On the recordFebruary 7, 2017
I thank the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Byrne) for his leadership on this issue. Mr. Speaker, I represent a part of the country that is the economic engine of not only Texas but our entire Nation. My Houston area district and the surrounding districts are responsible for some of the strongest economic growth in our entire country. These are good, well- paying jobs. There are few places in the Nation where you can graduate from high school, get some trade school certifications, and then be earning close to six figures just a couple of years out of high school. You can do that in my district, where the petrochemical plants are thriving because of the low cost of crude oil and natural gas. Manufacturing is coming back and growing strongly in the petrochemical sector. Over $150 billion is being invested by American chemical countries across the Nation, with the largest concentration in the Houston area. The previous administration took numerous steps to stop the oil and gas boom, and the Bureau of Land Management rule that was published in the waning days of the Obama administration was an example of one such overreach. This ill-advised rule was aimed at removing States and localities from the BLM decisionmaking process and centralizing decisionmaking by a few political appointees here in Washington, D.C. This move simply undermines local communities and States. It undermines our ability to develop oil and gas resources on public lands. It threatens American jobs.…
