[Senate Prints 114-28]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                         S. Prt. 114-28

          S. 2012, THE ENERGY POLICY MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2016

=======================================================================

                               MEETING OF

                            SENATE AND HOUSE

                               CONFEREES

                    ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                      THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

                               __________


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              COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

                    LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska, Chairman
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming               MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho                RON WYDEN, Oregon
MIKE LEE, Utah                       BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
JEFF FLAKE, Arizona                  DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan
STEVE DAINES, Montana                AL FRANKEN, Minnesota
BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana              JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia
CORY GARDNER, Colorado               MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota            ANGUS S. KING, JR., Maine
LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee           ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia
                      Colin Hayes, Staff Director
                Patrick J. McCormick III, Chief Counsel
            Angela Becker-Dippman, Democratic Staff Director
                Sam E. Fowler, Democratic Chief Counsel
                           
                           
                           C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                           OPENING STATEMENTS

                                                                   Page
Murkowski, Hon. Lisa, Conference Chairman and a U.S. Senator from 

  Alaska.........................................................     1
Upton, Hon. Fred, a Congressman from Michigan....................     3
Cantwell, Hon. Maria, a U.S. Senator from Washington.............     4
Pallone, Jr., Hon. Frank, a U.S. Congressman from New Jersey.....     5
Barrasso, Hon. John, a U.S. Senator from Wyoming.................     6
Bishop, Hon. Rob, a U.S. Congressman from Utah...................     6
Wyden, Hon. Ron, a U.S. Senator from Oregon......................     7
Grijalva, Hon. Raul M., a U.S. Congressman from Arizona..........     8
Risch, Hon. James E., a U.S. Senator from Idaho..................     9
Smith, Hon. Lamar, a U.S. Congressman from Texas.................    10
Johnson, Hon. Eddie Bernice, a U.S. Congresswoman from Texas.....    12
Cornyn, Hon. John, a U.S. Senator from Texas.....................    12
Conaway, Hon. K. Michael, a U.S. Congressman from Texas..........    13
Hardy, Hon. Cresent, a U.S. Congressman from Nevada..............    14
DeFazio, Hon. Peter A., a U.S. Congressman from Oregon...........    14
Rush, Hon. Bobby L., a U.S. Congressman from Illinois............    15
Shimkus, Hon. John, a U.S. Congressman from Illinois.............    16
Capps, Hon. Lois, a U.S. Congresswoman from California...........    16
Latta, Hon. Robert E., a U.S. Congressman from Ohio..............    17
Matsui, Hon. Doris O., a U.S. Congresswoman from California......    18
McMorris Rodgers, Hon. Cathy, a U.S. Congresswoman from 
  Washington.....................................................    19
Castor, Hon. Kathy, a U.S. Congresswoman from Florida............    19
Olson, Hon. Pete, a U.S. Congressman from Texas..................    20
Sarbanes, Hon. John P., a U.S. Congressman from Maryland.........    21
McKinley, Hon. David B., a U.S. Congressman from West Virginia...    21
Welch, Hon. Peter, a U.S. Congressman from Vermont...............    22
Lujan, Hon. Ben Ray, a U.S. Congressman from New Mexico..........    23
Kinzinger, Hon. Adam, a U.S. Congressman from Illinois...........    24
Tonko, Hon. Paul, a U.S. Congressman from New York...............    24
Griffith, Hon. H. Morgan, a U.S. Congressman from Virginia.......    25
Loebsack, Hon. David, a U.S. Congressman from Iowa...............    26
Johnson, Hon. Bill, a U.S. Congressman from Ohio.................    27
Huffman, Hon. Jared, a U.S. Congressman from California..........    27
Flores, Hon. Bill, a U.S. Congressman from Texas.................    28
Mullin, Hon. Markwayne, a U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma.........    29
Young, Hon. Don, a U.S. Congressman from Alaska..................    30
Lummis, Hon. Cynthia M., a U.S. Congresswoman from Wyoming.......    31
Westerman, Hon. Bruce, a U.S. Congressman from Arkansas..........    31
Weber, Sr., Hon. Randy K., a U.S. Congressman from Texas.........    32
Thompson, Hon. Glenn, a U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania.......    33

          ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED

Barrasso, Hon. John:
    Opening Statement............................................     6
Barton, Hon. Joe:
    Written Statement for the Record.............................    36
Bishop, Hon. Rob:
    Opening Statement............................................     6
Cantwell, Hon. Maria:
    Opening Statement............................................     4
Capps, Hon. Lois:
    Opening Statement............................................    16
Castor, Hon. Kathy:
    Opening Statement............................................    19
Conaway, Hon. K. Michael:
    Opening Statement............................................    13
Cornyn, Hon. John:
    Opening Statement............................................    12
DeFazio, Hon. Peter A.:
    Opening Statement............................................    14
Denham, Hon. Jeff:
    Letter for the Record........................................    37
Dingell, Hon. Debbie:
    Written Statement for the Record.............................    38
Flores, Hon. Bill:
    Opening Statement............................................    28
Griffith, Hon. H. Morgan:
    Opening Statement............................................    25
Grijalva, Hon. Raul M.:
    Opening Statement............................................     8
Hardy, Hon. Cresent:
    Opening Statement............................................    14
Huffman, Hon. Jared:
    Opening Statement............................................    27
Johnson, Hon. Bill:
    Opening Statement............................................    27
Johnson, Hon. Eddie Bernice:
    Opening Statement............................................    12
Kinzinger, Hon. Adam:
    Opening Statement............................................    24
Latta, Hon. Robert E.:
    Opening Statement............................................    17
Loebsack, Hon. David:
    Opening Statement............................................    26
Lujan, Hon. Ben Ray:
    Opening Statement............................................    23
Lummis, Hon. Cynthia M.:
    Opening Statement............................................    31
Matsui, Hon. Doris O.:
    Opening Statement............................................    18
McKinley, Hon. David B.:
    Opening Statement............................................    21
McMorris Rodgers, Hon. Cathy:
    Opening Statement............................................    19
Mullin, Hon. Markwayne:
    Opening Statement............................................    29
Murkowski, Hon. Lisa:
    Opening Statement............................................     1
Olson, Hon. Pete:
    Opening Statement............................................    20
Pallone, Jr., Hon. Frank:
    Opening Statement............................................     5
Risch, Hon. James E.:
    Opening Statement............................................     9
    Written Statement for the Record.............................    39
Rush, Hon. Bobby L.:
    Opening Statement............................................    15
Sanders, Hon. Bernard:
    Written Statement for the Record.............................    41
Sarbanes, Hon. John P.:
    Opening Statement............................................    21
Shimkus, Hon. John:
    Opening Statement............................................    16
Smith, Hon. Lamar:
    Opening Statement............................................    10
Thompson, Hon. Glenn:
    Opening Statement............................................    33
Tonko, Hon. Paul:
    Opening Statement............................................    24
Upton, Hon. Fred:
    Opening Statement............................................     3
Weber, Sr., Hon. Randy K.:
    Opening Statement............................................    32
Welch, Hon. Peter:
    Opening Statement............................................    22
Westerman, Hon. Bruce:
    Opening Statement............................................    31
Wyden, Hon. Ron:
    Opening Statement............................................     7
Young, Hon. Don:
    Opening Statement............................................    30

 
          S. 2012, THE ENERGY POLICY MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2016.
                 Meeting of Senate and House Conferees

                              ----------                              


                      THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

                                               U.S. Senate,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The conferees met, pursuant to notice, at 9:39 a.m. in Room 
SD-106, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Lisa Murkowski, 
Chairman of the conference committee, presiding.

  OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. LISA MURKOWSKI, U.S. SENATOR FROM 
                             ALASKA

    The Chairman. Good morning, everyone. It is nice to be here 
as we begin the first meeting of conferees for S. 2012, our 
bipartisan, and now our bicameral, energy bill. The conference 
will come to order.
    At this time it is my privilege to yield to the 
Representative from Michigan and Chairman of the House Energy 
and Commerce Committee, Mr. Upton.
    Representative Upton. Well, thank you, Madam Chair. I am 
delighted that we have Alaskan water.
    The Chairman. Absolutely.
    Representative Upton. And now that I am in the Senate, I am 
glad I can get my phonebook to get up here.
    [Laughter.]
    Representative Upton. Thank you, Frank.
    It is a delight to be here. I would like to make a motion, 
to move on behalf of the House that you serve as Chairman of 
this conference committee. You and I have worked closely on a 
whole host of issues over the years. We are great friends. I 
look forward to making progress with all of my colleagues on 
both sides of the aisle in both the House and Senate and would 
like to make the motion that you be Chair.
    I yield back.
    The Chairman. I thank the distinguished Congressman from 
Michigan, and without objection, that shall be the order.
    So before I proceed with my opening statement this morning, 
I want to give everyone some idea of how we will conduct this 
conference, how we will proceed today.
    As we announced in the meeting notice, each conferee will 
be recognized this morning for up to two minutes for the 
purpose of offering a statement on the conference. Members 
wishing to include longer remarks in the record--which I would 
imagine there will be many of those--will certainly be 
permitted to do so. We would ask that you submit them in 
writing by close of business today, and please submit them to 
Darla Ripchensky of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee staff. No bill, text, or amendments will be 
considered at this meeting of the conferees. An order of 
recognition for statements was distributed to everyone. A copy 
should be available at every conferee's seat.
    What we will do is move to opening statements in the order 
that you see reflected on that list. If individuals are not 
present at the time their name comes up, we will adjust 
accordingly so that we ensure that everyone has an opportunity 
to put a comment on the record this morning.
    With that, I will turn to my opening statement, and I will 
be brief this morning.
    First, I thank my Senate colleagues for the work that you 
have done, that we have done together, to build a bipartisan 
product that I think we are all proud of. I want to thank and 
acknowledge our House colleagues for the good work that they 
have done in advancing their energy proposal through the House.
    Now I think there are some who would admit readily that 
they never thought that we were going to get this far, that 
they doubted whether we would be able to write a bill, much 
less pass it, let alone make it to conference. I think we have 
been written off by every trade journal at least three or four 
times along the way.
    But that is behind us now. Our task now, which our staffs 
began over this recess that we just concluded, is to develop a 
final bill that can be signed into law. That is my goal here. 
My goal is to update our energy policies in this country and to 
get a conference report, a bill that can be signed into law by 
the President. We all know that we can do this, we all know how 
important it is to do it, and we all have priorities, of 
course, for this conference report.
    So today, instead of listing what my priorities are, I want 
to tell you that I intend to run this conference in the same 
manner, in the same very open, transparent, and bipartisan 
manner that allowed us to pass our Senate bill.
    But I am also here this morning to listen to you, to your 
goals, your preferences, and your expectations for this 
conference. We all know that we are going to get down in the 
weeds on legislative text, so I want to quickly point to the 
big picture so that we do not forget why we are here. This is 
our chance, colleagues. This is our chance to modernize our 
energy policy. It is our opportunity to update policies that 
have not been updated in almost nine years. It is an 
opportunity for us to help the people that we serve.
    So let us work together. Let us finish the job. Let us 
prove the skeptics wrong. Let us succeed where so many of us 
just kind of anticipate that we will fail. I intend to work 
with you to write a good, strong conference report. Let us make 
this the first major energy bill signed into law in almost a 
decade. I look forward to working with you.
    With that, I will turn to my friend and Chairman of the 
House Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative Fred Upton.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. FRED UPTON, 
                 U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM MICHIGAN

