On the recordOctober 25, 2023
I stand here as a proud member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies for many years. I unfortunately rise in opposition to this harmful bill. Let's start with the two most obvious problems. It raises energy costs for families, and it has zero chance of becoming law. It was drafted with one goal: to appease MAGA extremists. The new Speaker of the House just spoke of reaching across the aisle for all Americans, yet one of the Republicans' first major acts is to jam through a bill that raises their energy costs and undermines our security, all just to keep their rightwing base happy. How do we know? Instead of fortifying our power infrastructure and confronting the climate crisis, it fixates on blocking the Army Corps of Engineers from renaming items that celebrate the Confederacy. You just cannot make up this stuff. That rockets to the top of the priority list for House Republicans. As we recover from the hottest summer on record, it cuts a critical clean energy program by half a billion dollars, choking off vital energy efficiency avenues to battle climate change. House Republicans have drafted a bill that is entirely removed from the realities that our families and the entire planet face right now. I recently had an affordable housing roundtable with Broward County in my home State of Florida, and they all talked about being rent burdened by climbing housing costs.…





