[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 3, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1273-S1274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                S. 2657

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, this week, the Senate has a good 
opportunity to update the laws governing the way we harness and deploy 
America's tremendous domestic energy resources. It has been well over a 
decade since the last time comprehensive energy legislation was signed 
into Federal law.
  Following our overwhelming vote yesterday to proceed to consideration 
of the American Energy Innovation Act, the Senate is on track to change 
that very soon. The American Energy Innovation Act put forward by 
Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Manchin is thoroughly bipartisan. 
It contains provisions sponsored or cosponsored by more than 60 of our 
colleagues. It has come to include 50 individual pieces of legislation 
that the Energy and Natural Resources Committee considered last year.
  Over the past 3 years, the Trump administration and this Congress 
have worked together to secure historic advances for both the producers 
and consumers of affordable domestic energy. We have opened access to 
new energy reserves, streamlined the regulation of liquid natural gas 
exports, and halted or reversed the most egregious Obama-era regulatory 
burdens. The growing record is clear. We have helped to usher in a 
prosperous new era of U.S. energy independence.
  The legislation we are considering this week is designed to build on 
those successes. It takes proactive steps to ensure the security, 
efficiency, and affordability of American energy for years to come.
  First, it puts a strong tailwind behind programs, grants, and 
research efforts that are focused on energy innovation. That means 
significant investments in improving energy efficiency and grid storage 
technologies; new resources for the development of renewable 
geothermal, nuclear, and other energy sources to help sustain domestic 
energy independence; reauthorization for the Department of Energy's 
cutting-edge research at the Advanced Research Projects Agency; and a 
renewed commitment to carbon capture, utilization, and storage at coal 
production facilities.
  In addition to energy innovation, the legislation also focuses on 
energy security. Since the last comprehensive update to the Federal 
energy laws in 2007, our Nation's critical infrastructure, including 
the electric grid, has changed significantly, and so have the threats 
it faces. Our colleagues' legislation tackles this head-on. It 
introduces incentives for electrical grid modernization and cyber 
security projects. It encourages utility providers to take proactive 
measures to protect ratepayers from the devastating effects of 
potential cyber attacks. It makes new technical cyber security 
assistance available to municipalities and rural utilities and 
authorizes grant funding for on-the-job workforce retraining.

[[Page S1274]]

  Perhaps most importantly, the legislation before us is not only 
designed for continued advances in areas where the U.S. energy sector 
has seen success, it is also meant to take a sober assessment of where 
we are falling short.
  As my colleague Chairman Murkowski noted yesterday, the United States 
currently relies on foreign imports to meet our demand for dozens of 
mineral commodities. We are talking about rare substances with critical 
applications in manufacturing, energy production, and national 
security. These are critical products, but at present, domestic 
production does not satisfy domestic demand. That is why this 
legislation provides for new survey and cataloging efforts to identify 
new domestic supplies of important materials. It invests in extraction 
technologies that would harness existing mining infrastructure in 
places like Appalachian coal country to help meet the demand.
  As the senior Senator from Kentucky, I know the importance of these 
investments firsthand. The working families and job creators in my 
State know that clean coal technologies and longstanding mining 
operations can continue to add tremendous value to the security and 
prosperity of our Nation.
  There is a reason why this legislation has earned widespread praise 
from the researchers and energy industry leaders who would be affected 
the most. It is a product of serious, good-faith, bipartisan work. That 
is why organizations from the National Mining Association to the 
Environmental Defense Fund have found common ground in endorsing it.
  I will have more to say about this legislation in the coming days, 
but right now, I am grateful for our colleagues on the Energy Committee 
for their work in bringing it to the floor. I look forward to 
considering their important legislation in the days ahead, and I would 
encourage all Members to join me in supporting this excellent work.

                          ____________________