[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 28, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S6712]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Budget

  Mr. President, now, on a related matter, while Washington Democrats 
neglect basic governance, they are still trying to write another 
reckless taxing-and-spending spree behind closed doors. Many details 
are still fuzzy, but one basic truth is very clear: Their far-left wish 
list will hurt families and help China--new pain and new burdens for 
American families, and new advantages for competitors like China.
  Take, for example, the Democrats' radical anti-energy agenda that is 
downstream from the Green New Deal. This sprawling plan for more 
Washington intrusion into families' everyday lives is set to upend the 
reliable and affordable domestic energy that literally drives our 
country. The Democrats' effort to enforce elite liberal fashions would 
directly target the jobs and the industries that support some of the 
hardest working blue-collar communities in our country.
  Some families would lose their livelihoods altogether. Many more 
would face higher heating bills, higher electric bills, and higher 
prices to put gas in their cars. Democrats want to tear a big hole in 
Americans' wallets, right where they can least afford it.
  Right now, as we speak, many of our allies in Europe are preparing 
for major energy disruption this coming winter. Here are a few recent 
headlines:

       Europeans brace for hard winter as energy price surge hits 
     households.
       Empty shelves, gasoline shortages and sky-high energy 
     prices? Britain is facing a `difficult winter.'
       Germans' Green Energy Resolve Faces Pain in Post-Election 
     Winter.

  And from just yesterday:

       Europe's Energy Crisis Is Coming for the Rest of the World, 
     Too.

  This is no time for America to declare war on our own independence, 
on the affordable forms of energy that power our country. The rest of 
the world is battening down the hatches for a global natural gas crunch 
that could leave entire countries rationing winter heat, and President 
Biden wants to let radical progressives declare war on American fossil 
fuels? Really? Is this a joke?
  The latest taxing-and-spending spree would open multiple new fronts 
in the Big Government war on fossil fuels. It would make our 
electricity grid more like California's: higher costs, less 
reliability, and more blackouts. It would slap countless new costs and 
fees on domestic production and ban important prospects for U.S. 
drilling. It would double down on the Obama administration's ham-fisted 
effort to police emissions that was so legally bizarre it couldn't get 
past the Supreme Court.
  American families and American workers benefit from energy that is 
affordable and abundant. Washington Democrats are pursuing far-left 
policies that would reduce supply and jack up prices.
  So Democrats' plans would have American families hurting badly, but 
it is not even like all this sacrifice would buy us some big national 
advantage. It is just the opposite. Their proposals would be a huge 
gift--a huge gift--to adversaries like Russia and China. They would set 
the United States back on the global stage.
  To give just one example, the Democrats are drafting blunt mandates 
for more solar panels. Somebody should tell our colleagues that China 
currently supplies about three-quarters of the world's solar panels. 
They have also largely cornered the market on some of the necessary raw 
materials and critical minerals.
  So, look, we are going to borrow money from China to send a windfall 
right back to Chinese miners and manufacturers? Is that the master 
plan? I am not sure any of these ideas have received more than 5 
minutes of thought, but in a matter of days they want to turn all these 
hair-brained schemes actually into law, and the Chinese solar bailout 
is just one example.
  Let's look at the big picture. Countries that wish us harm will be 
thrilled to see America make ourselves less competitive and more 
reliant on imports. They will go roaring by us, increasing their 
prosperity and emissions, no matter what we do. It hurts families. It 
helps China.
  A war on American energy just as the rest of the world is steeling 
for shortages--this is just one piece of the Democrats' reckless 
taxing-and-spending spree, along with historic tax hikes, more 
intrusion into family lives, and new IRS snooping in every citizen 
transaction over a few hundred dollars--hurting families and helping 
China.
  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. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.