[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 7, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2796-S2797]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Biden Administration

  Mr. McCONNELL. Back in 2019, while running for the White House, 
President Biden made a public promise. Here is what he said:

       I guarantee you, we are going to end fossil fuels.
       I guarantee you, we are going to end fossil fuels.

  Once in office, he wasted no time starting down that path, and now 
working families are paying the price.
  During the previous administration, under Republican policies, our 
Nation became a net exporter of oil for the first time literally in 
decades. We were producing all that we needed and then some. The 
headlines under this all-Democratic-controlled government are quite 
different.
  Here are two from January 2021, right out of the gate: ``Biden halts 
oil and gas leases [and] permits on US land and water.'' Here is 
another: ``Biden Order Blocks Keystone XL Pipeline.'' January 2021.
  Here are the headlines more recently. From a few weeks ago: ``Biden 
pulls 3 offshore oil lease sales, curbing new drilling this year.'' 
From just this past week: ``Biden EPA to make it easier for states to 
block fossil fuel projects.''
  So even if oil and gas producers could get past the Biden regulatory 
gauntlet to actually explore and produce in this country, they likely 
could not get a pipeline approved to move it to market.
  President Biden is delivering the holy war on domestic American 
energy that he promised on the campaign trail. Meanwhile, energy costs 
and gas prices for American families have absolutely skyrocketed. Gas 
prices have literally doubled since his administration took office. The 
average price at the pump has doubled.
  The President's staff try to play this off as ``Putin's price hike.'' 
How many times have we heard that? But the reality is that prices were 
already climbing steadily long before--long before--the escalation in 
Ukraine; up more than $1 per gallon before--before--Putin's escalation. 
Prices for natural gas and other home heating sources were likewise 
elevated all last winter.
  Don't count on the warmer months bringing much relief. Here is what 
the New York Times wrote about a month ago. ``Get Ready,'' the Times 
said, ``for Another Energy Price Spike: High Electric Bills.''

       Already frustrated and angry about high gasoline prices, 
     many Americans are being hit by rapidly rising electricity 
     bills . . . the biggest annual increase in more than a 
     decade.

  According to another report, ``the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission predicts electricity prices could rise by as much as 233 
percent over last summer's power prices.
  And electricity costs aren't the only problem; there is also the 
question of reliability. According to the North American Electric 
Reliability Corporation, Americans--particularly in the West and 
Midwest--should brace for potentially dangerous electricity blackouts 
this summer.
  Once again, you can credit Democrats' war on fossil fuels. It retired 
too many fossil fuel-powered electricity generators too quickly, while 
replacing them with big subsidies for less reliable sources of power.
  Just a few days ago, President Biden said that soaring gas prices 
were just part of ``an incredible transition that will leave us less 
reliant on fossil fuels.'' Did you hear that, American

[[Page S2797]]

workers? Democrats say your financial pain is the necessary cost to 
make America more to the liking of the radical environmental left.
  The Secretary of Energy has naively suggested that green energy will 
leave us in a better strategic position than fossil fuels. Well, maybe 
she is not aware that more than 80 percent of the world's polysilicon 
is made in China, and about 80 percent of America's rare earth mineral 
needs are met by Chinese imports as well.
  This is why it is such a joke for the administration to misuse the 
Defense Production Act to prop up solar panel manufacturers. They will 
just end up subsidizing Chinese suppliers upstream.
  Our stockpiles of actual military requirements, like Javelin missiles 
and essential munitions, are being depleted. Production of critical 
inputs, like energetics and solid rocket motors, is backed up months 
and even years. But instead of using the Defense Production Act for our 
Nation's defense, the President is using it to indirectly line China's 
pocket.
  Washington Democrats are hostile to the kinds of domestic mining and 
drilling that we will need to produce any kind of energy here at home, 
even green energy.

  Last year, House Democrats proposed a literal dirt tax--dirt tax--
that would crush domestic minerals and rare earth mining. They are so 
opposed to domestic mining, including for critical and rare earth 
minerals, Democrats literally tried to tax--listen to this--they wanted 
to tax dirt. Tax dirt.
  So, look, this doesn't have to be this way. The American people know 
exactly what we need: an all-American domestic energy strategy, crude 
oil responsibly drilled in America, natural gas responsibly fracked in 
America, and more minerals and high-tech components responsibly mined 
in America. Democrats have a different plan: less production and higher 
prices. And Americans are paying for it literally every day.