[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 10 (Thursday, January 12, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H209-H219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  0915
    PROTECTING AMERICA'S STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE FROM CHINA ACT

  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 
5, I call up the bill (H.R. 22) to prohibit the Secretary of Energy 
from sending petroleum products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to 
China, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration 
in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Rutherford). Pursuant to House 
Resolution 5, the bill is considered read.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 22

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting America's 
     Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act''.

     SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON SALES OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS FROM THE 
                   STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE TO CHINA.

       Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary 
     of Energy shall not draw down and sell petroleum products 
     from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve--
       (1) to any entity that is under the ownership, control, or 
     influence of the Chinese Communist Party; or
       (2) except on the condition that such petroleum products 
     will not be exported to the People's Republic of China.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill shall be debatable for 1 hour 
equally divided and controlled by the majority leader and the minority 
leader or their respective designees.
  The gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. Rodgers) and the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. Rodgers).


                             General Leave

  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks on the legislation and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 
22.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 22, the Protecting 
America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act.
  America is suffering through the worst energy crisis in decades. 
President Biden and the Democrats' radical rush to green agenda is 
making life unaffordable for people all across this country. It is 
driving record inflation, straining household budgets, and weakening 
our electric grid.
  Under President Biden and the Democrats' control of Congress, gas 
prices rose to the highest levels in history. Some were forced to pay 
more than $6 per gallon. Gas prices are still 40 percent higher today. 
Diesel prices are up almost $2 a gallon more than when President Biden 
took office.
  The Federal Government should not be in the business of picking 
winners and losers, especially when it makes us more dangerously 
dependent upon China for critical minerals, solar panels, and batteries 
to produce our own energy and electricity, and strengthens Russia and 
OPEC's grip on world oil and gas markets.
  Now, to cover up his failed policies driving our energy and inflation 
crisis, President Biden drained our Nation's Strategic Petroleum 
Reserve at an alarming rate. America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, 
once the world's largest stockpile, has been depleted to the lowest 
levels since 1983.
  President Biden released an unprecedented 250 million barrels of oil 
in less than 2 years, more than all former Presidents combined. As we 
know, much of that oil went to China because our refineries and 
pipelines are full. It now has nowhere to go here.
  In April, the Biden administration sold a million barrels directly to 
a state-owned Chinese company. Millions more barrels went to overseas 
traders, who eventually sent it to China.
  We also know that China is ramping up its purchases of crude oil from 
Russia and the U.S. to boost its own reserves. China now controls the 
world's largest government-controlled stockpile of oil, with almost a 
billion barrels, at the expense of American taxpayers and our energy 
security.
  America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve is meant for true energy supply 
disruptions, like those caused by hurricanes and natural disasters, not 
to help China. Draining our strategic reserves for political purposes 
and selling portions of it to China is a significant threat to our 
national security.
  The administration is not just hurting our own ability to respond to 
emergencies and national security events; they are actively bolstering 
the oil reserves of our most dangerous geopolitical adversary, the 
Chinese Communist Party. This is unacceptable, and it must stop.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill and prohibit 
the sale and export of Strategic Petroleum Reserve crude oil to China.
  H.R. 22 prevents the Secretary of Energy from selling any products 
from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to any entity owned by or under 
the control or influence of the CCP, or selling to any other entity 
that intends to export to China.
  Enacting H.R. 22, preventing the Biden administration from wasting 
our strategic reserves, is the first step toward flipping the switch 
and unleashing American energy production.
  America has led the world in reducing carbon emissions and promoting 
innovation by utilizing our abundant, clean, affordable, and reliable 
energy. We can restore this leadership without sacrificing our energy 
security or making everyday life unaffordable for people.
  That starts by enacting smart, workable, all-of-the-above strategies 
that build on this legacy by lowering costs and emissions across the 
country. It includes making our infrastructure and electricity grid 
more resilient and unleashing innovation for cleaner natural gas, 
emissions-free hydropower and nuclear power, and carbon capture 
technologies.
  Republicans support a level playing field with a balance of energy 
sources but without handing the keys of our energy future over to the 
Chinese Communist Party.
  It is time to cut the red tape, expand energy production here at 
home, modernize our infrastructure, invest in new technologies, and 
create opportunities for jobs and economic development right here in 
the United States of America.
  I look forward to passage of this bill today, and I am eager to get 
to work

