Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 6009, the so-called Restoring America's Energy Dominance Act. This legislation would gut critical provisions that I secured in the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure a fair return for American taxpayers as fossil fuel companies that extract on our public lands make record profits. This bill undermines the Bureau of Land Management's current proposed rule that follows commonsense recommendations by the Government Accountability Office to protect taxpayers, including a change in royalty rates for the first time since they were established over a century ago. For my colleagues who care so much about fiscal responsibility, the majority should be aware that, if this bill becomes law, Federal and State governments will lose out on billions of dollars of revenue. This bill would also allow fossil fuel companies to completely disregard their responsibility to clean up after they cease drilling operations, potentially leaving the American people on the hook for over $6 billion in cleanup costs. When oil and gas producers ignore their reclamation responsibilities, they leave their abandoned wells to contaminate our water supplies, degrade our ecosystems, and leave climate-warming methane emissions. This is personal to me. My wife and I have two young kids at home. As many parents know, one of the first lessons we teach our kids is to clean up after themselves when they make a mess.…”