[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.
____________________