[[Page H210]]

with my colleagues on additional solutions to make energy cleaner, more 
affordable, and more reliable for all Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, let me begin by congratulating the gentlewoman from 
Washington State on her election as the chairwoman of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee.
  I rise in opposition to H.R. 22, the Protecting America's Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve from China Act.
  First, let's take a moment to remember how we got here. In 2015, when 
Republicans last controlled Congress, they lifted the 40-year ban on 
crude oil exports at the urging of their Big Oil friends. 
This irresponsible policy change allowed companies to export American-
owned barrels of oil to our adversaries, including China.

  Again, that was a Republican policy pushed by House Republicans 8 
years ago. As a result, our crude oil exports to China surged, 
averaging a half million barrels every day during the last year of the 
Trump administration. China hoarded these barrels to build up its own 
petroleum reserves.
  Back in 2015, I strongly opposed this Republican bill out of concern 
that it would harm our energy security and, ultimately, lead to 
increased prices at the pump for hardworking American families. It 
turns out I was right.
  Now, Republicans seem to be complaining about the very circumstances 
that they created, all to reward their Big Oil friends.
  Lifting the export ban damaged our economic security. Refineries 
across the country, including in my home State of New Jersey, have 
closed since the export ban was lifted, in no small part due to oil 
companies' desires to seek greater profits abroad rather than send 
their oil to refineries here at home.
  A GAO analysis in 2020 showed that domestic refineries suffered 
because of the export ban being lifted, a suffering that was then 
inflicted on the thousands of hardworking Americans whose jobs were 
destroyed.
  If Republicans were serious about addressing this issue, they would 
have brought forward a bill that banned all exports of crude oil to 
China. SPR barrels sold to Chinese firms represented only 2 percent of 
all the oil we sent to China last year--only 2 percent from the SPR.
  If we truly want to address China using American oil to build its 
reserves, let's actually take a serious look at that rather than skirt 
around the issue because Republicans are scared of Big Oil's wrath.
  Why are Republicans only banning SPR sales to China? Representatives 
Houlahan and Bacon introduced a bill last Congress that prohibited SPR 
sales to Russia, North Korea, Iran, and any country under U.S. 
sanctions. That bill had 37 bipartisan cosponsors. Are my Republican 
colleagues okay with exporting oil to Putin's Russia in the midst of a 
war on Ukraine?
  It also speaks volumes, Mr. Speaker, that this is their first energy 
priority after regaining the House majority. Over the last 2 years, 
Democrats passed the most significant climate law in our Nation's 
history. We also passed the bipartisan infrastructure law that will 
modernize our energy infrastructure. Republicans' first energy bill 
this Congress isn't about investing in the resiliency of our electric 
grid or making American energy cleaner and cheaper. Instead, they are 
just recycling an old one-page bill that takes a minor step in undoing 
the damage that they themselves created.
  Republicans are here today denying their own history and muddying the 
truth by trying to place the blame on President Biden, but President 
Biden successfully used the SPR to lower prices at the pump and provide 
relief to American families.
  When gas prices increased last year, the Biden administration took 
decisive action to bring gas prices back down by releasing oil from the 
SPR. The administration released an unprecedented 1 million barrels of 
oil a day, providing critical domestic supply to make up for shortages 
in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine.
  This was a commonsense strategy that worked, and thanks largely to 
President Biden's actions, gasoline prices have fallen an average of 
$1.90 per gallon nationwide since their peak in June.
  One thing that episode underscores is that fossil fuel prices are 
volatile. As long as we rely on gasoline and other fossil fuels to meet 
America's energy needs, our country's energy security and affordability 
remain at the whims of dictators like Putin on the other side of the 
world.
  While I agree, just like I did back in 2015, that we should not 
export U.S. crude oil to China, I want to stress that this bill could 
have been improved through bipartisan cooperation, regular order, and 
committee consideration. If Republicans hope to actually enact 
legislation, this is not a pathway to success.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), a leader on energy.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for yielding.
  I want to speak in support of Protecting America's Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve from China Act.
  Mr. Speaker, the Republican majority is wasting no time in making 
good on our commitment to the American people to reverse this reckless 
agenda that the Biden administration has followed.
  Republicans understand that energy policy is foundational to a 
thriving and dynamic national economy, and for too long, we have 
watched as Democrats' energy policy was kind of an experiment for their 
radical agenda. Unfortunately, they hurt the American people in the 
process.
  Interestingly, in July 2020, Senator Cornyn and I had a bill to allow 
filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve while prices were at historic 
lows. It was blocked by the Democrats. They wouldn't even consider it.
  Today, we have an opportunity to protect America's resource and 
refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve so it can be used as it was 
originally intended, to protect our people at times of crisis.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Castor), who chaired our Select Committee on the Climate 
Crisis in the last Congress.
  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Pallone 
for yielding the time.
  America should not be exporting our crude oil exports to an 
adversary, and that was our national policy for 40 years until a 
Republican-controlled Congress authorized sending American crude oil 
abroad in 2015.
  China exploited that ill-advised policy change, and exports of 
American crude oil to China increased nearly a hundredfold during the 
Trump administration to about 391 million barrels.
  Last year, in response to soaring gasoline prices caused by Putin's 
unprovoked attack on Ukraine, President Biden successfully used the 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower prices at the pump and provide 
relief to American families. This was a commonsense strategy that 
worked.
  Gasoline prices have fallen an average of $1.90 per gallon nationwide 
since their peak last June. However, we cannot keep relying on the 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve to keep oil prices in check.
  That is why Democrats have focused on lowering costs and avoiding 
price spikes through the Inflation Reduction Act because cleaner, 
cheaper energy is our future. It will lower costs, create good-paying 
jobs, and help us build safer, more resilient, and healthier 
communities.