    Representative Upton. Well, thank you, Madam Chair. I am 
delighted to be here. I know all my colleagues are anxious for 
that opportunity, and I just want to say we do want to work 
together. We do want to prove the skeptics wrong. I think there 
is a sweet spot that we can rally around, and I am here to 
listen and to work and to get things done and not take the 
avenue of sending a bill to the President that he would veto. 
That is not on my list of things to get done. It is not going 
to happen.
    But today does mark an important milestone in the ongoing 
efforts to advance a comprehensive energy package that says 
both yes to energy and yes to jobs. I again thank all my 
colleagues. We are moving in the right direction by convening 
this conference this morning.
    Fortunately, this bill and this conference are unlike the 
previous ones. We are not here trying to address concerns about 
energy scarcity, high prices, and dependence on imports. Thanks 
to private sector innovations leading to an increased domestic 
oil and gas output, the script has been flipped and Congress 
can now approach energy issues from a position of real 
strength.
    But that is not to say that there are not problems that 
need to be addressed, and we need to update existing federal 
energy programs that reflect the state of energy markets and 
technology today. Many policies based on energy scarcity are 
simply no longer appropriate, and efforts to expand the 
nation's energy infrastructure have run up against the old 
permitting regimes that simply are not up to the task.
    This Congress we have seen one such successful energy 
policy update when we lifted the 40-year-old ban on oil 
exports. Provisions ending the obsolete ban on exports of 
American oil were originally part of the House energy bill last 
December, but were signed into law separately late last year by 
the President. Now we are beginning to see the benefits of 
these exports through the creation of jobs, improvements in our 
balance of trade, and yes, competition with Russia and Iran and 
others who used to dominate those oil markets.
    We can extend that access to LNG exports in the energy bill 
by including provisions streamlining the approval of natural 
gas export facilities. Energy exports are only one facet of our 
national energy policy that need to be brought into the 21st 
century. We have got to make sure that any package recognizes 
the need for responsible development of needed infrastructure 
and contains permanent reforms that will bring accountability 
to federal and state decisionmakers who are tasked with 
improving new and modified projects. So we need to balance new 
efficiency provisions with the market's ability to meet 
consumer demands for more efficient products. Let us get to 
work.
    I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Chairman Upton. I also appreciate 
your strong leadership.
    To my friend and colleague working together to really 
advance some key priorities out of the Senate, I appreciate so 
much the work of my Ranking Member, Senator Maria Cantwell from 
the State of Washington.

               STATEMENT OF HON. MARIA CANTWELL, 
                  U.S. SENATOR FROM WASHINGTON

    Senator Cantwell. Well, thank you, Madam Chair, and thank 
you for convening and chairing the conference today. I thank 
all of our colleagues who have joined us here, and I certainly 
welcome our House colleagues and look forward to hearing each 
and every one of their statements today.
    In April, the Senate voted 85 to 12 to pass the first 
comprehensive energy bill, as my colleague said, in nine years. 
I again want to thank the staff on both sides of the aisle for 
everybody's hard work on that. And I certainly thank Chairman 
Murkowski for that hard work, because she and I did work 
closely on that legislation with a mix of ideas from over half 
of our Senate colleagues. That means that this legislation that 
we passed had more than 50 Senators' individual provisions in 
the bill. So I can say it was a well-worked process by our 
Senate colleagues.
    Even saying that, I do not think it is a perfect bill that 
we passed out of the Senate, but it was a very conscious 
decision to work jointly on a path that moves us forward. I 
hope that this conference committee will do the same thing, 
because that is how we got great results.
    I think that you have already heard statements, and I think 
we all agree that modernizing and securing our energy 
infrastructure is key to our nation's competitiveness, 
particularly in a global economy. The Senate bill includes a 
number of much-needed provisions that enhance energy 
efficiency. These are ideas that save consumers billions of 
dollars, they update our electricity grid, they increase our 
reliance on clean energy, and they help us train a workforce 
that we need.
    In addition, the bill makes important investments in smart 
buildings, advanced energy storage technology, composite 
materials, and vehicle batteries. All of these things are about 
the modernization and the next steps we need to take in our 
energy economy.
    I was also very pleased to work on a bipartisan basis in a 
very diligent manner to provide language permanently 
authorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Our 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle provided language to 
update that provision. This is one of the preeminent programs 
in our country for preserving open space and a growing outdoor 
recreational economy that is so important to our Northwest 
economy. It is thousands of jobs and, millions--actually, I 
think billions of dollars in revenue.
    I am optimistic that the conference committee can resolve 
the differences between the House and Senate and will result in 
a bill that the President can sign. So I take my colleague from 
Michigan's words that we do not need to be pushing forward 
ideas that are going to be threatened by veto. Instead, let us 
work together to get a policy that can move us forward.
    This country is experiencing a very dramatic transformation 
in energy, and we need to make sure we are updating the 
policies at the national level to help that transformation 
continue to take place.
    I look forward to working with my colleagues, and as I said 
earlier, hearing from each of our House colleagues about this 
and their important ideas coming from the House so that we can 
work together and get a bill that can be signed by the 
President by the end of this year.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Cantwell.
    We now turn to the Ranking Member on the House Energy and 
Commerce Committee, Representative Frank Pallone.

             STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR., 
                U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM NEW JERSEY

    Representative Pallone. Thank you, Senator Murkowski, for 
formally convening this conference. It is not a secret the 
House and Senate took very different paths to this conference. 
While the bipartisan Senate bill in my view could be much 
stronger in a number of areas, the House version, which was a 
result of a highly partisan process, would unacceptably 
increase energy use and cost to consumers and would undermine 
our nation's climate goals.
    As we begin the process of working to reconcile two very 
different bills, it is important that any final conference 
report includes three essential components: infrastructure 
investment and modernization; direct benefits for consumers, 
including programs that empower them to manage their energy 
consumption and cost; and it must be consistent with our 
nation's climate goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Any 
final conference must also include adequate funding for these 
three areas.
    Today, much of our energy infrastructure is aging, rooted 
in the past, and does not really serve our current and future 
energy needs. A final product should focus on modernizing our 
infrastructure and reducing its vulnerabilities to extreme 
weather and attacks from those seeking to do us harm. It should 
also facilitate the deployment of smarter electric grids to 
support more distributed and renewable energy generation. Any 
final conference report should accelerate efficiency gains, not 
undermine them. Today, consumers are demanding energy efficient 
products and we must continue to make progress in order for 
consumers to see additional benefits.
    Finally, any modern energy policy must deal with climate 
change. Certainly, we have made progress with renewable energy 
and efficiency, but there is much more that we can and must do 
to reduce our overall energy use and to switch to cleaner 
energy sources.
    The cost of climate inaction is growing, and my state has 
already paid a steep price. The number of extreme weather 
events and the cost of these events in lives and property 
continue to rise. We do not need a Blue Ribbon Commission to 
debate the science. Instead, we need an energy policy that 
embraces the deployment of newer, cleaner, and cheaper 
technology that will grow our energy choices and economy while 
reducing both consumers' bills and greenhouse gases.
    Clearly, there is a lot to do, yet very little time to do 
it. Nonetheless, it is still possible to produce a consensus 
product that the President will sign, and I am certainly 
willing to continue working to make that a reality. However, in 
order to accomplish that goal, we must be honest with ourselves 
about our limited ability to resolve highly contentious and 
complex matters in the short timeframe that we have.
    So in conclusion, if we produce final legislation that 
makes significant progress on three key issues--infrastructure 
investment, sustained consumer benefits, and addressing climate 
change--then we will produce a product that I will support.
    I yield back. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Representative Pallone.
    The Senator from Wyoming, Senator Barrasso.

               STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO, 
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM WYOMING

    Senator Barrasso. Well, thank you very much, Madam 
Chairman. I want to just commend you and Senator Cantwell and 
your staff for the work that the two of you have done on this 
bill. It has been absolutely remarkable. It has been no small 
feat to shepherd through broad energy legislation with the 
support of 85 Members of the United States Senate, including 
every Member of the minority who voted for final passage. That 
is 44 Senate Democrats who were there that day to vote. I think 
it was no small accomplishment to get to where we are today, 
the first conference committee on energy legislation in over a 
decade. You and Senator Cantwell deserve tremendous credit.
    I also want to thank Chairman Upton, Chairman Bishop, and 
the members of the House of Representatives for their 
contributions. I strongly support so many of the provisions in 
the House bill, and I am going to work to get them included in 
the final conference report.
    As you said, Madam Chairman, conventional wisdom is that 
the conference committee is unlikely to succeed. It is widely 
believed that there are some Democrats in the Senate as well as 
in the House that are going to try to delay reaching an 
agreement until after the election or perhaps until the next 
Congress.
    So Members have to decide. Do we want to reach an agreement 
or not? If we do, we can get it done. We can get a conference 
report to the President's desk in short order. On the other 
hand, if some of the Democrats do not want to reach an 
agreement, I would remind them not to assume that this 
opportunity or this offer will be available in the next 
Congress.
    Thank you for your leadership, Madam Chairman.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Barrasso.
    Next we will turn to the Chairman of the House Resources 
Committee, our friend and the Congressman from Utah, 
Representative Bishop.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. ROB BISHOP, 
                   U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM UTAH

    Representative Bishop. Thank you, Senator Murkowski, and I 
appreciate your leadership that you have given on this entire 
effort as we go forward with that.
    I also want to thank the staff. As we went home from 
Congress, they stayed here and they have been working 
tirelessly on this particular bill, the provisions. I want to 
thank them for their efforts, and I want you to know I am so 
sorry for what you have had to do----
    [Laughter.]
    Representative Bishop.--which is why I am not going to 
revise and extend lengthy remarks because you do not want to 
read them anyway.
    I do want to say the following, though. It has been, as has 
been mentioned, almost a decade since we last had an energy 
package. Technologies have emerged which have enabled us to 
safely and responsibly access resources that were previously 
unrecoverable and uneconomical to produce. But Americans will 
benefit only if we pursue policies that spur innovation. 
Americans need to share in low prices of American energy 
abundance. It can be produced and it can help their lives if we 
do so.
    Permitting processes also need to be made to make sure that 
the rights-of-ways across federal land are guaranteed because, 
let us face it, there is a place where you produce energy and a 
place where people live. It is not the same area. We need to be 
able to move the resource from one place to another. Those 
policies need to be worked in there. We need to increase supply 
and new efficiency, and there are two specifics I would like to 
mention in the energy portion of this dialogue that are a 
concern for me. Energy code language in the House version is 
critically important. American families deserve a reasonable 
return on their investment, especially since these codes are 
forced upon them. Secondly, I also remain concerned with 
potential language in this package that may impact waste energy 
facilities that help power many of our military installations. 
I look forward to working with the staff as well as leadership 
of this committee to solve these particular problems in this 
way.
    But there are provisions on both sides that we have before 
us. Some have passed the Senate and not the House and vice 
versa. Some have received veto threats and some have not. But 
in my mind everything should be on the table, and there is 
enough good, low-hanging fruit that we can come up with a good 
package at the end of the day.
    But I do want to emphasize that solutions to drought, 
solutions to forest health and catastrophic wildfire, solutions 
to tribal energy, and solutions to overcoming regulatory 
barriers for sportsmen and recreational activities are before 
us and they are long overdue. If we do not take this 
opportunity to solve these problems now, history will not be 
kind to us. We have an opportunity to do things that are good 
for people. I am anxious to get on with it so that we can 
produce a package that actually helps people.
    I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Chairman Bishop.
    We will next turn to my friend from Oregon, the fine 
Senator, Ron Wyden.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. RON WYDEN, 
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM OREGON

