[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 5, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1297-S1298]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INCREASED EXPORTS
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, a few years ago--actually in 2010--
President Obama announced something he called the National Export
Initiative. The goal of the initiative was to double American exports
in 5 years. That is right, double American exports in 5 years--
something certainly I support. It has been more than 4 years now, and
it is pretty clear we are going to fall way short of the President's
goal.
During his State of the Union Address this January, the President
pledged once again to open new markets to American goods. The President
specifically requested trade promotion authority. The very next day the
Democrats' majority leader rejected the request. I come to the floor
today to discuss how President Obama can increase American exports
despite the opposition from his own party.
The President should focus on energy, and the President should take
the steps needed to increase exports of American natural gas, oil, and
coal. Energy exports are going to create good jobs here in America and
reduce our Nation's trade deficit. American natural gas, our oil, and
our coal exports will also reap important foreign policy benefits, such
as helping nations in Europe such as Ukraine free themselves from
Russian manipulation. That is what it is--Russian manipulation.
Last month the magazine The Economist published an article with the
headline ``The petro-state of America: The energy boom is good for
America and the world. It would be nice if Barack Obama helped a bit.''
That is from The Economist last month. The article explained that the
United States may already have surpassed Russia as the world's largest
oil and natural gas producer. The Economist went on to discuss the
benefits of liquefied natural gas exports from the United States. It
said that natural gas exports ``could generate tanker loads of cash''--
``tanker loads of cash''--for America.
However, The Economist also pointed out that the process for
obtaining the permits--the permits needed to export that American
natural gas--is ``insanely slow.'' This is not an exaggeration. Over
the past 3\1/2\ years the Department of Energy has used its discretion
to approve only six applications to export liquefied natural gas.
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy is sitting on 24 other
applications. Fourteen of those have been pending for more than 1 year,
and two of them have been pending for more than 2 years. To put this in
context, the United States has approved only two-thirds of the amount
of liquefied natural gas exports that Canada has.
Last year I introduced a piece of legislation, S. 192, the Expedited
LNG for American Allies Act. It is a bipartisan bill, with supporters
on both sides of the aisle, cosponsors on both sides of the aisle. This
would require the Department of Energy to approve applications to
export natural gas to members of NATO, to Japan, and to any other
country where gas exports would promote U.S. national security
interests. Think about the country of Ukraine. As Congress considers
this legislation, President Obama should direct his Energy Department
to expedite the existing permitting process. He should set firm
deadlines for the Department in acting on pending applications.
These exports are going to create jobs all across this country--from
natural gas fields in Wyoming, to steel mills in the Midwest, to ports
along our coasts.
Liquefied natural gas exports will also help reduce our Nation's
trade deficit, which stood at nearly $39 billion in December.
Finally, natural gas exports will help our allies in Europe. Ukraine
imports about 60 percent of its natural gas from Russia. So what is
Russia's position on this? Well, we know that Vladimir Putin--Russia
had actually cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine twice before--in
2006 and in 2009. Earlier this
[[Page S1298]]
week the Wall Street Journal reported that Russia's state-owned energy
giant, Gazprom, is now threatening to raise gas prices in the Ukraine.
American natural gas exports could help Ukraine and other European
countries reduce their dependence on Russia.
President Obama can also increase American exports by lifting the ban
on exporting crude oil. The International Energy Agency estimates that
the United States is going to overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's
largest producer of crude oil by 2020. This really is a remarkable
development, and it has happened because of hydraulic fracturing and
unconventional oil and gas production. It is estimated that
unconventional oil and gas production is going to create up to 1.7
million new jobs in this country by 2020. But in January the
International Energy Agency warned that the ban on crude oil exports--
the ban that exists on those exports--could impede American crude oil
production.
If the President does not lift the export ban, he is going to put
American oil production and thousands of jobs at risk. He will also
pass up on an incredible opportunity--an opportunity to reshape the
global oil market. For generations, Americans have been subject to the
whims of the global oil market. Americans pay more at the pump when oil
production goes offline, wherever it is located. American crude oil
exports would boost the world's oil supply and help stabilize prices
for American consumers.
American exports would also undermine the influence of oil-rich
countries that do not like us very much. For years the United States
has asked Japan and India to reduce their imports of Iranian oil. These
are two of the world's largest oil importers--Japan and India. In 2012
Japan imported more than 4 percent of its oil from Iran. India imported
about 8 percent of its oil from Iran. American crude oil exports could
help cut off a vital supply of funding to the Iranian regime. If my
colleagues are serious about ensuring that countries abide by U.S.
sanctions on Iran, they should support American crude oil exports, not
oppose them.
Finally, President Obama needs to promote exports of American coal.
Like natural gas and oil, coal exports are going to create good jobs
all across the country.
Over the last several years the Environmental Protection Agency has
taken steps to block American coal exports. The EPA is asking the Army
Corps of Engineers to radically expand the environmental review process
for new export terminals. It wants the Corps to consider the carbon
emissions that would be produced by exports after they leave the United
States. I want to repeat that. The EPA wants to block exports because
of the carbon emissions the exports would produce when they are used
after they leave the United States.
The National Association of Manufacturers says the EPA's actions
would set ``a very dangerous precedent that could be used to block
exports of all types.'' That includes exports of American automobiles,
exports of civilian aircraft, exports of heavy equipment that we
manufacture here in the United States.
To its credit, the Army Corps of Engineers has said it will not
expand the environmental review process for new export terminals.
President Obama should ensure that the Corps will complete its work in
a timely manner and do so without interference from the EPA or any
other agency.
President Obama is fond of saying he has a pen and he has a phone. He
has boasted about ignoring the will of Congress. He seems to take
delight in finding legal authority where he has none. President Obama
should stop using his so-called authority that is authority he does not
have, and he should start using authority he does have. He needs to use
his authority to promote American exports. President Obama needs to
lift restrictions on exports of natural gas and on oil and coal so
Americans can get back to work and our country can regain its stature
in the world.
The Budget
I also want to speak very briefly about another area where I think
the President's administration is really not doing enough.
Yesterday the White House finally released the President's budget.
This budget included no evidence of leadership and no sign that the
President is ready to make a single responsible decision when it comes
to Washington's out-of-control debt. The budget increases spending by
$791 billion over the next 10 years. It is a 63-percent increase over
where we are today--63 percent. It adds another $8.3 trillion of debt
over the next decade. That is on top of $6.8 trillion in debt the
President has already racked up. The President has never submitted a
balanced budget in his life, and this one is no exception.
President Obama is now a lameduck President. That becomes more
obvious every time he puts out a partisan political agenda such as this
one instead of putting out a serious plan for how government should
spend taxpayers' money. The President's budget does nothing to reform
Washington's entitlement spending. Is this really the legacy the
President wants to leave for America's young people?
The White House has called this plan ``Opportunity for All.'' There
is no opportunity in this budget. It is just more debt, more taxes,
more accounting gimmicks, budget tricks so the President does not have
to make the tough, responsible decisions one would expect of the
President of the United States.
On energy exports and on the budget, the President should be taking
opportunities to solve some of the real challenges facing our country,
not letting them pass him by.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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