                              {time}  0930

  Plus, this bill is way too narrowly tailored. What we should be 
debating today is the farsighted bill offered by my colleagues, 
Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan and Congressman   Don Bacon, a 
bipartisan bill that would completely ban all crude oil exports to 
China. That is a much stronger bill. In addition to China, it would ban 
crude oil exports to all of our adversaries, including Iran and North 
Korea.
  In the end, America's future is in clean energy. That is how we are 
going to lower the cost of energy for American families, provide good-
paying jobs, and make sure that we provide a livable planet to our kids 
and future generations.

[[Page H211]]

  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman and I congratulate Mrs. 
McMorris Rodgers for taking the gavel of the Energy and Commerce 
Committee and I look forward to working with her in the 118th Congress.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, we should be banning exports 
to Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
  I would just note that President Biden has wanted to import from 
Russia and Iran.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Latta).
  Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Protecting America's 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act, legislation offered by my 
good friend, the gentlewoman from Washington State and the chair of the 
Energy and Commerce Committee.
  Over the first 2 years of the Biden administration we have seen an 
unprecedented level of hostility toward America's energy producers. The 
administration has made every effort to undermine, avoid, and restrict 
oil and gas production in North America, while at the same time moving 
to drain our strategic reserves in an attempt to offset the price 
increases caused by the President's own policies.
  Playing politics with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has resulted in 
the lowest level it has been in decades.
  If this wasn't alarming enough, just wait until you hear who has 
benefited from our reserves being drained: the Chinese Communist Party. 
As part of this administration's Strategic Petroleum Reserve sales, a 
little under 1 million barrels were bought by UNIPEC, the Chinese 
Petrochemical Corporation.
  The shortsightedness shows the Biden administration is willing to put 
our national security at risk by selling vital reserves to our 
adversaries to manipulate market prices in hopes of getting political 
advantage. This is not right, and every single Member of this body 
should be opposed to such actions.
  While we investigate these actions, we must ensure they never happen 
again. That is why I am proud to be an original cosponsor to the 
Protecting America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act.
  This bill would prevent the Secretary of Energy from selling any 
products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to any entity owned or 
under the control or influence of the Chinese Communist Party, or to 
any other entity that intends to export products to China.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important 
legislation.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Peters), a member of our committee and a leader on 
environmental issues.
  Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, while my Republican colleagues have promised 
to secure America's energy future, I share this goal and I am eager to 
work together. Again, I congratulate our new chair.
  However, I would say that the path to energy security is not through 
cheap political rhetoric or Biden bashing, but through bipartisan 
policy solutions.
  We all agree that oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve should not 
be sold to our adversaries. To prevent this, Representatives Chrissy 
Houlahan of Pennsylvania and   Don Bacon of Nebraska introduced the 
bipartisan Banning Oil Exports to Foreign Adversaries Act last July and 
reintroduced it yesterday with 34 Democratic and 7 Republican 
cosponsors.
  The bill prevents the sale or export of oil from the SPR to China, 
but also North Korea, Russia, Iran, and any country currently under 
U.S. sanctions. I bet it would be approved by voice vote in this House 
today.
  By contrast, the bill we are debating today only prohibits SPR sales 
to entities affiliated with China. Given that a more comprehensive, 
bipartisan bill already exists, why would our colleagues be putting 