    Senator Wyden. Thank you, Madam Chair. And, Madam Chair and 
colleagues, I continue to be upbeat and optimistic about our 
ability to come together and produce a bipartisan product. It 
is never too early to move strongly and work out differences. 
We have got some heavy lifting to do, and I am convinced we can 
do it.
    Now, Madam Chair and colleagues, I am especially upbeat 
about the prospects for this bill to boost rural America. In 
our part of the world the cities are really bouncing back, yet 
too many rural areas are hurting. Rural America is where much 
of renewable energy development takes place, and it is where 
the resources needed to protect our public lands are centered. 
So I intend to work closely with colleagues on both sides. I am 
just going to touch on three issues very quickly.
    The first is the issue of forestry where it is fair to say 
this is a burning issue, literally and figuratively, with the 
wildfires. They have raced across the West in our country this 
summer. The fires are getting bigger and they are getting 
hotter, but the way the federal budget works for dealing with 
them is just broken. You have got fire borrowing. We have a lot 
of history of working in a bipartisan way on this issue, and I 
intend to work with our colleagues to get this issue solved in 
the conference and stop eroding our forest agency budgets.
    Second, I think we have a lot of opportunities for this 
conference to be seen as a bellwether for innovation. The 
Senate bill, for example, sparks new geothermal energy 
development and builds renewable energy on public lands. There 
is a bipartisan game plan for energy-efficient building codes, 
the SAVE Act. These are provisions that I think, if we can lock 
them in in a final agreement, are going to be seen as 
innovative.
    On water, the Senate bill addresses a variety of issues. I 
am particularly interested in resolving the long-standing 
battle with the Klamath Basin, and I look forward to working 
with our colleagues on the drought issues as well.
    Finally, this is a conference on energy, but there are 
other issues at play that communities are going to be paying 
attention to. First, the conference has a chance to authorize 
the renewal of the Secure Rural Schools program, which, apropos 
of rural America, is a lifeline. My colleagues on the Energy 
Committee know that we are particularly proud of our history of 
originating this bill, originating it in a bipartisan way, and 
communities need the certainty of reauthorization.
    Finally, the permit authorization in the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund is a particularly valuable part of the Senate 
bill. I think the way we have worked on it in the Energy 
Committee and in the Congress has been sensible by focusing on 
a permanent and mandatory approach. I know there is controversy 
about it, but I hope we can work that out.
    With that, Madam Chairman, I will just say I look forward 
to working with all of you in getting this done.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Wyden.
    We next turn to the Ranking Member on the House Resources 
Committee, Congressman Grijalva.

              STATEMENT OF HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA, 
                 U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM ARIZONA

    Representative Grijalva. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. 
Let me also congratulate you and Senator Cantwell for getting 
all of us to this point. There were some who did not believe a 
bipartisan compromise on energy was even possible in the Senate 
or that we would be having a formal conference meeting for the 
first time in 10 years, but you have proven me--let me correct 
that--them wrong----
    [Laughter.]
    Representative Grijalva.--and I think it is important to 
note and to understand that even in these highly partisan times 
that we are in it is possible for people to find common ground 
on some of the extremely important issues that our country 
faces.
    The Senate bill contains a number of valuable energy 
provisions from geothermal to efficiency to grid security. Of 
course, we should go further. I would like to see a final bill 
that makes meaningful changes in our energy supply, putting us 
solidly on a path toward a clean energy future and ending the 
total dependency on fossil fuels. I would like to see a final 
bill that ensures that oil, gas, and coal companies are paying 
their fair share for the resources that they extract from 
public land. Unfortunately, this has been and will be an uphill 
battle given the current House majority priorities. Instead of 
focusing on areas of agreement, the House majority sent over a 
long list of controversial bills that muddy the waters and make 
getting to an agreement on a final bill more difficult.
    What is needed is essential responses to infrastructure 
needs and investment in this country, a response to the future 
adaptation that will be required in order to respond to the 
demands of climate change, and I think it is important that as 
we work toward a bipartisan compromise that we limit if not 
outright eliminate the messaging points that will prevent 
bipartisan agreement and almost guarantee a veto, or spend a 
lot of time solving problems that do not exist.
    I am particularly optimistic because this conference 
provides us with a historic opportunity to permanently 
authorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). In the 
Senate, 85 Senators voted in favor of the permanent 
reauthorization, and my legislation in the House, H.R. 1814, 
currently has 209 cosponsors. This is as close to a critical 
mass as we get around here, and it makes LWCF essential to any 
bipartisan conference agreement. LWCF has been a popular 
bipartisan program for over 50 years, and there is no reason we 
should not seize this opportunity to prolong its success.
    Again, Madam Chair, I look forward to a productive 
conference, and thank you again.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Congressman.
    We will now turn to the Senator from Idaho, Senator Jim 
Risch.

               STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES E. RISCH, 
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM IDAHO

    Senator Risch. Well, thank you very much, Madam Chairman.
    I think that by now it should be obvious to everyone that, 
on the Senate side at least, we started with a goal of 
attempting to get a bill passed. We all know that around here 
the only way you get a bill passed of this magnitude is to take 
the poison pills off the table and work in areas where there is 
agreement, where things can get done that should be done and 
need to be done.
    And so with that, we have produced this bill that produced 
a very large vote in the Senate. We hope we can reach the same 
agreement with the House and pass what we can agree on. Now 
that does, of course, always involve taking on some things that 
you do not necessarily want to take on, but in order to give 
and take and get a bill passed, here we are.
    I want to touch on just a few aspects that this bill does 
and some things that it does not do that probably should be at 
least considered as we go forward. First of all, for those of 
you who sit on the Intelligence Committee, you know that this 
bill addresses modernization of cybersecurity efforts and 
enhances those efforts.
    Although we cannot go into details, there are a lot of us 
that believe that the next major event in America is going to 
be a cybersecurity event. Everything is connected through 
cybersecurity, whether it is our personal daily lives or 
whether you are talking about national security matters or 
whether you are talking about the grid. And the grid, as we all 
know, is a target and it is vulnerable. This bill addresses 
that vulnerability. It does not go necessarily everywhere it 
should go, but it is a step in the right direction. This bill 
has a very positive effort if you are interested in national 
security, which I think most of us are.
    Secondly, this bill does address moving the nuclear energy 
initiatives here in America forward. There are some people who 
do not believe that that is the appropriate thing to do, but I 
think most people are of the frame of mind that the future 
belongs to nuclear and that is where we need to go.
    This bill does a number of other things, brings on the 
Sportsmen's Act that we need. It talks about safe and Secure 
Rural Schools. It does not go far enough. It needs to be 
reauthorized.
    Madam Chairman, I look forward to working with my 
colleagues to see if we can reach a middle ground. Thank you.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Risch.
    Next, we turn to the Chairman of the House Science 
Committee, Representative Smith from Texas. Welcome. It is good 
to have you here.

                STATEMENT OF HON. LAMAR SMITH, 
                  U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM TEXAS

    Representative Smith. Thank you, Chair. Chairman Murkowski, 
Chairman Upton, thank you all for convening this initial energy 
conference meeting today. I am pleased to support the House 
amendment to the Senate Energy Policy Modernization Act, and I 
particularly look forward to working with my Senate colleagues 
to adopt division D of this legislation into the final 
conference agreement.
    Division D includes four energy titles from two major 
House-passed Science Committee bills: H.R. 1806, the America 
COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015; and H.R. 4084, the 
Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act.
    Division D is both pro-science and fiscally responsible and 
sets America on a path to remain the world leader in 
innovation, energy production, and economic growth. Division D 
prioritizes basic research, decreases spending, and requires 
the Department of Energy to reduce waste and duplication and 
more effectively invest limited federal resources.
    Title V reauthorizes DOE's Office of Science for two years. 
It also prioritizes basic research at the national 
laboratories, which enables researchers in all 50 states to 
have access to world-class user facilities. These include 
supercomputers and high-intensity light sources.
    Title VI likewise reauthorizes DOE's applied research and 
development programs and activities for Fiscal Year 2016 and 
Fiscal Year 2017. This includes the Office of Electricity, 
Nuclear Energy Research and Development, Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy, Fossil Energy R&D, and the Advanced Research 
Projects Agency-Energy.
    Title VI returns the unjustified growth in spending on 
late-stage commercialization efforts within the Office of 
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to levels consistent 
with those proposed under the previous Administration. This 
refocuses the office on basic and applied research efforts, 
which have the greatest potential for scientific breakthroughs.
    Title VII cuts red tape and bureaucracy in the DOE 
technology transfer process and modernizes the management and 
operation of DOE's national labs to spur private sector-driven 
innovations and commercialization.
    Finally, Title XXXIII, House Conferee and Science 
Subcommittee on Energy Chairman Randy Weber's House-passed 
nuclear energy bill directs the DOE civilian nuclear energy R&D 
directly contributes to a revitalized American nuclear power 
industry.
    Title XXXIII finances the strengths of the national labs, 
universities, and the private sector to advance groundbreaking 
nuclear science and technology. It also creates a reliable 
mechanism for the private sector to partner with DOE labs to 
build breakthrough fission and fusion prototype reactors at DOE 
sites. Title XXXIII will spur American competitiveness and keep 
us on the forefront of nuclear energy technology.
    Title XXXIII also is in the NDAA defense conference now and 
should be included and passed as part of that bill. This will 
ensure that this crucial economic security opportunity for a 
domestic nuclear power renaissance is not lost.
    Together, division D sets the right priorities for federal 
civilian energy in basic research. It enhances future 
innovation and U.S. competitiveness while reducing spending in 
the federal deficit by over $550 million.
    I look forward to a good-faith negotiations with the 
members of this conference committee and encourage the adoption 
of division D of the House amendment in the final conference 
report.
    Thank you, Madam Chairman, Mr. Chairman, for the 
opportunity to speak today.
    The Chairman. Thank you. We will next turn to 
Representative Johnson from Texas, the Ranking Member on the 
House Science Committee.

