[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 164 (Wednesday, September 22, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H4872-H4873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  DOLLY PARTON AND THE HOT FERC SUMMER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Casten) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CASTEN. Madam Speaker, I rise to declare for now the end of Hot 
FERC Summer.
  Sixty-four days ago I kicked off Hot FERC Summer with Megan Thee 
Stallion and then Fergie to elevate the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission's critical role in solving the climate crisis, and to urge 
the White House to nominate a fifth FERC commissioner.
  Some, even in this Chamber, have lamented the bad dad jokes and puns, 
and many have asked what does this have to do with climate change?
  Here's the thing. For far too long we have just used FERC's mind and 
we never gave them credit. And, frankly, allowing the most important 
Federal agency to fight climate change to continue to go unnoticed and 
short staffed, well, that would have driven me crazy, if I had let it.
  I am thrilled to report that the President has embraced that Hot FERC 
Summer spirit and nominated Willie Phillips, taking us one step closer 
to restoring FERC to its full strength, enabling us to make this 
transition to clean energy at the pace the climate crisis demands.
  Those commissioners and their hardworking, underappreciated staff, 
they are FERCalicious.
  But they can't start working yet, and that is why today I am calling 
on my Senate colleagues to prioritize the confirmation hearings for Mr. 
Phillips so that he can start FERCing 9 to 5.
  You see, when you tumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen, pour 
yourself a cup of that ambition, your alarm clock, the lights, the hot 
coffee, they are in part, in no small part, thanks to the folks at FERC 
who are working to ensure that robust transmission system that we take 
for granted every day.
  And when you jump in the shower hot enough that your blood starts 
pumping and drive out to the street before the traffic starts jumping, 
the charging networks for all those electric vehicles that stay cheap 
and reliable are also thanks to the folks FERCing 9 to 5.
  FERCing 9 to 5, what a way to save the planet. We will not slow down 
this rapid acceleration of devastating wildfires, hurricanes, heat 
waves and blackouts that have already impacted one in three Americans 
this summer until we build out a zero-carbon energy system. With FERC's 
help, we can turn this ship around, if we let it.
  FERCing 9 to 5, what a way to save the economy. Every day FERC helps 
make sure that energy isn't just a rich man's game. They have the 
ability and the authority to bring about this clean energy transition 
while keeping our energy markets competitive, reliable, and affordable 
to make sure that your utility isn't just taking without giving.
  So why FERC? Couldn't we just do this in Congress?
  Well, as long as the Senate prioritizes the preservation of the 
filibuster over the preservation of the planet, a fully staffed, 
climate-focused FERC will remain the most powerful, most important, and 
maybe the only tool we have to get to a low-cost, zero-carbon economy 
at the pace that the crisis demands.
  But let's be clear: Getting FERC fully staffed is necessary but 
insufficient. Once fully staffed, they have got a lot of work to do. We 
need new rules to debottleneck our inter-regional transmission system 
to deliver clean, cheap, and reliable energy to all Americans--and 
thank you to my friend Senator Heinrich, and fellow nerd engineer, on 
that front--to ensure that market rules incentivize clean energy 
investments to decarbonize our system and lower the cost of energy, 
even as those investments lower the resulting cash flows; to ensure 
that the economic gains of zero-carbon energy are equitably shared by 
investors, by consumers, and by workers; to make sure that long-
subsidized but inherently uneconomic fossil fuel plants can transition 
offline without unduly burdening consumers.

  That stuff is really complicated. But the simple and important truth 
is that we don't have to keep paying too much for dirty energy. We 
don't have to accept the fossil-fuel-funded false dichotomy between our 
morals and our wallets. There is a better life, Madam Speaker, and you 
think about it, don't you?
  FERC is the place where we can preserve a livable planet for 
ourselves, for our kids, for our grandkids. We are all in the same 
boat; and with FERC's help, the tide is going to come in and it is 
going to roll our way.
  So at the end of Hot FERC Summer, the day after the 21st night of 
September, thank you to Megan, Fergie, and Dolly for the inspiration, 
and for helping me ensure that my daughters, however embarrassed they 
may now be, can inherit a livable planet. Thanks to all who paid 
attention, helped me prove that FERC is indeed hot enough to warrant 
this level of attention, and moved us a little closer, a little quicker 
to a fully functioning Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. And thanks 
to all the incredibly dedicated

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staff at the Commission for all you do FERCing 9 to 5 to protect our 
future.

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