forward a more partisan bill with a partial solution that won't pass 
the Senate?
  Let me be clear. Americans are looking for serious policy results, 
not half-baked ideas designed for a press release. If my colleagues 
across the aisle are serious about energy independence, let's talk 
about that. They will have to acknowledge that our path to true energy 
security is not by doubling down on oil.
  We have seen the costs of oil price shocks time and time again. In 
the 1970s, the Arab oil embargo caused oil prices to soar.
  In 1990, the first Gulf war spiked record prices.
  In 2005, Hurricane Katrina damaged refining facilities causing prices 
to rise again.
  Between December 2007 and July 2008, prices rose from $118 a barrel 
to over $160 per barrel before crashing during the Great Recession.
  In the last few years we have seen rapid volatility from negative 
prices during the pandemic to over $100 a barrel during the recovery.
  It is becoming very clear that we have to admit that doubling down on 
oil is a failed strategy, and true energy security will be achieved by 
reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and investing in clean fuels of 
the future. Let's do that for our taxpayers as well as for the 
environment.
  I look forward to working together on real solutions.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie).
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I just want to clarify, Russia and Iran--
well, Iran is part of OPEC, so they are not the ones buying out of the 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve. As a matter of fact, President Biden went 
to OPEC to ask them to increase their production instead of doing 
American oil.

  Mr. Speaker, I also want to say, 2015--to finish the sentence--it was 
a Republican controlled Congress in 2015, it was also the Obama 
administration worked together in a bipartisan way to unleash American 
energy or give them a worldwide market for American energy, and when 
you threw in President Trump's administration and a regulatory 
environment that made sense, we had record production of energy. We did 
ship it throughout the world. We also had record low prices here in 
America.
  The problem we are facing today is because of President Biden and the 
Democrats in Congress' war on American oil. That is the problem we are 
here to address.
  The price of gasoline hit over $5 a gallon in the height of this war 
on oil, $4.80 a gallon in Kentucky when it was just over $2.20 when 
President Biden took office. American families are hurting because of 
this, small business owners are hurting because of this, and they 
continue to struggle.
  Instead of taking action to meaningfully unleash America's energy 
potential, President Biden opted to release supplies from the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve. What we need to do is get back to unleashing 
American energy, not sending out of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
  Even worse, President Biden's abuse of our Strategic Petroleum 
Reserve has reduced our stockpile by more than 250 million barrels, 
jeopardizing our ability to respond to supply disruptions posed by 
natural disasters and other true emergencies. This includes selling 
millions of barrels of oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to 
adversarial countries, including China.
  By prohibiting our strategic reserves from being sold to China, this 
legislation is a significant step toward restoring our energy security 
and providing needed relief for hardworking Americans.
  We have the ability to produce, we need to move forward, and we need 
to ban SPR from going to China and we need to move forward on American 
energy.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Sherman).
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, what political nonsense this bill is. It 
allows an American oil company to buy oil from the SPR on Monday and 
sell it to China on Tuesday, which means it is fine for them to see SPR 
oil going to China as long as an American oil company makes a little 
money out of it.
  And, of course, as the ranking member points out, it allows all the 
other oil in the country, 98 percent of our exports to China, to go to 
China unchecked.
  If we were serious about lowering prices for the American consumer, 
we would look at what the Republicans did in 2015 when they ended our 
ban on exports and insisted that that be added to the spending bill 
that shut down the government.
  I had a bill introduced last month to ban American exports of oil 
when oil is

