Brian Babin: “I thank my good friend from Washington State--and a classmate--for having this. It is good to be here. Madam Speaker, I…”

“I thank my good friend from Washington State--and a classmate--for having this. It is good to be here. Madam Speaker, I stand here today as a proud representative of Houston, Texas, the epicenter of American energy and the catalyst for this country's pursuit of energy independence. But, unfortunately, our economic bedrock of oil and gas is under attack, severe attack, by an administration that is eliminating millions of jobs and leaving our national security wide open to threats from adversaries. An oil and gas moratorium on Federal lands is projected to cost America 1 million jobs. Revoking the Keystone XL pipeline permit will cost us 11,000 jobs in 2021 alone and account for the loss of $1.6 billion in gross wages. Rejoining the Paris climate accord, which was originally poorly negotiated by President Obama, is projected to cost us 400,000 jobs and is simply a bad deal for the American people and very good deal for the world's biggest polluter, Communist China. What happened to this new administration's promise to stand up for all Americans? From gas and electric bills, to new highways and bridges, to taxes, to putting food on the table, what happens to the oil and gas industry affects all Americans, and killing these jobs will have a ripple effect that will be felt in every home in the Nation.…”