[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1816-S1817]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           The Green New Deal

  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I would like to start by talking about one 
of the best things we are known for in Montana, and that is our great 
outdoors, whether it be our national parks, our iconic wildlife, 
hunting, or fly fishing. Like all Montanans, I want the peace of mind 
that I can continue to enjoy these opportunities with my kids and 
grandkids, just as my dad and my grandpa did with me growing up in 
Montana.
  In Montana, we know how to foster commonsense, locally driven 
conservation to protect our environment. I am here to tell you today 
that there is nothing common sense about the so-called Green New Deal. 
In fact, the Green New Deal is a representation of everything that is 
wrong with Washington, DC. It is a radical, top-down idea that 
disregards the impacts on hard-working Montanans and Americans across 
our country.
  You see, in Montana, we rely on a diverse portfolio of energy and 
fuel sources to help grow our economy, to create good-paying jobs, and 
to preserve our Montana way of life. In order to live where you also 
like to play--that is what we call Montana--you need a good-paying job. 
Montana is still a State where a mom or a dad, a grandma or a grandpa, 
or an uncle or an aunt can take a child down to Walmart and buy an elk 
tag over the counter and be at a trailhead to start elk hunting within 
30 minutes. We need our ag production. We need clean coal. We need 
sustainable timber production. These are all part of our Montana way of 
life. They are all important to the great State heritage we have. This 
Green New Deal would uproot all of that.
  This Green New Deal sounds more like a socialist wish list than it 
does some great, bold conservation plan. Calling for an end to air 
travel, getting rid of all of the cows, and ceasing all production of 
coal would literally destroy our State's economy. The Green New Deal 
flat out doesn't work. Montana's rural communities would be left 
without any power or electricity. In fact, just this month, we saw 
record cold temperatures in Montana. I was trying to fly back to 
Washington, DC, a week ago Monday. When I got to our airport there in 
Bozeman, it was minus-40 degrees. We had to hold the plane for nearly 3 
hours because deicing fluid only works at minus-25 and warmer 
temperatures.
  The data that we have now looked at from during that cold snap shows 
that it was coal-fired generation--in particular, our Colstrip 
powerplant--that picked up the slack during those low temperatures. It 
kept the heat on for families across Montana.
  Our wind turbines have difficulty working in subzero temperatures, 
and that is regardless of whether the wind blows. One of the challenges 
in a State like Montana is that when a high-pressure system moves in, 
whether in the wintertime or in the summertime--let's take the winter 
for example. When high pressure moves in, oftentimes that is associated 
with low temperatures. That usually is when we have a spike in 
requirements of energy consumption needs on the grid. What happens when 
a high-pressure system moves in is that the wind stops blowing. There 
is a reason wind is referred to as intermittent energy.
  I am not opposed to the renewables. I think it is wonderful that we 
have wind energy in Montana. We have solar. We have hydro. We have a 
great renewable energy portfolio in Montana. But the reality is that 
during the coldest days of the winter, the wind doesn't blow. In fact, 
at minus-23 degrees and colder, they have to shut off the wind turbines 
because of the stress it presents to the materials of the turbines.
  In the summertime, when high-pressure systems move in, the 
temperatures spike on the high side, and the wind stops blowing. At the 
same time, we have peak load on the grid.
  So the commonsense thing to do is to focus on accelerating 
development of clean coal technology and keeping a balanced portfolio 
to make sure we meet the spike demands, whether they are in the 
summertime or in the wintertime.
  While we should focus on accelerating investments to help renewables 
like wind become more reliable, which makes a lot of sense, we should 
continue to think about how to make renewables better.
  The Green New Deal seems to think we all live in a fantasyland. In 
fact, it states how the United States has a disproportionate 
contribution to global

[[Page S1817]]

greenhouse gas emissions. Reports show that it is Asia, China, India, 
and other Asian countries. They are the countries that will drive 
energy consumption 25 percent higher by 2040 and with it, global gas 
emissions.
  The Green New Deal doesn't tell the positive story right here at home 
that the U.S.--and listen to this--is actually a world leader in 
technological energy innovation; that is we, the United States, leads 
the world in reducing energy-related carbon emissions. In fact, since 
2007, our emissions have decreased about 14 percent. In fact, it is 
more innovation, not more regulation, that will further reduce global 
carbon emissions.
  Our world is a safer, more secure place if we accelerate energy 
innovation here at home, not cut the rug out from under us and cede 
that leadership to Asian countries. To top it all off, under the Green 
New Deal, it is the American people and it is Montanans, the hard-
working taxpayers, who are going to pick up the bill.
  Some estimates have found this radical proposal would cost hard-
working families over $600,000 per household over the proposed 
timeframe of that deal. That is about $65,000 every year.
  After only 10 years of implementation, Montanans will be stuck with a 
$93 trillion tab; roughly, $10 trillion more than the combined GDP of 
every nation on the planet in 2017. You see, this Green New Deal has 
nothing to do with conservation and the environment.
  The people of Montana believe in smart and efficient conservation. 
Listen, I am an avid backpacker. I am an avid fly fisherman. I spend 
more time in the wilderness than many. My wife and I love to put 
backpacks on and get back in the High Country and chase golden trout, 
the elk, and cattle. I love pristine environments. Montanans share a 
similar passion for the outdoors, but Montanans know we need smart and 
efficient conservation, and there is not one smart or efficient thing 
about this proposal.
  The Green New Deal is not a bold step forward. It is tragically 
backward. This is taking us back to Lewis and Clark, but don't take it 
from me. Take it from the hard-working Montanans, like our mine 
workers, like our pipe fitters, like our labor unions, which say:

       We will not accept proposals that could cause immediate 
     harm to millions of our members and their families. We will 
     not stand by and allow threats to our members' jobs and their 
     families' standard of living go unanswered.

  That is why I am here today. We will not let this Green New Deal 
proposal go unanswered.