[[Page H212]]

selling for over $70 a barrel. We need to ban the exports of natural 
gas when prices are too high for American consumers.
  Finally, this bill tries to attack the Biden administration's use of 
the SPR to lower gas prices here, where it has been somewhat effective 
and has made money for the United States Treasury.
  Let's legislate seriously to lower oil and natural gas prices for the 
American consumer, instead of simply insisting that if American SPR oil 
goes to China, an oil company has to be a middleman and make a little 
money off of it.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, just to correct the record. 
The language is very clear, if you look at subsection two: Such 
petroleum products will not be exported to the People's Republic of 
China.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Bilirakis).
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the gentlewoman on her 
chairmanship and I look forward to working with her.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation. It is high time 
to stop the Biden administration from continuing to provide China with 
oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
  Under the current administration we have only seen a war against 
domestic energy production. As a Band-Aid to cover up the consequences 
of Biden's policies, resulting in unprecedented high energy prices, it 
chooses to draw down the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a critical 
national security asset. Drawing down these reserves to cover up failed 
policies is wrong but doing it and then selling that oil to China, our 
chief adversary, is un-American, in my opinion.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan), who has been working on this issue for 
some time.

  Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, today, we have an opportunity in this 
Congress to close a loophole that has been open since 2015, a loophole 
that enables our adversaries to purchase oil from our U.S. Strategic 
Petroleum Reserves.
  There is a bill indeed to close that harmful loophole: a bill that 
will strengthen our national security; a bill that will signal to our 
fiercest adversaries that we will not bend a knee to those who threaten 
the safety of our allies and our servicemembers both here and abroad.
  I am not talking about the bill that my colleagues on the other side 
of the aisle have put forward today, but rather I am talking about a 
bipartisan bill--my bipartisan bill--the Banning Oil Exports to Foreign 
Adversaries Act.
  We hear this phrase frequently in this Chamber, ``It is that 
simple.'' So let's make this argument really simple, very, very simple.
  Our new majority has put forward a partisan bill that bans the sale 
of American oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve only to China.
  I have put forward a bipartisan bill with Representative   Don Bacon, 
and now with 44 others, that would ban the sale not only to China, but 
also to North Korea, Russia, Iran, and to all other adversaries.
  It is modeled directly after similar and relevant legislation that I 
also introduced successfully in the NDAA regarding our critical 
minerals and rare earth element stockpiles.
  This bill, my bill, is stronger, it is bipartisan, and it has a 
chance in the Senate. This bill, the bill we are talking about today, 
is weaker, it is partisan, and it will, unfortunately, likely never see 
it past the Senate's legislative graveyard.
  Mr. Speaker, it is very hard to hear my colleagues talk about 
returning to proper and regular order in the House, when, in fact, if 
this very bill followed proper order and went through committee, we 
would likely be voting on a different piece of legislation today.
  My Republican colleagues know my background. I am one of the most 
bipartisan Members of this body, and proudly served in the military for 
13 years. I am here today because we have a chance to put our national 
security above our party politics.
  I call upon my colleagues--all of them--to join me in good faith to 
support the bipartisan Banning Oil Exports to Foreign Adversaries Act. 
Let's send this legislation through the proper order, strengthen it, 
and work together to get it signed into law.
  I urge my colleagues to look at the facts and to show servicemembers 
and veterans that we put their safety and their sacrifice ahead of 
political gamesmanship.
  Before I conclude, I do want to thank my dear colleague, 
Representative Pallone, for his leadership and for having included this 
bill--my bill--in the Buy Low and Sell High Act of last Congress.

