[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 170 (Wednesday, September 29, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6758-S6759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Energy

  Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, the difference between medicine and 
politics--because I am a doctor--is that in medicine, you are forced to 
look at reality as reality is, whereas in politics we can make up 
reality. It is: Oh, my gosh, I want it to be this way; so let's assume 
that it is.
  I think it is a time for, at least--one, I think it is always better 
to look at reality, but, particularly right now, let's talk about it as 
regards inflation.
  Inflation is really hurting middle-income families. We are seeing 
higher prices in the grocery store, electricity bills, at the gasoline 
pump eating up their budgets.
  President Biden has repeatedly said he would not raise taxes on those 
making less than $400,000 a year, but rising inflation as a result of 
his harmful economic and energy agenda is effectively a tax.
  This is predictable. Democrats and left-of-center economists like 
Larry Summers warned about the risk of inflation and predicted a sharp 
rise in prices. He sounded the alarm at the $1.9 trillion American 
Rescue Plan. He said that could overheat the economy. It did.
  This summer, used car prices were up 45 percent, gasoline 45 percent, 
whole milk 7.5 percent. American families are paying higher prices for 
goods and services that are essential, and it continues to go higher. 
The U.S. Department of Labor reported that consumer prices in June 
increased 5.4 percent relative to a year ago--the largest increase 
since August 2008, more than double the target rate of 2 percent the 
Federal Reserve establishes.
  Now, President Biden and his administration, his Treasury Department, 
have reassured that this inflation is transitory or temporary.
  Just last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal 
Reserve sees inflation ``lasting quite a while,'' given their recent 
and upcoming actions--so, if you will, belying the reassurances of the 
administration.
  Looking particularly at energy, it is not surprising that electricity 
and gasoline prices are soaring, and the average price of gas has now 
gone over $3 a gallon since May. The national average is $3.19, $1 more 
per gallon than a year ago--now, again, predictable.
  One of the first things President Biden did when he took office was 
to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline, killing 11,000 jobs that went with 
it--by the way, not jobs for bureaucrats in Washington, DC, doing quite 
well during the pandemic because they continue to get paid, but jobs 
for construction workers who, if they don't have this job, don't have 
another job and have less ability to take care of their family and to 
better provide for their child's future.
  He stopped domestic oil and gas leases and only does that which the 
court tells him he has to do.
  Oddly, since he did all of this in the name of addressing issues of 
carbon emission, the administration then removed sanctions so that 
Russia can complete the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, 
going from Russia to Germany, and now is asking OPEC, which includes 
Iran, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, to increase oil production so we can 
import their oil--so much for the energy independence our country, 
researchers, and companies worked so hard to develop.
  And now we see with every draft of the Democrats' reckless tax-and-
spend bill that the Democratic Party seems intent on driving prices 
higher, increasing our energy dependence on other countries, and 
hurting our domestic workforce. And I think, if we are going to go back 
to reality, the American people would ask not to describe these actions 
as being done for the good of the environment or the climate. I totally 
believe we must address climate, but the stark truth is that President 
Biden's energy policies prioritize shutting down domestic production 
and domestic jobs in favor of using dirtier Russian gas.
  Why do I say dirtier? There is a National Lab that recently reported 
of natural gas produced in Louisiana and exported to Europe compared to 
gas coming to Europe from Russia, that over the 20-year horizon the 
carbon intensity is 43 percent less for gas that comes from the United 
States to Europe than from Russian gas coming to Europe, and 10 percent 
less over 100 years.
  If you really cared about lowering greenhouse gas emissions, creating 
jobs for the American worker, and strengthening our economy and our 
national security, you would encourage the production of U.S. natural 
gas and ship it around the world, displacing that which was coming from 
countries such as Russia.
  It seems as if the administration is more interested in virtue-
signaling than truly pursuing a low-carbon solution, and I would love 
for someone to explain why the administration is so hell-bent on 
shutting down energy production in the United States, with the good-
paying jobs and the economic opportunity, especially in Louisiana but 
not only in Louisiana. And it is done in a cleaner, more 
environmentally friendly way than in almost every other part of the 
Nation. It is as if they would rather the United States be dependent on 
foreign sources, those that are often not allies, than to produce 
energy cleanly, creating American jobs in the United States of America.
  The United States is a global leader in decreasing greenhouse gas 
emissions entirely, almost, because of the increased production of U.S. 
natural gas.
  As production increased and prices fell, natural gas replaced coal, 
so that now, off the top of my head, I think I know that, in absolute 
amounts, greenhouse gas emissions in the United States are less now 
than they were in 2004. And if not, they are almost there.
  Our economy is a lot bigger, and we have a lot more people, and yet 
we have managed to hold greenhouse gas emissions at a declining rate 
because we produced natural gas.
  We need to encourage exploration and production in our country. We 
should not be shutting it down, and we should not be shutting down the 
good jobs that go with it. The administration's backward and disastrous 
energy policy is playing out before our eyes. It

[[Page S6759]]

is not good--destroying American jobs, contributing to inflation, and 
strengthening the geopolitical position of our geopolitical rivals. The 
administration's actions are directly leading to higher gas and utility 
prices.
  There is a way out of the inflation, but it is not empty virtue-
signaling. It is not putting American workers out of jobs. It is to 
restart American energy production, hold lease sales in the Gulf of 
Mexico, and get American energy in our country back on track, 
recreating the jobs that have been destroyed, and, by the way, 
increasing a greater ability to export to other countries around the 
world, helping to lower global greenhouse gas emissions.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.