David Valadao: “I thank the chairman for yielding me time. Madam Chair, this administration's regulatory assault on American energy…”

“I thank the chairman for yielding me time. Madam Chair, this administration's regulatory assault on American energy production has been devastating for my constituents in the Central Valley. Every week, I hear from my neighbors, friends, and constituents about the skyrocketing price of monthly energy bills. Over the summer, people in California were paying over $6 per gallon for gas. It is unacceptable that even though America has some of the greatest energy resources of any nation in the world, my constituents are having trouble putting gas in their tanks and food on their tables. That is why I am proud to support the Lower Energy Costs Act, and I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same. This bill will cut red tape and allow us to increase our supply of safe, clean, and affordable energy. I am proud that language from my bill, the NEPA Adequacy Streamlining Act, is included in this bill. This makes the approval of new energy projects easier by allowing the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to use previously conducted environmental assessments for similar projects. This is a commonsense reform that removes one of the many layers of bureaucratic red tape in our permitting process. This bill is full of the same types of policies that streamline our energy production to increase our supply of clean, affordable energy. I want to respond to some of the opponents of this bill.…”