                              {time}  0945

  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Johnson).
  Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 22 
led by our Energy and Commerce Committee chairwoman, Cathy McMorris 
Rodgers.
  Earlier this week it was reported that after President Biden drained 
over 200 million barrels out of America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, 
his Department of Energy is now rejecting multiple bids to refill it, 
saying that oil is too expensive.
  Mr. Speaker, this is hard to believe.
  This administration--who has put a stranglehold on domestic 
production by canceling pipelines, reducing drilling, halting leases, 
and proposing burdensome regulations--is now telling the American 
taxpayer: Sorry, we depleted your national reserves, sold some of it to 
China, and now we won't refill it because it is too expensive.
  Aren't they the ones making oil more expensive?
  It is as if President Biden thinks the SPR is his strategic political 
reserve to be used as a Band-Aid for his failed energy policies.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is a needed course correction in our 
national energy strategy, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Casten), who is a leader on energy issues.
  Mr. CASTEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address a drafting error in this 
bill.
  The stated goal of H.R. 22 is to prevent aid to China and lower U.S. 
energy costs. As written, it is going to have the opposite effect.
  Run the math. In 2022, the SPR released about 210 million barrels of 
oil. Most of that was consumed domestically, a small fraction was 
exported, and a smaller fraction may have gone to China. During the 
same period of time, domestic oil producers exported more than 10 times 
that volume, so roughly 100 times the volume that was exported from 
that portion of our SPR that happens to be above ground.
  So the failure to include U.S. producers in the export prohibition 
means that this bill will do nothing to limit Chinese access to 
American oil. But since the SPR releases--as the majority notes--do 
reduce oil prices, curtailing our ability to use that tool will drive 
prices up and transfer wealth from U.S. consumers to U.S. producers in 
places like Bakersfield, California, as they sell higher priced oil to 
China.
  Now, I cannot imagine that the Speaker intended to enrich his 
neighbors so that they could profit from Chinese oil sales, so I would 
encourage him to vote ``no.''
  I would also encourage anyone who seeks to prioritize United States 
access to United States energy to oppose until we can make the 
necessary corrections to this bill.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon).
  Mr. BUCSHON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in favor of the Protecting 
America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act.
  Under the Biden administration, we have seen a continuous assault on 
American energy that has killed jobs, increased our dependency on 
foreign energy sources, and caused energy costs to soar.
  In an attempt to lower energy prices, the administration has sold 
millions of barrels of petroleum from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, 
depleting our own supply and helping China to build the world's largest 
crude oil reserve.
  This must stop. I call on all my colleagues to join me in voting for 
this legislation to stop the Secretary of Energy from selling any more 
petroleum products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).

[[Page H213]]

  

  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose H.R. 22, the Protecting America's 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act.
  Let's get one thing straight: The reason we are here today 
considering this bill is because Republicans in Congress voted in 2015 
to repeal a 40-year ban on the export of crude oil, including to our 
foreign adversaries.
  Despite this being a problem of their own making, my colleagues on 
the other side of the aisle have seemed more interested in playing 
political games with our country's energy security than offering 
concrete, effective solutions for the American people.
  When Vladimir Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine and Big Oil's 
unchecked corporate greed caused gas prices to spike last year, the 
Biden administration took decisive action to lower prices for working 
families by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
  Not only did this move help protect the wallets of my constituents 
and Americans all across the country, reports also indicate that our 
government returned a nearly $4 billion profit on these sales.
  So if my Republican colleagues would like to get serious about 
standing up to our adversaries, I would be happy to consider such 
proposals. But I cannot support this piecemeal legislation drafted for 
the purpose of scoring cheap political points rather than actually 
solving the problem of high energy costs.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 22 because there is nothing 
strategic about an empty Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
  What is worse than not having a strategic reserve is selling it off 
to adversaries so they can build their own?

