[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 154 (Tuesday, September 24, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5648-S5649]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Saudi Arabia

  Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come to the floor today to discuss 
the need to bolster our Nation's energy security following the recent 
attacks on Saudi Arabian oil.
  Having read the classified briefing in full, I am convinced that Iran 
is absolutely behind the attacks. Now, Iran wants to drive up world oil 
prices to hopefully, in their mind, increase the amount of revenue they 
would get from selling their oil. Basically, they need the money, and 
that is because the sanctions that the United States has imposed on 
Iran have worked. They have been punishing. That is why President 
Trump, I believe, made the right call in adding even tougher sanctions. 
The sanctions have been biting, and Iran's currency has been 
significantly devalued. Now is the time to step up our own American 
energy production.

  Since my Senate arrival in 2007, I have worked to advance pro-growth 
energy policies throughout that entire time. My goal has always been to 
promote American energy, to safeguard U.S. workers, and to protect this 
great Nation.
  Today, the United States is the world's top energy producer. We are a 
global leader in oil, as well as in natural gas. In fact, the United 
States is poised to become the world's top energy exporter, as well, 
and my home State of Wyoming has been a key driver in all of this 
success.
  To reach this goal, we are going to need to leverage our energy 
sources. This includes zero-emission nuclear power, as well as 
renewable energy. We need it all. In the Senate, I believe both parties 
want Americans to use more carbon-free energy. So both parties should 
embrace sensible, scientific solutions. Yet Democrats, once again, are 
pushing more of their radical proposals. That is what we have to deal 
with.
  Two weeks ago, House Democrats passed several anti-energy bills. 
These measures would lock up key offshore and Alaskan oil reserves. The 
majority of House Democrats have cosponsored these scary schemes that 
would damage our economy.
  If the House Democrats' anti-energy bills ever were to become law--
and I assure you that the Republican Senate and President Trump will 
never allow that to happen--they would be a real gift to our foreign 
enemies and to our adversaries, like Russia, because Russia routinely 
uses natural gas as a geopolitical weapon.
  Still, 2020 Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, a Member of our 
Senate, recently unveiled a plan to ban hydraulic fracturing. This 
revolutionary technique has led to a renaissance for American energy 
production, and she wants to ban it.
  Last year, Senator Warren's home State of Massachusetts imported 
Russian natural gas. Where did they import it from? People all across 
the country and the world saw the Russian natural gas tanker in Boston 
Harbor. Let me repeat. Let me be very clear. Last year, Senator 
Warren's home State of Massachusetts imported Russian natural gas 
through the Boston Harbor. At the same time, the Senator has denounced 
U.S. pipelines and other U.S. energy infrastructure projects--this, as 
her own State pays one of highest utility rates anywhere in the 
country.
  Not only do the Democrats' politicized policies dramatically increase 
Americans' energy costs, but they are also a threat to our national 
security. No matter, Senator Warren also wants to ban nuclear power. 
She doesn't like fracking. She doesn't like natural gas. She now wants 
to ban nuclear power. Has she forgotten that nuclear energy is 
America's chief carbon-free power source? Twenty percent of U.S. 
electricity comes from nuclear power. These reckless Democrat proposals 
would make the United States more dependent on unstable foreign energy 
markets.
  Working families here in the United States should never overpay on 
their energy bills due to foolish policies--and that is what they are, 
foolish policies that make us all vulnerable. The American public is 
not going to stand for it.
  According to a recent Washington Post-Kaiser Foundation poll, more 
than 70 percent of Americans have said they don't want to pay even $10 
more on their monthly electric bills to lower carbon emissions. We want 
to lower carbon emissions. How much are families willing to pay? 
Seventy percent say not $10 a month. How about $2 a month? A majority 
said, no, that is too much to pay.
  So we need to pursue a commonsense energy strategy--one that keeps 
working families' costs down, one that keeps the economy strong, and 
one that helps keep our Nation safe.
  Republicans are committed to protecting and advancing America's 
energy independence. President Trump understands how important this is. 
In the wake of the attacks on Saudi Arabia, not only is the President 
working to expand sanctions, but he is moving to approve major pipeline 
projects as well.
  One of the energy issues I am addressing now in the Senate is 
reforming the permit process for American energy exploration. Earlier 
this Congress, I introduced a piece of legislation called the ONSHORE 
Act. It stands for Opportunities for the Nation and States to Harness 
Onshore Resources for Energy. The ONSHORE Act will simplify the process 
for Federal onshore oil and gas permits. Whether we are talking about 
promoting energy exploration, utilities, carbon capturing, or nuclear 
power, we must engineer our way to American energy solutions.
  Republicans recognize our Nation's unique ability to fill in the gaps 
from global supply disruptions. So our focus needs to be on promoting 
American energy independence. It is time to reject the Democrats' 
extreme schemes once and for all. What the Democrats are proposing is a 
real threat to our U.S. energy security, and they are offering a gift 
to American enemies.
  We need to continue our America-first energy policy. That is what we 
are going to continue to do to keep us strong, to keep us safe, and to 
keep us prosperous as a nation.
  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.
  Ms. ROSEN. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call 
be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the McGuire 
nomination?
  Ms. ROSEN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker), 
the Senator from California (Ms. Harris), the Senator from Alabama (Mr. 
Jones), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the Senator from 
Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 88, nays 6, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 298 Ex.]

                                YEAS--88

     Alexander
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blackburn
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Braun
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Coons
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer

[[Page S5649]]


     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hassan
     Hawley
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kaine
     Kennedy
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     McConnell
     McSally
     Menendez
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Risch
     Roberts
     Romney
     Rosen
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Sinema
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Toomey
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Wicker
     Wyden
     Young

                                NAYS--6

     Brown
     Casey
     Gillibrand
     Markey
     Merkley
     Warren

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Booker
     Harris
     Jones
     Sanders
     Tillis
     Whitehouse
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.

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