           STATEMENT OF HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, 
                 U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN FROM TEXAS

    Representative Johnson. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman 
and Ranking Member Cantwell, for convening the meeting today. I 
appreciate the hard work that you and your staff have clearly 
put into trying to achieve a growing bipartisan compromise that 
would provide a legislative foundation for the future of our 
nation's energy policy for years to come. I know that it is no 
small accomplishment to achieve such an agreement in the Senate 
and you are to be congratulated.
    Unfortunately, we were not as successful in our efforts in 
the House, and the House bill under consideration at this 
conference does not have the same level of bipartisan support 
as its Senate counterpart. Regardless, I hope that we now 
recognize that the only way we will be successful in producing 
the first comprehensive energy bill to make it to the 
President's desk in nearly a decade is to set politics aside--
and yes, even in an election year--and work together to address 
these critical issues. Even that will not guarantee that we 
will be able to get a conference report agreed to, but I can 
guarantee you that we will fail if we let politics and ideology 
rule.
    I know that staff-level discussions have been underway on a 
number of provisions within the jurisdiction of the Science 
Committee, and I hope that we can continue to make progress on 
them in the conference.
    The Senate has advanced sensible provisions for ARPA-E, 
vehicle technologies, energy storage and related areas, and the 
House has advanced language that committee Democrats support 
related to nuclear and fusion energy, research hubs and 
centers, and improving technology transfer from the labs to the 
marketplace. We will be able to achieve agreements on those 
sections of the conference if all parties are serious about 
seeking a constructive path forward.
    So there are clearly some provisions in my committee's 
jurisdiction that I expect to support but others that I 
continue to have concerns with in each of the House and Senate 
bills; however, I promise to be a constructive partner 
throughout the process, and I hope that we can all follow the 
example that our friends in the Senate have provided on how to 
strive for a bipartisan consensus.
    I thank you and yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Representative Johnson.
    We will next turn to the Senate Majority Whip, Senator 
Cornyn from Texas.

                STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN CORNYN, 
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM TEXAS

    Senator Cornyn. Thank you, Chairman Murkowski. I am glad to 
be here today as we begin this important conference to update 
our nation's energy policy. The fact that we are here is, I 
think, a credit to not only efforts on both sides of the 
Capitol but particularly to the relentlessness of Chairman 
Murkowski and Ranking Member Cantwell to help the Senate 
resolve its differences to bring us here today. I know it was 
not easy, and the fact that it has been almost 10 years since 
we have successfully passed an energy bill reflects that.
    I am particularly appreciative of the fact that the Senate 
and House bills include provisions important to my state, 
including the LNG export language. But it is not just important 
to Texas; this is important to the nation. This provision would 
establish a deadline for the Department of Energy to take 
action on applications to export LNG. As we have all noted 
previously, this is not just a matter of economics and jobs. 
This is a matter of supplying energy to our friends and allies 
around the world, particularly those against whom energy is 
from time to time used as a weapon.
    So because 7 out of 10 of the non-FTA LNG export 
applications currently under review by the DOE are located in 
my state, this provision is particularly important, but these 
projects will create thousands of jobs and billions of dollars 
in added revenue. But this economic impact just does not stop 
where these terminals are located. It would benefit the entire 
country's economy while boosting international security 
efforts. The truth is, eliminating regulatory uncertainty is 
essential to the successful development of these multibillion-
dollar investments, and it will help our energy suppliers 
export more LNG to our allies in need of safe and more diverse 
energy sources.
    I look forward to working with all of our Senate and House 
colleagues to get this job done. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Cornyn.
    We will now turn to the Ranking Member of the House 
Agriculture Committee, the Congressman from Minnesota, Mr. 
Peterson.
    Oh, excuse me, I am sorry, the Chairman of the House 
Agriculture Committee, Mr. Conaway from Texas. That is why you 
were giving me that look----

             STATEMENT OF HON. K. MICHAEL CONAWAY, 
                  U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM TEXAS

    Representative Conaway. Collin gave me his proxy, by the 
way.
    [Laughter.]
    And he wants credit, full credit for not taking up any more 
of the committee's time, so I need to speak for both of us.
    The Chairman. We will note that accordingly.
    Representative Conaway. I appreciate that. Thanks for 
letting me be here today.
    The Chairman. Thank you. My apologies.
    Representative Conaway. There are three priorities that the 
Ag Committee has, and I will speak to each of those. First, the 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is the federal 
agency's expert body on commodity markets. Both the Energy 
Information Agency (EIA) and the CFTC already do important work 
studying and analyzing energy derivatives markets. The EIA does 
its work through the Office of Energy Markets and Financial 
Analysis, and the CFTC does its work through its Division of 
Market Oversight.
    In addition, the CFTC has previously established an 
interagency working group to investigate the effects of 
increased investment in energy commodities on energy prices. 
Given that this work is already being done both at the CFTC and 
the EIA, sections 4501 and 4502 are duplicative in the extreme 
and should be removed. I believe there are better uses for 
taxpayer funds as this work and the information it provides are 
already available.
    Second, we disagree with the permanent authorization of 
programs because that prevents Congress from providing 
necessary systematic oversight and review. For this reason, the 
committee, while we support the Land and Water Conservation 
Fund, we just disagree strongly that it should be a permanent 
authorization. We ought to be looking at that periodically.
    And third, the Resilient Forest Act of 2015 is an important 
step in expediting forest management activities in our National 
Forest System and Bureau of Land Management to promote healthy, 
resilient forests and prevent wildfires. I am proud of the work 
done by the House Committee on Agriculture and the House 
Natural Resources Committee to pass this bipartisan bill, and 
we strongly support including this in the final conference 
package.
    Again, I am speaking on behalf of Collin. He gave me his 
proxy and he gives his two minutes back to the committee. With 
that, I yield.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Representative Conaway.
    Next on the list is Representative Peterson, and he is not 
with us, so we will turn to Representative Hardy from Nevada on 
the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

               STATEMENT OF HON. CRESENT HARDY, 
                  U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM NEVADA

    Representative Hardy. Thank you, Madam Chair. It is a 
pleasure to join my colleagues today on the other side of the 
Capitol and discuss this energy package, and I wanted to 
briefly share a few comments.
    It is not a secret that our energy policies are outdated 
and stale for the 21st century America and the 21st century 
worker. This sector has enormous potential and we need to 
concentrate on updating or reforming our policies for the 
growth and job creation.
    The current processes in place too often hinder our 
progress and this must be addressed. But I must say that, with 
my background in construction and transportation, I am very 
enthusiastic about the path that my colleagues are moving on 
and taking in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 
regarding some of these important issues. I look forward to 
finding common ground and working on many of these issues. 
Thank you.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Representative Hardy.
    Representative DeFazio from Oregon, the Ranking Member on 
the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

              STATEMENT OF HON. PETER A. DEFAZIO, 
                  U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM OREGON

    Representative DeFazio. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thanks 
to Chairman Upton, Ranking Member Pallone, and Ranking Member 
Cantwell. I appreciate the opportunity to serve here on the T&I 
Committee. I do not have Chairman Shuster's proxy.
    I will say that there are a number of provisions in the 
Senate bill which I find preferable and particularly those that 
relate to energy efficiency in federal buildings, 360,000 
federal buildings, that we can deal with a number of issues 
should we make those buildings more efficient in addition to 
saving the taxpayers money. I am also pleased the Senate bill 
has a reauthorization of brownfields program. I think there is 
strong bipartisan support for that in the House, and I hope 
that conferees include that in the bill.
    There are also miscellaneous provisions that do not relate 
to my committee, but as the former Ranking Member of Resources, 
I wish to raise. One is the ending of fire-borrowing. We have 
been lucky this year, but most years Forest Service, BLM spent 
more than half their budget fighting fires, and ironically, 
when they exhaust the firefighting funds, they have to cut back 
on programs that would improve forest health and mitigate 
future fires. The provisions in this bill from the House would 
help deal with that issue.
    And also, the bill includes three miscellaneous provisions 
relating to Oregon tribes, which Chairwoman Murkowski just 
moved out of her committee separately, and I would hope that 
the conference could agree to retain those in the bill.
    With that, Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Representative DeFazio.
    Representative Barton is not with us. Representative Bobby 
Rush from Illinois on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, 
welcome.

               STATEMENT OF HON. BOBBY L. RUSH, 
                 U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM ILLINOIS

    Representative Rush. I want to thank you, Madam Chairman. 
Let me begin by acknowledging you, Madam Chair, and Ranking 
Member Cantwell from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee, as well as Chairman Upton and Ranking Member Pallone 
of the House Energy and Commerce Committee where I have the 
pleasure of serving as Ranking Member of the Energy and Power 
Subcommittee. And I want to acknowledge all the distinguished 
Chairmen and Ranking Members from various committees for all of 
their hard work both individually and collectively in bringing 
this conference together.
    Madam Chair, it has been almost 10 years since Congress 
last enacted a comprehensive energy bill, and with all of the 
changes that have taken place in the energy landscape since 
that time, I remain hopeful that we can come together and move 
forward on a consistent bill that moves our nation's energy 
policy forward.
    I will continue to work in good faith with my Senate and 
House colleagues to craft a balanced bill that benefits 
consumers as well as producers, a bill that is consistent with 
President Obama's climate goals of reducing greenhouse gas both 
domestically and globally, and a bill that invests in our 
nation's infrastructure and workforce in order to meet the 
energy demands of the 21st century.
    Specifically, Madam Chair, I am pleased that the workforce 
section of this bill focuses on training minorities and out-of-
work energy workers while institutionalizing the much-needed 
Minorities in Energy Initiative established by Secretary Moniz. 
If we want to make sure that all communities are able to 
succeed, then we must invest in these communities.
    Madam Chairman, I want to thank you so very much, and I 
look forward to continuing the hard work that beckons us all. 
With that, I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Congressman Rush.
    We next turn to Representative John Shimkus from Illinois 
on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

                STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN SHIMKUS, 
                 U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM ILLINOIS

    Representative Shimkus. Thank you, Madam Chair. It is great 
to be here. This is awesome. It is good to be with my 
colleague, Bobby Rush. We are the yin and yang of Illinois 
energy issues.
    [Laughter.]
    Representative Shimkus. So we were able to do this under 
the EPAct 2005 legislation. I was fortunate to be on the 
conference committee, and it is great to be here. I want to 
really credit obviously the leadership in the Senate, of 
course, also Fred Upton and Frank Pallone for the work they 
have done on the House side and now it is time to get to work.
    I am just going to raise one small provision that I hope 
people will remember as we go through the major issues, because 
a lot of the major issues have already been addressed. The 
provision deals with the DOE's regional standards program for 
air conditioners, heat pumps, and residential furnaces. Back in 
2007, Congress adopted regional standards but the 
implementation of that effective date could prove very 
problematic.
    Unchanged, the effective date will be based on when the 
product is installed rather than when it is manufactured. So 
picture this: You have got heating and air-conditioning guys 
buying equipment and they are in some warehouse but they cannot 
implement it and put it in because of the standards. This is 
just a simple fix to say we ought to set the standard when the 
equipment is manufactured, not when it is going to be in place.
    So I hope that the conference committee will help with 
this. It is very important, especially for the small businesses 
out there in our country. They want to do the right thing, but 
this current ruling is very problematic.
    With that, I thank you and I yield back my time.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Representative Shimkus.
    Representative Lois Capps from California on the House 
Energy and Commerce Committee, welcome.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. LOIS CAPPS, 
               U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN FROM CALIFORNIA

