[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S166-S167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

  Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come to the floor today to discuss 
some of the first actions that have been taken by the new 
administration.
  At his inauguration, President Biden spoke about the importance of 
uniting the country, bringing us together, the importance of unity. 
Well, I agree. We have been much too divided as a nation. We need to 
bring America together.
  In just a few hours after his inaugural address, President Biden 
issued one Executive order after another that I believe is only going 
to drive America further apart. He hasn't really reached out and hasn't 
really tried to work with us.
  At a time when millions of people across the country are struggling 
with unemployment and the effects of a global pandemic, President Biden 
has taken actions that will actually raise the cost of living for 
people all across the country. In particular, President Biden has taken 
aim at American energy.
  Now, in Wyoming, energy production does a lot more than just keep the 
lights on. It puts food on the table. It does it for thousands of 
families. It pays for our schools, education, and our roads.
  In Wyoming we produce coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium for nuclear 
power. We also have incredible renewable resources. Wyoming, in many 
ways, has world class wind. We are experiencing that today in Casper, 
WY.
  Wyoming has some of the largest reserves of energy in terms of 
resources anywhere in the country. In Wyoming we produce 15 times more 
energy than we use in our State. It actually makes us the country's 
largest net energy supplier to the rest of the country. Energy 
production is the economic lifeblood of Wyoming. It is a major source 
of revenue for, as I said, our schools, our roads, our bridges, and 
essential services for all of our citizens.
  Wyoming is very proud of our energy workers. Remarkable men and women 
every day get up and go to work to put food on the table, put clothing 
on their kids' backs, and the whole country benefits from the energy 
that comes from Wyoming.
  Thanks to America's energy workers, in 2019, America became energy 
independent. It was the first time we had become independent in over 60 
years. That makes it easier for families to make ends meet. It makes us 
stronger on the world stage. It decreases our reliance on energy from 
other sources, like foreign powers who want to do us harm.
  Thanks to our American energy workers, America is an energy 
superpower, and I believe we should be acting like one. That is why it 
is remarkable when I see President Biden painting a target on the back 
of American energy. That is what he has been doing with his Executive 
orders, including today.
  Despite all of the talk about unity, one of the first things that 
President Biden has done in office is to directly attack--attack--
energy-producing States like Wyoming. It has actually turned out to be 
his No. 1 priority.
  The White House is calling today ``climate day.'' This morning, 
President Biden stopped all new oil, gas, and coal leases on Federal 
lands--today. Well, half of the State of Wyoming is federally owned. 
Even a greater percentage of that, Madam President, in your State is 
federally owned.
  Experts tell us that the long-term ban could cost us 33,000 jobs in 
Wyoming. We are a State of only a half-million people.
  Earlier today, at a hearing of the Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee, where I am the ranking member, the senior Republican, I 
asked the President's nominee for Secretary of Energy about how the 
President's ban would affect jobs, and she admitted that in terms of 
jobs--she said some ``jobs . . . might be sacrificed.''
  Saying no to American energy production means less energy, less 
economic activity, and less money in the pockets of American workers. 
It is not going to do a thing to lower emissions. It won't bring down 
global temperatures, but it will bring down workers' wages. It won't 
cool down planet Earth, but it will cool down our Nation's economy. 
Energy producers will simply go elsewhere while families in our country 
will suffer.
  President Biden has also put a stop to the Keystone Pipeline. It has 
been in the headlines. The pipeline creates jobs. It reduces energy 
prices, and it strengthens our bonds with our neighbor to the north, 
with Canada.
  The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, is no conservative. He 
is known to be extremely progressive. Even he has said he was 
disappointed in the decision by President Biden to cancel the pipeline. 
President Biden's very first phone call with a foreign leader since 
becoming President was with Prime Minister Trudeau. The Prime Minister 
raised the issue on the call. President Biden shut down the pipeline 
anyway.
  It has also been reported that TC Energy warned the President's 
administration that the Keystone Pipeline means thousands of 
construction jobs, many of those union jobs. They are gone. They are 
gone. President Biden shut it down anyway.

  President Biden has also begun the process of putting us back into 
the Paris climate accord. Now, under that agreement, the Biden 
administration is going to set unworkable targets for American 
businesses.
  So what does it mean? Well, it hurts America, but it means China and 
Russia can continue with business as usual. It is a bad deal for our 
country. It makes us less competitive. It sacrifices energy jobs to try 
to stop climate change, which it will not do.
  The Paris climate agreement is based on the fantasy that climate 
change is America's fault--blame America first. In reality, the United 
States is the leading driver of innovative climate solutions. President 
Biden's actions aren't just targeting American energy, they are also 
going after American small businesses.
  President Biden is calling on this body to vote to double the Federal 
minimum wage to $15 an hour. Now, maybe the President's idea of 
national unity is national uniformity, but that doesn't work in Wyoming 
or for the people of Wyoming. Maybe he thinks that imposing top-down 
regulations on every American would bring us all together. It is not 
the kind of unity that the American people are looking for. We want to 
stand shoulder to shoulder but not in the unemployment line.
  In 2019, well before the pandemic hit, the nonpartisan Congressional 
Budget Office estimated that mandating a $15 minimum wage nationwide 
would lead to 1.3 million fewer Americans working--1.3 million 
Americans. At a time when 10 million Americans are unemployed due to 
our pandemic, 1.3 million Americans more can't afford to lose their 
jobs.
  The CBO also says it will lead to higher prices for consumers--paying 
more wages, passing on prices to consumers. Now this could hurt 
America's small businesses all across the country. I talked to a small 
business owner from Lovell, WY, Jimmy Minchow, who has a Sinclair 
station there. He called me on Sunday. He said $15 an hour--there is a 
station and a food court next to it in Lovell. He said we would have to 
shut down the food court. We can't afford $15 an hour for the young 
people who are working there. Putting money in their pockets and 
providing food services to the people of the community, $15 an hour 
will shut it down. So the jobs ticker is now on President

[[Page S167]]

Biden's watch, and the President will be judged by his decisions.
  Now, the Senate, right before Christmas, passed another round of 
Paycheck Protection Programs we all supported. These are loans to help 
small businesses. I voted for it, and the Presiding Officer voted for 
it to help our small businesses.
  Doubling the minimum wage is going to hurt small businesses and going 
to force them to lay off employees like will likely happened in Lovell, 
WY, and all across the Cowboy State. It is going to hurt the very 
people these loans are supposed to be helping.
  A bill to provide $900 billion of relief was signed just in late 
December. President Biden now wants to double that amount of funding. 
Now, Democrats may try to ram the bill through the Senate using a 
process called budget reconciliation. Now, of course, this entire cost 
will be added to our national debt, and if it occurs, it will likely be 
done without a single Republican vote.
  This isn't unity. It is not bipartisanship. It is not healing our 
divisions. This is a time for President Biden to heed the words of his 
own inaugural address. We need to work together to lower the cost of 
living, to produce more energy, to create more jobs, and to create more 
opportunities for every American. That is how we bring our Nation 
together. That is what we ought to do now.
  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. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Heinrich). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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