[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 28, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6731-S6732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Environmentalism and Climate

  Mr. President, what I want to address now is environmentalism and 
climate, which President Biden and the left tells us are existential 
issues.
  There is nothing mattering more, they say, than climate change; that 
if we don't fight climate change, Nebraska is going to be underwater, 
they tell us. They say we need to follow the example of our European 
allies in

[[Page S6732]]

agreements like the Paris accords, but the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will 
grind any European energy transition to a halt by making the Europeans 
even more dependent on Russian gas.
  Now, some proponents have argued that the natural gas delivered by 
Nord Stream 2 could be kind of a transition technology, but the German 
Institute for Economic Research's senior energy expert described Nord 
Stream 2 on these issues as ``unnecessary and inefficient.''
  More analysis, published again just last week, projected that the 
Nord Stream 2 pipeline would emit over 100 million metric tons of 
CO2 per year, plus fugitive methane.
  The gas that Nord Stream 2 would deliver compares very badly to the 
alternative, and that is LNG, liquid natural gas.
  In 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology 
Lab published a study showing that ``U.S. LNG shipped to European 
markets has 41 percent less lifecycle emissions than if those same 
countries were to receive natural gas from another predominant producer 
like Russia.''
  Listen to that again because our Democratic colleagues love to pound 
the table how carbon is the greatest threat on the planet.
  Well, Joe Biden is saddling Europe with an energy option that 
produces much more CO2 than American LNG. American LNG, 41 
percent less carbon dioxide.
  If they believe their rhetoric, you would see Democrats standing up 
to Joe Biden. If Joe Biden believed his rhetoric, I guess you would see 
Joe Biden standing up to himself.
  If John Kerry believed his rhetoric, in between his flights on a 
private jet, where John Kerry has the carbon footprint of a small town, 
in between his pontificating and lecturing American workers they just 
need to learn to code, if John Kerry believed climate was this 
existential disaster, he would be standing up, saying: President Biden, 
why are you defying Congress, defying the European Union, and giving 
Putin a multibillion-dollar gift that produces more CO2?
  There is no argument from the left or the right under which Nord 
Stream 2 is a good idea, but especially on the basis of what the left 
tells us are their most important issues: Russia, Russia, Russia. It is 
a disaster on Russia, Russia, Russia.
  CO2? It is a disaster on CO2.
  You know, Twitter today has lit up with a certain European teenager 
who is fond of lecturing the world about insufficient fealty to 
climate. And she responded to American leaders who, to use her words, 
say ``blah, blah, blah'' when it comes to climate.
  I got to say, our Democratic colleagues, this Democratic 
administration, when it comes to Nord Stream 2, their only answer is: 
Blah, blah, blah.
  They don't have an answer that they are resulting in--what was the 
figure again? Let's actually get that figure right--100 million metric 
tons of CO2 per year.
  Congratulations. The next time you give a speech saying that you want 
to double Americans' electricity bills, you want to bankrupt working 
families because of CO2, remember, you didn't seem worried 
about it when it was the Russians producing the CO2 in a way 
that hurts Europe, hurts our allies, and hurts America.
  Look, I get party politics. People want to stand and support their 
party. I get it. When there is a Republican President, Republicans 
support them, generally. When there is a Democratic President, 
Democrats support them, generally. That is the way it works. That is 
not terribly shocking.
  But is it asking too much for even one of the Democrats to believe 
what they have said for the last 5 years?
  Throughout the course of these remarks, you know who I have quoted 
more than anyone else?
  Senate Democrats. I have quoted their own remarks.
  Senate Democrats understand Nord Stream 2 is a disaster. They 
understand it is harmful. They understand it is bad for America. Where 
they just can't screw up the courage is when it comes to standing up to 
a Democratic President.
  By the way, they are perfectly happy to yell at Donald Trump. I get 
that. And to be clear, when we had a Republican President in Donald 
Trump, I pressed the Trump administration hard on Nord Stream 2, even 
though we are the same party. I was not remotely shy about pressing the 
Trump administration.
  There are 50 Democrats in this Chamber. Is there one who believed 
Russia, Russia, Russia? Or was that all empty politics? Is there one 
who believes their hyperbolic rhetoric on CO2 and climate? 
Or is that all just blah, blah, blah?
  It is real simple. The Biden administration has a chance to fix this. 
Just this weekend, the German people voted out the Merkel government. 
The entire reason Joe Biden went down this foolhardy disastrous path 
was to kiss up to Angela Merkel. Well, you know what. She is gone. Her 
party is gone. They are out of power. And so Joe Biden and Kamala 
Harris have been given a present--a present of the chance to pull 
victory out of the jaws of defeat.
  We had victory from 2019 to 2020, where we shut down the pipeline. 
Republicans and Democrats together in Congress had come together and 
shut down the pipeline. Putin had lost; America had won.
  Joe Biden comes into office, and now Putin wins, America loses. That 
ain't good. That ain't good in Michigan. It ain't good in Arizona. It 
ain't good in any State in this country. And Joe Biden can fix it if he 
simply accepts the gifts the German voters have given him, reverse his 
course, and follow his U.S. law.
  Let's stop the Biden-Putin pipeline. Let's give an opportunity for 
President Biden to pull his name off the pipeline.
  By the way, if he were to do so, I will come to this floor and I will 
sing Joe Biden's praises for doing the right thing, for following the 
law, for standing up for America, for standing up to Russia, for 
defending our European allies.
  But, sadly, I am not holding my breath. I think the hubris of office, 
stubbornness, is likely to keep the Biden administration digging in.
  In the Senate, I am going to use every tool I have to try to press 
them to change their minds. And I would call on--is there even one 
Democrat with the courage to take on Russia?
  Time will tell.
  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. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.