Jeanne Shaheen: “I rise to urge my colleagues to vote against this Barrasso amendment because there is nothing in the underlying…”

“I rise to urge my colleagues to vote against this Barrasso amendment because there is nothing in the underlying provision that would in any way promote prohibiting natural gas, and that is what Senator Barrasso is suggesting is in the bill. Now, if it were such as Senator Barrasso says, I don't think we would have received strong letters of support for this specific provision from both the National Association of Home Builders and the American Gas Association. I have the letters right here. I would actually like to read from the Home Builders' letter. The Home Builders support section 5101, which was the original section in the Energy bill as it passed the committee. Cost-Effective codes implementation for efficiency and resiliency. And this is the important point: This section promotes technical assistance and funding for code adoption while maintaining the flexibility for state and local governments to deliver safe, energy efficient, and affordable housing. Why would we want to get in the way of what States and communities are already doing? I ask unanimous consent that both of these letters be printed in the Record There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: National Association of Home Builders, Washington, DC, July 13, 2021. Hon. Joseph Manchin, Chairman, Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Hon.…”