Ed Whitfield: “With all due regard to the gentleman who is offering this amendment, I rise to oppose the amendment, which would…”

“With all due regard to the gentleman who is offering this amendment, I rise to oppose the amendment, which would reinstate the provisions of section 433 which prohibit the use of fossil fuels in new and modified Federal buildings after the year 2030. Now, it is true that the Department of Energy is trying to thread a needle through regulations that might allow fossil fuels to be used in new and modified Federal buildings after 2030. But we know the reality is that every environmental group in the country will file a lawsuit against that regulation when it comes out if it is interpreted in any way that fossil fuels might be used. I am really shocked that people would be opposed to our wanting to use fossil fuels after the year 2030. We are not mandating that they be used, but everyone that comes to this floor, and particularly President Obama when he goes anywhere, talk about an all-of-the-above energy policy, and yet the 2007 Energy Policy Act prohibits fossil fuel use in new and modified Federal buildings after the year 2030. Our base bill does not mandate the use. It simply says, basically, that the government will be able to do it if it is necessary. So why should the Federal Government not allow the opportunity to use any fossil fuel after 2030? We already have a Federal debt approaching $20 trillion. Natural gas prices are pretty low right now, but let's say they go up.…”