  That is exactly what has been happened over the past 2 years. While 
our SPR has been depleted in an attempt to cover up the failed energy 
policies of this administration, China is taking advantage by building 
up their own reserves.
  The worst part is that their build-up has come from the U.S. 
reserves. Let me repeat this. President Biden has sold our valuable 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China while Americans face the highest 
energy prices in a generation and a Federal Government that has failed 
to adequately address it by unleashing our own energy potential. And 
every barrel sold to China makes that decision even more damaging.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 22 to prevent the 
administration from selling any SPR products to the CCP or related 
entities.
  Stop the attacks on American energy, unleash it, and make us energy 
independent.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Huffman).
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to point out to my colleagues some context and 
facts that are totally missing from this debate.
  Exports of oil from the SPR regardless of destination were not a 
problem before 2015. Many of us were here, and we remember exactly why 
that 40-year policy of the United States, a ban on crude oil exports, 
changed. It changed because that year a Republican-controlled Congress 
insisted on lifting the export ban.
  The Republicans in charge at that time refused to consider an 
amendment that was offered by our friend and former colleague, 
Representative Gene Green. That amendment would have required exporters 
to have a permit finding that their export of crude oil was consistent 
with the national interest. Republicans did not create any restrictions 
on the destination of oil exported from our strategic reserves or any 
other source.
  If Republicans had not lifted that export ban, we would not have this 
problem. If Republicans hadn't blocked Representative Green's amendment 
from even being considered on the floor of the House, we would not have 
this problem.
  Instead, we are left with a Republican messaging bill which purports 
to address a small part of the problem while ignoring the much bigger 
problem that they created back in 2015.
  If my friends across the aisle were truly concerned with U.S. oil 
exports going to China, then they would put a more serious measure 
forward. At the very least, they would block not just some small amount 
of petroleum from the SPR, but the sale of all crude oil exports to 
China which includes much larger volumes outside of the SPR.
  In the international market, we don't know where crude oil ends up 
once it hits the global marketplace. That is the way it works. Sales to 
entities with connections to China may not go to China. Sales to 
entities with no connection to China may go straight to China. That is 
just how it works.
  The fact is the only way we can be sure that U.S. crude doesn't end 
up in the hands of foreign entities of concern is to reinstate that 
crude oil export ban.
  I agree with my friends across the aisle. We shouldn't be exporting 
our strategic oil reserves to China. I just wish they hadn't gotten us 
into this mess in the first place, and I wish they would put forth a 
more serious bill now.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan).
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the gentlewoman from 
Washington on her chairmanship.
  Before the Biden administration's war on American energy, America was 
increasingly dominant in energy production producing a surplus--a 
surplus.
  Exceeding demand usually means that you can have lower prices because 
you are providing supply that exceeds demand, and then when we have 
more supply, we can export. We can export to our allies at prices that 
actually compete with the OPEC cartel on the open market. That is what 
American energy dominance can do.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to keep pushing 
green energy initiatives such as wind and solar. I think those are 
groovy technologies.
  Guess what, Mr. Speaker?
  You cannot export renewable energy. You can export oil and gas in 
order to lower prices and increase stability for our friends in Europe 
who are more reliant on Vladimir Putin for their energy.
  Do you know what, Mr. Speaker?
  For political purposes, President Biden sold off a strategic asset of 
this Nation. He started dumping oil out of the SPR, the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve, and put it out there so that China could buy it, and 
China did buy it.
  This is an American asset.
  Do you know what, Mr. Speaker?
  This bill that prohibits that oil from being sold to China and other 
adversaries makes sense, but the Democrat talking points make none.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Mrs. Fletcher), who is a member of our committee.
  Mrs. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, energy security is a key component of our 
national security. Our energy exports have a security impact around the 
world as they do here at home. That is why I am disappointed this 
morning to hear many of my friends across the aisle criticizing and 
blaming President Biden for taking action to lower gas prices for 
American consumers and to weaken Russia's ability to fund its 
unconscionable and unjustified war that is unprovoked against Ukraine 
by selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
  The SPR is a critical foreign policy tool and energy security tool, 
and it has been for more than 40 years. The SPR was created for this 
precise purpose for this moment that we are living in, and these recent 
sales--like every sale of crude in the U.S.--are made on the open 
market to any entity wishing to purchase it.

  The effective utilization of the SPR has successfully lowered costs 
at the pump for Americans over the last year. In December, The Wall 
Street Journal reported that U.S. Government made roughly $4 billion in 
profits last year from the sale of crude oil out of the SPR. This is an 
important point to remember because it is the direct work of this body.