    Representative Capps. Thank you, Chairwoman Murkowski, and 
to all of our conferees.
    As has been stated, this energy conference marks a 
significant opportunity. We have a chance to determine the 
course of our nation's energy policy and set up our nation for 
success. It is clear that disagreements remain about how to get 
there, but there is no question that energy is fundamentally 
important to our well-being.
    However, we are at the nexus of transitioning from our 
outdated reliance on fossil fuels to embracing clean, 
renewable, and sustainable energy sources. Addressing this will 
be our major challenge. This bill must ensure the availability 
of secure, reliable energy, while at the same time recognizing 
the need to improve energy in building efficiencies and invest 
in the energy infrastructure and technologies that will carry 
us into the future. Furthermore, our final product must provide 
meaningful benefits to everyone, especially consumers, without 
continuing to threaten our environment, human health, and the 
climate.
    Globally, we made a significant step toward addressing the 
threat of climate change last December in Paris, and President 
Obama has initiated efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 
and to address our nation's contributions to climate change. 
But we must ensure that our work here does not compromise the 
tangible progress that has already been made. We must also 
ensure that this bill does what it is meant to do and remove 
harmful proposals that put profits and politics over people and 
progress.
    I cannot support any bill that is simply a vehicle for 
continuing policies that attack the health of our environment 
and our families. If we are going to reach a successful 
conclusion, we must negotiate a consensus-based, forward-
looking resolution that provides concrete investments in our 
nation's future which we can all support and the President can 
sign, and I am committed to working with you all to do just 
that.
    Thank you, and I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Representative Capps.
    Representative Bob Latta from Ohio on the House Energy and 
Commerce Committee.

              STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT E. LATTA, 
                   U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM OHIO

    Representative Latta. Well, thank you, Madam Chair.
    Our energy policy in the United States is decades old and 
does not reflect the abundant energy supply that we are so 
fortunate to have. Updating this policy is vital to continuing 
to grow the economy of Ohio and all the United States while 
also furthering the goal of American energy security.
    I would like to highlight the provisions that I have worked 
on over the past months and years that are being considered 
during these negotiations. First, there is a provision that Mr. 
Welch and I have been working on for several years. This 
language addresses a recent threat that has emerged regarding 
warranties in the ENERGY STAR program. A gap in federal law 
allows private litigation in addition to the EPA administrative 
enforcement mechanism against the manufacturer when a product 
falls out of compliance with the program. Existing EPA 
oversight process has proven successful, and our language 
simply codifies this and provides consumers and manufacturers 
more certainty to participate.
    I am also pleased that we are negotiating language that Mr. 
McNerney of California and I have been working on to authorize 
the WaterSense program at EPA in statute, empowering Congress 
to have oversight of the program. This voluntary program has 
been in operation since 2006 and allows for a label that 
enables consumers to have more information about products which 
save water for their homes, yards, and businesses.
    Additionally, as the former Co-Chair of the Congressional 
Sportsmen's Caucus, I would also like to focus on two 
sportsmen's provisions. The first creates an official advisory 
board to serve as counsel to the U.S. Departments of Interior 
and Agriculture on policies that benefit recreational hunting 
and wildlife resources, the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage 
Conservation Council. Ensuring that sportsmen and sportswomen 
have an advisory capacity role across future Administrations is 
vital for all who enjoy the great outdoors.
    There is also language regarding commercial filming 
activities on federal land, which allows us to help to rectify 
disparity between smaller crews and their larger well-funded 
counterparts while filming on public lands. The financial 
burden is often too great and unfairly limits their ability to 
access our national parks and waterways, and I am confident 
that these two sections will benefit current and future 
generations of conservationists.
    With that, I thank you and yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    Next we turn to the Congresswoman from California, 
Representative Matsui, also on the House Energy and Commerce 
Committee.

              STATEMENT OF HON. DORIS O. MATSUI, 
               U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN FROM CALIFORNIA

    Representative Matsui. Thank you so much. Thank you, Madam 
Chair, and thanks to both you and Ranking Member Cantwell for 
convening us today.
    I oppose the House energy bill because it does little to 
improve our energy policies in a comprehensive, forward-
thinking way; however, I am very hopeful that under your 
leadership we might work together in this conference in a very 
constructive way.
    A 21st century energy bill should reduce our carbon 
footprint, invest in the resiliency of American energy 
infrastructure, and provide a direct benefit to consumers. On 
the whole, the House bill does not address those priorities in 
a comprehensive way.
    Climate change is one of the most important issues of our 
time, and we need a reform package that meets the challenge. If 
we do not take action, our grandchildren will pay the price. 
Future generations deserve better.
    I am also concerned that this energy package is being used 
to advance irresponsible, short-term policies in response to 
California's drought. As I have joined my fellow Californians 
in saying repeatedly, this would harm northern California's 
economy, put certain community drinking water at risk, and 
damage the largest estuary on the West Coast. These provisions 
favor one region or state at the expense of another, and should 
they be adopted in the conference report, I will oppose it.
    There are some policies I am pleased to see were included 
in the bill we are considering today. Hydropower is a clean 
energy source that supplies as much as one-fifth of the 
electricity in my district. I encourage conference members to 
address hydro relicensing challenges while maintaining 
endangered species protections.
    The Senate bill includes positive provisions on energy 
efficiency and also reauthorizes the Diesel Emissions Reduction 
Act (DERA), mirroring my bipartisan bill in the House. Since it 
began in 2005, DERA has been one of the most cost-effective 
federal environmental programs. I believe it is possible to 
craft a comprehensive energy package that benefits both our 
economy and our climate.
    I do look forward to working with the conferees as you work 
toward that goal, and I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Representative Matsui.
    We now turn to the Representative from Washington State, 
Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

           STATEMENT OF HON. CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS, 
               U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN FROM WASHINGTON

    Representative McMorris Rodgers. Thank you, Madam Chairman, 
and all gathered here today for your work and leadership on 
this important energy package which modernizes and strengthens 
our energy security and abundance.
    Eastern Washington is blessed with tremendous energy 
resources, including two of the greatest clean energy 
resources, hydropower and carbon-neutral biomass. Hydropower 
resources provide more than six percent of our nation's energy, 
electricity, and more than 50 percent of our renewable 
electricity. I was proud to champion a bipartisan amendment to 
H.R. 8 promoting hydropower through a new expedited licensing 
process. The amendment was a result of extensive consultations 
with stakeholders and members.
    Moreover, we could double hydropower and create thousands 
of new jobs without building a single new dam simply by 
updating the technology and our existing infrastructure. But 
FERC does not incentivize investing in dams. Capital-intensive 
projects like updating turbines or improving fish ladders are 
only included in the lifespan of a dam's license during the 
relicensing window. Included in the legislation we are 
considering is an early action provision requiring FERC to 
include all protection, mitigation, and enhancement measures 
during the relicensing process.
    As I was home in Eastern Washington, I witnessed the Yale 
Road and Wesley fires devastate our communities. The energy 
package also includes the bipartisan Resilient Federal Forest 
Act, which includes important Forest Service tools to ensure 
healthy forests through smarter forest management and fixes 
fire-borrowing. I want to make clear that Members on both sides 
of the aisle with large federal forests supported this 
legislation. This is the second time that the House has passed 
this important bill. Forest fires are a natural disaster, but 
with the right tools the Forest Service can mitigate their 
impact. It is time to act.
    I am proud to have led the hydropower and forestry reforms 
included in the House version of this bill. I believe that they 
must remain strong components in the final version, and I 
encourage my colleagues to support their inclusion. Thank you.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    Next, we turn to Representative Kathy Castor from Florida 
on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

                STATEMENT OF HON. KATHY CASTOR, 
                U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN FROM FLORIDA

    Representative Castor. Well, thank you, Chairmen Murkowski 
and Upton and Ranking Members Cantwell and Pallone. Thank you 
for convening this important conference committee to focus on 
the energy solutions for America. This is an important 
opportunity to craft a bipartisan package of energy policies 
that meets the challenges of the 21st century, that boost 
America's clean energy economy, and tackles the challenges of 
the changing climate.
    There is so much innovation going on all across America 
when it comes to energy and electricity generation, and the 
future is about energy efficiency and geothermal and renewables 
like solar, wind power, and biomass. In fact, the U.S. Energy 
Information Administration says renewable energy is the world's 
fastest-growing energy source. That means innovative, cost-
saving energy investments for our neighbors and businesses back 
home. If you want to take the temperature on how our neighbors 
feel, look at what happened in Florida at the end of August in 
our primary election. We had a constitutional amendment on the 
ballot relating to solar power, and it passed with 73 percent 
support.
    That means we are going to have to create jobs through the 
clean energy economy and at the same time reduce carbon 
pollution. We have got to focus on modernizing our energy 
infrastructure. Unfortunately, in the House bill, we have got 
to fix the provisions in the House bill that eliminate 
environmental reviews and that experts say will actually 
accelerate climate change. There are some very positive 
provisions in the Senate bill relating to energy efficiency, 
and I hope they will survive.
    I hope that the conference committee will focus on how we 
modernize our energy and electricity infrastructure. Our energy 
infrastructure is outdated and it needs to be more resilient 
and geared toward the energy demands of the 21st century.
    I look forward to working with all of you. Thank you, and I 
yield back my time.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    Next, turning to the Congressman from Texas, Representative 
Olson, on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. PETE OLSON, 
                  U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM TEXAS

    Representative Olson. I thank the Chair.
    Good morning. My name is Pete Olson. This is my fourth term 
in Congress, and I am excited because this is my first 
conference committee.
    Home is the suburbs of Houston, Texas, the energy capital 
of the entire world. We also have the world's number one 
exporting port, the Port of Houston. Back home, people want us 
to pass a good product President Obama can sign into law before 
this Congress ends in January. But none of our hard work 
matters if we cannot get resources to market. That means we 
have to get permitting right.
    The House has good language on pipelines. The Senate has 
good language on power lines. Let us find common ground. With 
our nation having the largest reserves in the whole world, we 
have begun exporting our crude oil and liquefied natural gas. 
We have to streamline the process for natural gas exports. We 
also need to promote closer coordination with our neighbors, 
Mexico and Canada, which create a de facto North American 
Petroleum Exporting Countries--a NAPEC--to counter OPEC.
    Work in the energy sector now is high-tech. We need to 
ensure that a STEM-educated workforce is ready to seize the 
moment we have right now. Energy efficiency should be tackled. 
Government facilities are a natural starting point, but we have 
to make sure that local differences are taken into account, as 
well as cost for families.
    I want to thank the staff and leadership for working hard 
in August to get us to this point. In closing, I ask this 
committee to adopt a five-word challenge from home: Failure is 
not an option.
    I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Congressman.
    Now we turn to Representative Sarbanes from Maryland on the 
House Energy and Commerce Committee.

              STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN P. SARBANES, 
                 U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM MARYLAND

    Representative Sarbanes. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    The criteria I will use to evaluate a conference report are 
pretty straightforward. First, does the measure advance our 
efforts to address climate change, and second, does it enhance 
our investments in energy infrastructure and, in particular, 
our electric grid.
    Unfortunately, the House-passed bill, which I oppose, 
misses the mark on both of those questions. The Senate-passed 
bill, I would say, takes a few steps forward in some places and 
a step or two back in others. As a result, going into these 
meetings I am keeping an open mind but I have to say I am 
skeptical that we will be able to produce a final bill that can 
earn my support and more importantly one that can be signed 
into law by the President.
    The Obama Administration, by the way, has done their fair 
share. In fact, they have done almost everything that is 
possible to address climate change while working with a hostile 
Congress. They have done this, by the way, not out of some 
righteous ideological mission but because the public is saying 
to government do something. Do something. They are demanding 
action. Rather than criticizing the President for taking action 
on climate change, Congress needs to work with him. We need to 
stop ignoring this urgent problem of climate change and start 
working on legislation that would begin our transition to 
cleaner sources of energy.
    We also need to invest in our nation's energy 
infrastructure and in particular our electrical grid to bring 
it into the 21st century. To not provide the Department of 
Energy with resources to invest in smart grid research and 
development would be akin to not funding the National 
Institutes of Health to conduct medical cures research. The 
electrical grid is an indispensable element of modern society 
and is critical to our national security, economy, and the 
general well-being of Americans.
    I hope we can work together to address these urgent and 
complex problems and to find practical, sustainable solutions. 
I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    We now turn to Representative McKinley from West Virginia 
on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

             STATEMENT OF HON. DAVID B. MCKINLEY, 
              U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM WEST VIRGINIA

    Representative McKinley. Thank you, Chairman Murkowski and 
Chairman Upton, for holding this meeting today and more 
importantly, for your hard work and leadership in defying the 
odds and bringing Congress one step closer to passing a long-
overdue energy bill. It is an honor to have been named to this 
conference committee.
    For too long we have taken energy for granted in this 
country. Energy was key to making this country great. And to 
ensure that we continue to have low-cost, reliable, and 
efficient energy, we should move a bill forward that would, 
one, modernize our energy infrastructure; two, ensure our 
nation's grid reliability and security; three, advance energy 
efficiency technologies; and four, improve the permitting 
process for pipelines in LNG exports.
    There are also some provisions in the bill that we have 
included that will encourage public-private investment in our 
energy sector such as the Appalachian hub, methane storage, 
both the House and Senate version; carbon capture; energy-
exporting facilities; energy efficiency that you have heard 
about from a lot of the other Members here; hydroelectric power 
permitting and licensing; increased training for displaced coal 
workers; enhanced R&D programming, and gas turbine 
efficiencies. These can happen through public-private 
partnerships.
    I am confident that any bill reported out of this 
conference containing these bipartisan provisions will go a 
long way to advancing our nation's energy future and 
strengthening America's greatness.
    Thank you, and I yield back my time.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    Let us now go to Representative Welch from Vermont of the 
House Energy and Commerce Committee. Hopefully, your microphone 
is a little more clear here.

                STATEMENT OF HON. PETER WELCH, 
                 U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM VERMONT

    Representative Welch. I hope so, too. Thank you very much. 
Thank you. Thanks, Senator Cantwell. I thank our wonderful 
Chair, Fred Upton, and Ranking Member, Frank Pallone.
    My focus on these issues has been on energy efficiency, and 
the reason I have done that is because we have been mired in a 
very contentious debate about climate change. It gets us into 
disputes about which is the right fuel. But where we have got 
common ground, Republicans and Democrats, is on energy 
efficiency.
    And the wisdom of having a very aggressive approach on 
energy efficiency is really apparent. Number one, you save 
money. Whatever the fuel is, if it is coal, if it is oil, even 
if it is wind or solar, if you are using less, you are saving 
more. And there is no reason we cannot have policies that get 
that job done. It is going to help us in coal country, it is 
going to help us in wind country, it is going to help us in oil 
country.
    The second thing is energy efficiency, in order to be 
implemented, requires local jobs, trades people to come in and 
insulate homes, plumbers, pipefitters. This is real work that 
is going to be done by Americans who need to do work.
    Finally, there is an incidental benefit. It reduces carbon 
emissions. In fact, in the Waxman-Markey bill that passed in 
the House and did not quite make it in the Senate, 40 percent 
of the carbon emission goal was going to be achieved through 
energy efficiency.
    We have had in the House side tremendous work by 
Republicans and Democrats. My colleague right next to me, David 
McKinley, has been a leader, Adam Kinzinger, Bob Latta, and a 
lot of support from Fred Upton. So this is the area where I 
think we have to find--we have to just take the common ground 
that is there.
    A number of the provisions in the Senate side are 
tremendous. The Shaheen-Portman legislation that has been 
mirrored by provisions that David McKinley and I put in the 
House are great. I think they should be part of this final 
package.
    I look forward to working with my colleagues and making 
certain that we come out with a product that is going to make 
things better. I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    We will turn now to Representative Lujan from New Mexico on 
the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

               STATEMENT OF HON. BEN RAY LUJAN, 
                U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM NEW MEXICO

    Representative Lujan. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
    Our work here today on an energy bill is one of great 
importance for our nation and particularly for an energy state 
like New Mexico. We need an energy policy that creates jobs, 
powers our nation, and addresses the threat of climate change. 
I am hopeful that we can work together in a bipartisan fashion 
to craft a conference report that is good for our economy and 
good for our country.
    There are a number of priorities that are important to my 
home State of New Mexico and that I encourage this committee to 
include in the report. As a growing producer of solar and wind, 
New Mexico is a leader in a clean energy economy. We are 
blessed with majestic public lands that are a source of pride, 
enjoyed by hunters, fishermen, hikers, and more. But they also 
represent an opportunity to produce clean energy where it makes 
sense. These public lands can be used to develop renewable 
energy resources, new technologies, create jobs.
    It is also important that we protect these lands that are 
part of our culture, our heritage, and our livelihood. For more 
than 50 years, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has helped 
strengthen New Mexico's economy and created jobs in our 
community by supporting public access to outdoor recreation 
that attracts visitors from far and wide. Permanently 
reauthorizing the fund, as the Senate bill calls for, will 
protect the great outdoors and support a sector that 
contributes $3.8 billion to my state's economy.
    We also have an opportunity to strengthen our national 
security through the Laboratory Directed Research and 
Development program at our national labs. I urge my colleagues 
to support Senate language that removes redundant overhead 
charges on this critical funding, a program that NNSA 
laboratories rely on to grow, sustain, and retool the staff and 
capabilities they need to meet current and future mission 
needs.
    Madam Chair, these are just a few important priorities for 
my home State of New Mexico and for our country that will grow 
our economy, create good jobs, strengthen our national 
security, and secure our energy future.
    With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    Representative Kinzinger from Illinois on the House Energy 
and Commerce Committee.

               STATEMENT OF HON. ADAM KINZINGER, 
                 U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM ILLINOIS

    Representative Kinzinger. Well, thank you, Madam Chair.
    The world has changed significantly since the last time 
Congress enacted major energy legislation, but what has not 
changed is the importance of reliable, affordable, and 
domestically produced energy to power our economy and to 
provide for our national security.
    Throughout the past year, the House has worked in good 
faith to craft a legislative package that will help all sectors 
of our energy industry from mainstream energy sources to 
energy-saving efficiency measures. Ultimately, the purpose of 
these measures is to move our country forward in order to 
establish an effective and efficient energy policy that starts 
at the federal level.
    While I understand we still have much to debate and 
discuss, I was especially pleased to see a number of important 
energy efficiency provisions that we have worked on included in 
the House-passed provision of the Energy Policy Modernization 
Act. One of those provisions was a variation of the Thermal 
Insulation Efficiency Improvement Act, which would require a 
study of the impact of increased insulation use could have in 
all federal facilities.
    Another provision, the Energy Savings through Public-
Private Partnership Act, would allow federal agencies to 
partner with private companies to develop and implement energy 
efficiency systems that create guaranteed energy-savings. These 
are bipartisan measures that will not only allow the Federal 
Government, the largest consumer of energy in the nation, to 
make better use of our energy resources, but it will save money 
for the American taxpayer.
    We all recognize that we are blessed to live in a nation 
with an abundance of natural energy resources and, more 
importantly, with the American ingenuity needed to develop and 
grow new energy technologies and industries. I look forward to 
working with you all on a conference package that will make the 
best use of all of our resources.
    With that, I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    Next, we will turn to Representative Tonko from New York on 
the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. PAUL TONKO, 
                 U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM NEW YORK

    Representative Tonko. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I thank 
all Chairs and Ranking Members for their leadership thus far.
    Let me start by saying I am ready to work together in hopes 
of achieving an agreement, but in order to do that, we must 
move past ideological provisions that have no chance of 
becoming law.
    We are living in an exciting and innovative time for energy 
policy, but sadly, our infrastructure, and in particular the 
grid, is from a bygone era. It must be modernized, and I 
appreciate the effort and ideas put forward by my colleagues.
    But in the spirit of being forthright, I find it very 
difficult to support an agreement that does not make meaningful 
investments in our energy infrastructure and workforce. I 
believe the Senate bill has some good language on energy 
efficiency and building codes which can serve as a foundation 
for compromise.
    I would like to single out the reauthorizations of the 
Weatherization Assistance Program and State Energy Program, two 
programs that by even conservative estimates generate 
tremendous economic, public health, and energy efficiency 
value. The Senate's bill actually reduces the weatherization 
program from its previous authorization to be more in line with 
recent appropriations levels. I think that makes sense and is 
exactly the type of work that authorizers should be doing.
    To highlight the good provisions from the House bill, 
Representative McKinley and I have worked on gas turbine R&D 
language focused on improving efficiency, which already passed 
the House as part of the COMPETES Act and has now been 
incorporated into the House version of S. 2012. These are just 
a few of the areas where there is bipartisan----
    [Audio malfunction in hearing room.]
    Representative Pallone.--deserve this conference's 
attention. I believe there is a potentially meaningful 
bipartisan and bicameral package that we can put together so 
that it is placed on the President's desk. But at the end of 
the day it must include the investments necessary to protect 
consumers, promote clean energy and efficiency, improve our 
grid, and put us on a path to reducing greenhouse gas 
emissions.
    With that, Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Congressman.
    We now turn to Representative Griffith from Virginia on the 
House Energy and Commerce Committee.

