Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentleman very much for his leadership and recognition that when we speak about this legislation and the…”

“I thank the gentleman very much for his leadership and recognition that when we speak about this legislation and the question of blocking the utilization of the petroleum reserve during times of crisis, we must raise a question. Obviously, having experienced a big freeze in Houston and the State of Texas, where 151 people died, we had to face the question of a very poor energy system; a lack of access to fossil fuel, I must admit; a frozen nuclear system; and being unprepared in terms of alternative energy. It was a freeze that we had never experienced in Texas. The idea of the utilization of the petroleum reserve for me is a national security issue, and this legislation literally says if the President has the need and necessity to protect the American people, it will not be allowed. Mr. Speaker, I have to rise in opposition, even coming from what has been called previously the energy capital of the world. What we want to have in Houston, and I believe in the Nation, is a multidisciplined recognition that there is a climate crisis, but at the same time recognizing the importance of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for, in fact, the necessities of the President to be able to provide for this Nation. The American people are listening. They want an executive who can make decisions that will block the Russians from absolutely crippling us. They want a President who can utilize this reserve.…”