On the recordJune 20, 2019
My colleague, Mr. Mullin, is absolutely correct. When former President Obama directed the EPA, BLM, and other agencies to target industries for greenhouse gas emissions, they went directly for the oil and natural gas first. But this EPA rule targeting methane is completely unnecessary. It is produced as a byproduct of oil and natural gas production, but it is a valuable product in itself that can be sold and is sold. It is something that oil and gas companies routinely capture and sell. They were doing a great job of this even before this rule. It was unnecessary. Even EPA estimates show that the methane emissions have decreased while the production of natural gas and oil have increased over the same period. The free market has provided an incentive to reduce methane release on its own. There is no further need for the EPA to impose this bureaucratic hurdle. It is expensive. The cost is estimated to cost our economy $530 million annually. Amazing. Once again, as Ronald Reagan used to say: Government is not the solution, government is the problem. This is a regulation in search of a problem. Madam Chair, I support the gentleman's amendment. Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