             STATEMENT OF HON. H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, 
                 U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM VIRGINIA

    Representative Griffith. Thank you, Madam Chair. I hope my 
comments today help in jumpstarting the conversation and 
negotiations on this energy bill, and I am hopeful that we can 
reach an agreement.
    But I am always going to fight to protect and create jobs. 
That will be driving factor as I consider provisions in this 
bill. Front and center for many counties in my district it is 
coal and how we can continue to mine it and burning cleanly. 
Supporting efforts that encourage reliable and inexpensive 
power for our communities, including baseload coal-fired power, 
is critical to prevent additional strains on our nation's 
infrastructure.
    I often talk about the rise or the increase in the number 
of proposed natural gas pipelines brought about by the decline 
in the coal-fired power plants in our electric fleet. There are 
many folks who want to eliminate all coal but also think that 
you should not have any pipelines. Others just want FERC to 
ensure that pipelines follow rational pathways and are actually 
needed.
    Finally, the three sections which I have a direct personal 
interest in which I hope the conferees will support are a law 
that will clarify the transportation of firearms; second, 
ensuring that FERC in any of its actions along non-federal 
hydropower projects recognizes private landownership and 
property rights. While many hydroelectric projects bought the 
fee simple interest in the land could be flooded and in the 
areas adjacent to the lakes that were formed. Some did not, and 
FERC may be imposing rules on landowners which I believe 
constitute a taking. And third, two provisions that will extend 
construction deadlines for hydroelectric power projects in my 
district in Allegheny and Dickinson Counties. I know a lot of 
work has been done already to find common ground and to work 
through some of the stickier provisions. I hope that this work 
will continue and I look forward to assisting in any way that I 
can.
    Thank you again, Madam Chairman, for your work here, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Congressman.
    We next turn to Representative Loebsack on the House Energy 
and Commerce Committee.

               STATEMENT OF HON. DAVID LOEBSACK, 
                   U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM IOWA

    Representative Loebsack. Thank you, Madam Chair, and good 
morning to my fellow conferees and all who are here today.
    First, I state that I am proud to be from Iowa, a state 
that derives over 30 percent of its electricity from wind, and 
we do have a growing solar industry as well. We sit here today, 
however, with an opportunity to offer solutions to lower the 
cost of energy while harnessing the need for an overhaul of our 
energy infrastructure.
    While we are just beginning this undertaking, I am open-
minded but I am skeptical as well. I am skeptical, 
unfortunately, that we can leave our party affiliation at the 
door and provide our fellow Americans with the energy they 
deserve, but I am still hopeful.
    A final product must deliver direct benefit to energy 
consumers, not just producers. We must ensure that claims of 
energy performance are reliable and incentives to increase 
efficiency in the commercial and residential sectors continue 
to deliver energy savings to consumers and businesses alike.
    Today's homebuyers, for example, want more efficient homes. 
America's homes and commercial buildings consume 71 percent of 
America's electricity, 54 percent of its natural gas, and 42 
percent of all energy. According to a 2013 National Association 
of Homebuilders survey of home buyers, 9 out of 10 Americans 
will pay two to three percent more for a new home with 
permanent energy efficiency features. Homebuyers understand 
that energy efficiency built into houses reduces monthly 
utility bills, improves comfort, and delivers long-lasting 
savings.
    Energy-efficient homes are better built, they are more 
comfortable, they are quieter, and they have a higher resale 
value. Building energy codes are the most effective tool for 
reducing energy consumption in the building sector and 
incorporating new technologies and practices that are proven 
and readily available.
    Since coming to Congress almost a decade ago, I have fought 
for improving our energy efficiency, and I look forward to 
continuing this process with my fellow conferees, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
    The Chairman. Thank you, sir.
    We next turn to Representative Johnson from Ohio on the 
House Energy and Commerce Committee.

                STATEMENT OF HON. BILL JOHNSON, 
                   U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM OHIO

    Representative Johnson. Well, thank you, Madam Chair, for 
the opportunity to speak today. I am truly honored to be a 
member of this conference committee.
    This meeting of the Senate and House conferees marks a very 
important milestone in the ongoing discussions of the Energy 
Policy Modernization Act of 2016. Although I support numerous 
provisions throughout both the House and Senate energy bills, I 
would like to use this time to highlight just a few of those 
provisions.
    First and foremost, both the House and Senate have approved 
language that requires the Department of Energy to make a 
timely decision on pending liquefied natural gas (LNG) export 
applications which would occur only after the pending 
applications have received their necessary environmental and 
construction permits.
    I support both provisions as currently written, which I 
believe gives DOE a sufficient and an appropriate amount of 
time to make any final decisions on pending applications. These 
provisions help add certainty to the LNG permitting process, 
help strengthen diplomatic ties with our allies abroad, and it 
is important that we are considering any and all opportunities 
to have these provisions signed into law.
    FERC process coordination regarding regulatory approval of 
natural gas projects, as contained in both the House and Senate 
bills, is also important. These provisions will help ensure 
that timely decisions are made by clarifying that a final 
decision on federal pipeline authorization is due no later than 
90 days after FERC issues its final environmental document, as 
well as highlighting FERC is the lead agency to approve these 
pipeline projects.
    The provision in H.R. 8 granting the Department of the 
Interior the ability to approve natural gas pipeline rights-of-
way across most federal lands should also be considered for 
final inclusion.
    With that, Madam Chairman, I look forward to continuing 
working with my colleagues on this important bill, and I yield 
back the remainder of my time.
    The Chairman. Thank you, sir.
    We now turn to Representative Huffman from California on 
the House Resources Committee.

               STATEMENT OF HON. JARED HUFFMAN, 
                U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM CALIFORNIA

    Representative Huffman. Thank you, Madam Chair. This is my 
first conference committee, and I am honored to be a part of 
it. I am also hopeful that we will be able to work together on 
a real bipartisan package that can actually cross the finish 
line and be signed into law.
    The Senate's bill, S. 2012, meets that standard. It 
received wide bipartisan support. It reflects our Senate 
colleagues' willingness to work together. And I am especially 
impressed that the Senate bill would reauthorize one of our 
nation's most effective conservation tools, the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund.
    There are also some provisions in the House Natural 
Resources package that could, with a little work, join the 
Senate's list of bipartisan success stories. But make no 
mistake, the House package includes many provisions that are 
highly controversial and will never be signed into law. For 
example, if we really want to work together on a bipartisan 
conference report, the House language on California water is a 
nonstarter. This is essentially the same old language we have 
seen for years, the same overreaching, anti-environment, anti-
salmon proposals that the nonpartisan Pacific Fisheries 
Management Council has said would lead to irreparable harm for 
salmon runs that are critical to tribes, as well as the West 
Coast's commercial and recreational fishing industries. Now, 
not only is this very bad policy, the California water title 
would be bad law. It would invite countless new lawsuits. It 
would preempt the California Constitution and end a century of 
federal deference to state water law. That is why previous 
versions of this proposal have not only drawn veto threats, 
they have been opposed by the State of California and even by 
the Western Governors' Association.
    Now, there is good news. If we want to solve water problems 
together, there is an alternative to simply rehashing these 
old, dead-end proposals. There are numerous noncontroversial 
water solutions that would actually deal with the immediate 
challenges of drought and build more resilient water systems 
for the long haul.
    Senator Cantwell has authored one compromise bill for water 
management in her state, and if we follow that same 
collaborative approach and bring some good faith to the table, 
there is a lot we could do together on California water from 
reservoir management to expanding clean water infrastructure, 
and even increasing surface storage in smart, cost-effective 
ways.
    I look forward to working with my House and Senate 
colleagues on ideas like these that could actually solve 
problems.
    I thank you and yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Congressman.
    We next turn to Representative Flores from Texas on the 
House Energy and Commerce Committee.

                STATEMENT OF HON. BILL FLORES, 
                  U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM TEXAS

    Representative Flores. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    The American energy revolution has fundamentally altered 
the global energy picture. This revolution, thanks to 
innovations related to hydraulic fracturing and horizontal 
drilling, has made our country the top oil and gas producer in 
the world.
    The 1970s era of scarcity is over. We owe the American 
consumers a modernized energy policy that recognizes our 
abundant energy resources as part of a holistic, all-of-the-
above energy solution.
    Last year, Congress took a big step forward and repealed 
the ban on crude oil exports. The recent lifting of this ban on 
exports has helped further integrate energy markets with our 
friends and allies around the world, enhances our economic and 
national security, and provides improved job opportunities for 
hard-working American families.
    This energy conference committee had the opportunity to 
build on that progress. For instance, streamlining the approval 
process for liquefied natural gas exports is an important next 
step. This gives our allies access to affordable and reliable 
energy supplies and lessens their dependence on hostile players 
like Russia and Middle Eastern suppliers.
    Additionally, our domestic energy infrastructure 
desperately needs to be updated to deliver abundant energy 
resources to our consumers.
    Finally, the last comprehensive energy bill greatly 
expanded the ethanol mandate under the renewable fuel standard. 
Expanded RFS has imposed cost on consumers by mandating a 
product they do not want, and the RFS fails to deliver any 
measurable benefit to our climate or to our energy security. In 
fact, Mr. Welch and I found growing bipartisan support to give 
consumers relief from this harmful energy mandate and to truly 
promote the biofuels that work in the future.
    I mention the RFS because, as we work through this energy 
conference, we should remember that the most sustainable energy 
policies also incorporate free market principles. Simply 
creating new government programs, no matter how well-intended, 
does not give consumers the best outcome. We also need to 
include energy efficiency as one of the solutions to this 
holistic energy solution.
    I look forward to working with each of the members of this 
conference committee to develop a vibrant 21st-century energy 
strategy.
    Thank you. I yield back the balance of my time.
    The Chairman. Thank you, sir.
    We next turn to Representative Mullin from Oklahoma.

