[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 10, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2866-S2867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Congressional Review Act Resolution

  Mr. President, earlier today, in a piece of good news around here, a 
bipartisan majority voted to block an effort that would have wasted 
taxpayer resources, polluted our air, and accelerated climate change. I 
thank my colleagues who voted that way, in particular the Republican 
Senators who crossed the aisle to join us in this vote. Today, we 
showed that Washington can still come together to put the public above 
the powerful. Today we showed that, in the Senate at least, a majority 
still exists for common sense, for public health, and for good 
stewardship of public resources.
  Before this morning, the Trump administration and some Members of 
Congress sought to undo a rule from the Bureau of Land Management that 
had been a win for taxpayers, for businesses, and the environment. 
Across the country, oil and gas companies pay royalties to extract from 
Federal and Tribal lands. Each year, these companies waste around $330 
million worth of gas because of inefficient operations, from leaky 
pipes to excess burning, to faulty vents.
  By preserving this rule, we will give taxpayers roughly $800 million 
in new royalties over the next decade--resources our communities could 
use to invest in schools or to build roads, bridges, and tunnels. 
Actually, the idea that we are giving the money is not right. The 
taxpayers will earn the royalties to which they are entitled as a 
result of these public lands.
  This is a win all the way around. For public health, it reduces toxic 
pollutants in the air we breathe. For businesses, it cuts waste and 
expands their bottom lines. For the planet, it curbs leaking methane, 
which is up to 80 times more potent than a greenhouse gas and 
accelerates climate change. In fact, without the proper protections, 
natural gas can burn as dirty as coal, and the benefits that we have 
gotten from natural gas would be dramatically reduced.
  Thanks to bipartisan cooperation, this rule will remain in place. I 
want to recognize Colorado's leadership in bringing us to this moment. 
In Colorado, we led the Nation to adopt the country's first-ever rule 
to reduce methane waste and pollution. The rule enjoys support from 
environmental groups, the oil and gas industry, and 83 percent of 
Coloradans.
  Our approach was so successful that the Bureau of Land Management 
drew on it as a model for all Federal and Tribal lands. In my State, 
when we were thinking about passing this rule, critics said that it 
would stifle energy production, but the opposite has happened. 
Colorado's natural gas production has continued to rise, while oil 
production has nearly doubled.

[[Page S2867]]

  Critics also argued that Colorado's rule would kill jobs. Once again, 
the facts tell a very different story. In Colorado alone, 41 different 
companies put people to work to repair pipes, monitor pollution, and 
develop technologies to reduce emissions. Our experience showed that 
the rule spurred new jobs and technologies, reduced pollution, and 
protected the planet, all while failing to reduce energy production as 
critics alleged. Those facts were critical in preserving the rule this 
morning.
  Because of what we did this morning, the national standard we 
preserved, our State will not suffer from higher methane pollution 
coming across the border from other States. That would have hurt 
Colorado's economy. That would have hurt tourism in one of the most 
visited States in the country, and it would have been deeply unfair to 
the people of Colorado, to kids with asthma and seniors who need clean 
air to breathe, to the next generation of Americans, of Coloradans who 
deserve a healthy planet.
  Now that Congress has spoken, the administration should listen. My 
colleagues and I will vigorously oppose any attempts by the Department 
of the Interior to bypass, somehow administratively, the decision that 
has been made today. All of us need to remain vigilant to ensure that 
this commonsense protection remains in place, protecting Americans, 
protecting our environment, and I am grateful that today, at least, we 
can come together and put fact over ideology and put the public good 
over narrow interests.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Thank you, Mr. President.
  First, I want to thank my colleague from Colorado for his outstanding 
remarks and, even much more important, the work on the methane CRA. 
Much is happening today, and not many people paid much attention, I 
guess, because they were so busy, but this is the first CRA to go down, 
and it is probably the most important one that came before us. So the 
fact that it wasn't voted on means the people of America and the people 
of the world can breathe a sigh of relief because methane--one of the 
great causes of global warming--will not be released into the 
atmosphere as easily.