Sean Casten: “I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, this debate makes me sad. Energy policy is really important. Energy…”

“I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, this debate makes me sad. Energy policy is really important. Energy consumers are really important. The environment is really important. So much of this debate is completely untethered from truth. There isn't enough time to rebut everything, but I want to clarify two points. One is where LNG exports are going right now, and the second is about the environmental impact. It is true today that the majority of U.S. LNG exports, the largest volume, is going to Europe. It is also true that that really did help our European allies wean themselves off of Russian gas. Now, that is not because the U.S. gas industry was suddenly imbued with patriotism. It is because they were paying more, which is fine. However, all the additional exports we are talking about are contracted out. Right now, they are going to Asia. Therefore, this is not a question right now about helping Europe. This is a question of whether they will make more money going to Asia. Now, why are they going to go to Asia? Well, that brings me to the second point. There is an assertion that LNG is inherently clean because it displaces coal. Let's be clear. No one buys natural gas so that it will be more expensive for them to make energy. It will displace coal if it is cheaper than coal.…”