to put American workers, American families, and American energy dominance first.

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