              STATEMENT OF HON. MARKWAYNE MULLIN, 
                 U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM OKLAHOMA

    Representative Mullin. Thank you, and good morning. I, 
first of all, want to begin by thanking Speaker Ryan and 
Chairman Upton for naming me as a conferee for this important 
legislation. I look forward to representing the House Energy 
and Commerce Committee and Oklahoma priorities in this 
agreement, and I would like to take this time to highlight a 
few priorities that I believe are essential to the future of 
our nation's energy policy.
    Oklahoma is an energy-rich state with a diverse portfolio 
that includes natural gas, oil, hydropower, and wind. This bill 
has several important provisions for all these, but I want to 
highlight the hydropower provision that the House included in 
H.R. 8 and this bill.
    The hydropower licensing process is long and very 
expensive. This process needs to be modernized in order to 
strengthen the accountability of all participants and to 
promote greater scheduling discipline in the process.
    I would also like to highlight my efforts to include report 
language that would encourage the GSA to increase availability 
of all alternative fuel vehicles for federal agencies to 
purchase and lease, including natural gas vehicles. The Federal 
Government should not be picking winners and losers, and this 
report language would help make all types of alternative fuel 
vehicles available to be purchased.
    There are many other important provisions that I support 
that we can also discuss at another time, some of which include 
LNG exports, FERC processing, and improving of natural gas 
projects, the repeal of section 433, also the 2007 energy law. 
I am eager to discuss and debate these issues with my fellow 
conferees, and I look forward to moving ahead in a bipartisan 
manner to pass this bill that will make it possible for 
America's energy needs to be met now and into the future.
    Thank you, and I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, sir.
    We now go to my friend and colleague from Alaska, the 
Congressman for all Alaska, Representative Don Young.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. DON YOUNG, 
                  U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM ALASKA

    Representative Young. Thank you. We have one mic at this 
table. That is a good example.
    Madam Chair, thank you for holding this conference, and I 
have to remind my colleague, conferences are about give-and-
take, and there is a lot of taking and not much giving with 
certain people in this room. And I have to remind people of 
that. I have been around here a little while.
    My interests in there of course are the Alaska hunting regs 
are illegal, and my native energy bill with Senator Barrasso, 
we hope we would get that done. Alaska hydro, we heard a lot 
about hydro. It is important that we do this quicker and get 
the renewable energy that really works for a long period of 
time. Of course we have the polar bear trophies. Many wonder 
what that is doing. This is in the House bill. The 
Administration supports it. Everybody supports that provision, 
and why it was not in the Senate bill, I do not know. We will 
find that out in conference. That is one of the things we can 
work on.
    Madam Chair, I suggest respectfully also we have heard 
about energy efficiency. I want to warn everybody about having 
the government decide what efficiency is and what will work in 
certain areas. We have a very efficient holding industry in the 
State of Alaska for houses, probably the highest efficiency 
houses in the nation. We do not need the Federal Government 
telling us how to do it. I do not want to see that overreach, 
and at conference, I think it is wrong for their nation. I 
believe it is wrong for the building industry. I believe it is 
wrong for the people. Selection should be individual choice.
    Madam Chairman, there is a lot of good in the Senate bill. 
There is a lot of good in the House bill. Let us see if we 
cannot get the good and eliminate the bad on both sides.
    With that, we will have a conference we will be proud of. I 
want to thank you for your hard work.
    With that, Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Congressman.
    We next go to the Congresswoman from Wyoming, 
Representative Lummis.

             STATEMENT OF HON. CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, 
                U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN FROM WYOMING

    Representative Lummis. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
    You know, this conference committee represents a positive 
breakthrough in this Congress, and I am honored to be part of 
it.
    As a proud daughter of Wyoming and a Westerner, I am 
particularly hopeful to we can come together and address and 
improve stewardship of our public lands and resources. So I am 
going to focus on a couple of aspects of this conference 
committee that are related to public lands.
    The Land and Water Conservation Fund must be reformed, not 
just reauthorized. Mission drift over the years has changed the 
intent and focus of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, so 
let us not just reauthorize a drifted program; let us fix it.
    Also, I want to say a few things about the grey wolf 
provision in the House bill. Just this year in April in the 
Oversight and Government Reform Committee, we invited Fish and 
Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe to discuss issues facing the 
Endangered Species Act. When he was talking about the grey wolf 
and the litigation involving it, he says it is frustrating, and 
in the case of the grey wolf in Wyoming and the Western Great 
Lakes, it is interfering with the work of biologists in his 
agency to have this litigation.
    Also in April of this year over in the House Natural 
Resources Committee, Director Ashe said the grey wolf was 
recovered. And now quoting him, he said, ``The wolf is probably 
one of the most frustrating issues during my tenure. Wolves are 
recovered. We are that truck in the mud up to the running 
boards. We cannot go forward and we cannot go backward.''
    So when federal policy fails, it is the responsibility of 
Congress to govern. It is clear Congress must act to ensure 
science-driven grey wolf management in Wyoming and in the Great 
Lakes. So this is one of the tough issues for this conference 
committee, but let us remember how we got this far. This is a 
unique opportunity for both sides of the aisle to work 
together. I am confident that with a constructive dialogue and 
good-faith negotiations we can reach a positive outcome for the 
West and for our nation.
    Thanks again, Madam Chairman. I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Congresswoman.
    Next on our list is Representative Denham from California. 
He does not appear to be here, so we will move to 
Representative Westerman from Arizona on the House Resources 
Committee.

              STATEMENT OF HON. BRUCE WESTERMAN, 
                 U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM ARKANSAS

    Representative Westerman. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I too 
am honored to participate today at this first conference 
meeting on the Energy Policy Modernization Act.
    One of the important bipartisan House Natural Resources 
Committee bills included in the energy package is H.R. 2647, 
the Resilient Federal Forest Act. Current federal forest 
management policy is broken. Simply put, we are loving our 
forest to death. H.R. 2647 gets us on the right course by 
utilizing sound science-based conservation tools that the 
Forest Service and BLM can implement 
immediately to make our forest healthy and resilient, which 
will 
reduce the threat of wildfire, make our forests more resistant 
to 
insect and disease infestation, protect watersheds, create 
better wildlife habitat, and store more carbon in the forest 
rather than sending 100 million tons per year up in smoke.
    In terms of renewable energy, forest fires on federal lands 
last year consumed and wasted the equivalent energy of over 25 
million gallons of gasoline. H.R. 2647 incentivizes and rewards 
collaboration by allowing for expedited environmental reviews 
for collaborative projects, and it protects collaborative 
projects from unnecessary and frivolous lawsuits.
    Additionally, the Resilient Federal Forest Act encourages 
quick reforestation after a fire by requiring the 75 percent of 
the area impacted be reforested within five years. Currently, 
the Forest Service reforests less than three percent of areas 
burned by wildfires.
    Finally, H.R. 2647 solves the problem of fire-borrowing in 
a fiscally prudent matter. It treats massive wildfires as they 
should be treated under the federal budget, as natural 
disasters. In 2015, fire suppression accounted for 52 percent 
of the Forest Service's budget. H.R. 2647 will free up 
management dollars so that land management agencies can do what 
they need to to reduce fuel loads and promote resilient 
forests, which lead to healthy landscapes.
    Once again, I would like to thank the leaders of this 
conference committee for calling today's meeting, and I hope 
that this leads to a strong bipartisan agreement that promotes 
healthy, resilient federal forests. And I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, sir.
    We now turn to Congressman Weber from Texas on the House 
Science Committee.

            STATEMENT OF HON. RANDY K. WEBER, SR., 
                  U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM TEXAS

    Representative Weber. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    I will speak briefly in strong support of division D of the 
House amendment to S. 2012, which includes Title XXXIII of the 
House-passed National Defense Authorization Act, known as NDAA.
    For the first time since the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 
Congress has the opportunity to authorize critical research and 
development programs at the Department of Energy (DOE). 
Division D of the House amendment to S. 2012 lays out 
priorities for energy research and development, authorizing 
basic research in the Office of Science and applied research 
programs in electricity, renewable energy, and energy 
efficiency, fossil, and nuclear energy technology. Division D 
prioritizes the basic and fundamental research in our national 
labs that provides the best opportunity for innovation and 
economic growth.
    Division D also includes Title XXXIII of the NDAA, which 
provides updated statutory direction to the Department of 
Energy's nuclear researcher activities to ensure that 
fundamental research is prioritized.
    Title XXXIII lays out a clear timeline and parameters for 
DOE to complete a research reactor. A research reactor is a 
crucial part of ensuring materials and nuclear fuels R&D can 
take place in the United States and not overseas.
    This legislation also directs DOE to partner with the 
private sector to construct and operate reactor prototypes at 
DOE national labs. The Science Committee spent a long time 
developing this language with relevant stakeholders. This 
language passed twice in the House as a standalone bill and in 
the NDAA and once as an amendment to this bill in the Senate 
with overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers.
    It is vital that Title XXXIII move forward in both the NDAA 
and in S. 2012 in order to ensure this important research and 
development is signed into law. We cannot afford to miss the 
economic opportunity provided by next-generation nuclear 
technology. So I encourage my colleagues to support Division D 
of the House amendment to S. 2012, in particular, Title XXXIII 
of the House-passed NDAA.
    Madam Chair, I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, sir.
    Now we turn to Representative Thompson from Pennsylvania.

               STATEMENT OF HON. GLENN THOMPSON, 
               U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM PENNSYLVANIA

    Representative Thompson. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    As a member of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources 
Committee, I appreciate and am honored for the opportunity to 
serve in this conference and look forward to the final report.
    In the past six years, I have had the privilege of serving 
as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry, 
and I am very proud of the good bipartisan work that was done 
during the 2014 farm bill conference.
    As this conference process gets underway, I have several 
priorities I would like to briefly mention. First is a priority 
that we see the Resilient Federal Forest Act added to the 
package. This legislation will help the Forest Service better 
manage its assets by providing more tools and flexibility. A 
more effective forest management results in a healthy forest 
creating the world's largest carbon sinks. I was proud to 
support this legislation. I urge its inclusion in the final 
conference report.
    Second, there are numerous provisions contained in H.R. 8 
intending to bring commonsense reforms to domestic energy 
permitting and access. Recent production of shale formations 
such as the Marcellus in Pennsylvania have been a game-changer 
for consumers, manufacturing, and agriculture, as well as the 
state and local governments. When it comes to natural gas, the 
greatest single challenge we face is a need for the new 
infrastructure to get these vast supplies to market.
    I strongly support reforms to help streamline lengthy 
permitting processes, providing timelines for pipeline 
permitting, and provisions allowing for the right-of-way for 
pipelines.
    Finally, I also echo the comments made by many of my 
colleagues this morning with regards to the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund. While I am highly supportive of the 
voluntary conservation practices and the benefits generated for 
communities around the nation, I do have serious concerns about 
any permanent reauthorization. Like any other federal program, 
Congress should routinely revisit, provide adequate oversight, 
and consider whether it is pertinent to amend or reauthorize 
such programs.
    I thank my colleagues for being here today, and I look 
forward to beginning this important conference process. Thank 
you, Madam Chair.
    The Chairman. Thank you, sir. And finally, we come to 
Representative Zeldin from New York on the House Transportation 
and Infrastructure Committee.
    We are at the end of our list, and it appears that we have 
heard comments from 41 of the conferees, which is most 
impressive, I think. We have had good input from all, which is 
greatly appreciated. I too want to acknowledge the great work 
of all the staffs to this point in time. I think it is 
considerable to note that the Senate did not move to accept the 
opportunity to go to conference until just before we broke in 
mid-July and conferees were appointed at that time.
    Throughout the past many weeks that Congress has been in 
recess, we have had our staffs working aggressively to move 
through 1,602 pages of legislative text. There are some 90 
professional staff that have been working over these weeks 
moving through this legislative text. There have been over 30 
negotiation sessions primarily during the summer recess. I know 
that there have been probably a dozen in this past week 
already, so the work has been considerable and it is greatly 
appreciated what has already taken place to this point in time.
    And as we have heard repeated by colleagues on both the 
House side and the Senate side, we have much work to do. I know 
that we all look forward to rolling up our sleeves, committing 
to a good, fair process throughout, and I know that we will be 
wasting no time to advance the important priorities that we 
have heard reflected in Members' comments here today.
    With that, I would just acknowledge that the work really 
begins in earnest, and the conference stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 11:21 a.m., the meeting was adjourned.]

                      APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED

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