[[Page H214]]

  In 2015, the Energy and Commerce Committee under Republican 
leadership lifted the 40-year ban on crude oil exports. I wasn't here 
at the time, but if I had been, I would have supported my Republican 
colleagues in that effort to acknowledge the global free market for the 
commodity and the importance of ensuring America's energy security and 
leadership.
  But it isn't right to complain now for those who support free trade 
in oil and for those who voted for it then to complain that the system 
worked as it was intended to. The oil from the SPR was put on the 
global market which increased supply and brought prices down here at 
home.
  Some of the oil sold by design onto the global market made its way to 
China. This was not an unforeseen consequence. The then-majority on the 
Energy and Commerce Committee explicitly rejected a proposal by a 
Democratic member of the committee at the time, Mr. Green from Houston, 
to license the export of crude oil the way we license LNG exports which 
requires the Department of Energy to approve the sales. Requiring DOE 
approval on crude sales could have prevented the sales that are now of 
concern.
  That said, I appreciate that this is a step toward addressing those 
concerns. But I am also concerned that this alone is insufficient, and 
we need a more robust mechanism to address any sales of concern.
  Certainly, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle would be 
concerned about sales to North Korea or Iran or other adversaries. That 
is why in the last Congress I supported my colleague from Pennsylvania, 
Chrissy Houlahan's, bipartisan bill that would have closed the loophole 
to allow the sale or export of oil from the SPR to foreign adversaries.
  There is still work to do here, and I hope that moving forward we can 
work together to craft smart energy policy that enhances our energy 
security and best serves the American people.

                              {time}  1000

  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Curtis), a member of the Energy and Commerce 
Committee.
  Mr. CURTIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 22.
  This morning, I listened very carefully to my colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle talk about this bill, many of whom I have great 
respect for their expertise in energy. I have, however, heard terms 
like ``political,'' ``political games,'' ``partisan.'' While this may 
be their perspective, I wish for just a moment that we could transport 
all of us to my district to see the perspective there, which is one of 
great hypocrisy.
  On the one hand, instead of utilizing the vast American resources we 
cleanly produce, including in Utah, the President chose to use this 
country's strategic reserve to try to lower prices.
  On the other hand, in fact, the President did this while attacking 
energy jobs in Utah by suspending energy development on Federal lands 
and raising the royalty to produce oil, two contributing factors to 
rising gas prices.
  Not only did this release from the reserve barely make a dent in the 
cost of gas and weaken our national security, but it also directly 
strengthened our number one geopolitical adversary, China. Under no 
circumstances should our reserve be used to fund our adversaries.
  Regardless of our views in this Chamber on the use of the reserve by 
the Biden administration, we should all agree our emergency supplies 
shouldn't be sent to our adversaries.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for his 
leadership and recognition that when we speak about this legislation 
and the question of blocking the utilization of the petroleum reserve 
during times of crisis, we must raise a question.
  Obviously, having experienced a big freeze in Houston and the State 
of Texas, where 151 people died, we had to face the question of a very 
poor energy system; a lack of access to fossil fuel, I must admit; a 
frozen nuclear system; and being unprepared in terms of alternative 
energy. It was a freeze that we had never experienced in Texas.
  The idea of the utilization of the petroleum reserve for me is a 
national security issue, and this legislation literally says if the 
President has the need and necessity to protect the American people, it 
will not be allowed.
  Mr. Speaker, I have to rise in opposition, even coming from what has 
been called previously the energy capital of the world. What we want to 
have in Houston, and I believe in the Nation, is a multidisciplined 
recognition that there is a climate crisis, but at the same time 
recognizing the importance of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for, in 
fact, the necessities of the President to be able to provide for this 
Nation.
  The American people are listening. They want an executive who can 
make decisions that will block the Russians from absolutely crippling 
us. They want a President who can utilize this reserve.
  Today, I stand against this legislation because it baffles me as to 
how we can undermine the President of the United States in serving the 
American people and providing for energy relief when necessary.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 22--Protecting America's 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve From China Act.
  It is critically important that we opposed the Republican effort to 
put together half-baked solutions to nuanced energy policies.
  This bill is yet another Republican attempt to appear tough on China 
and for them not taking responsibility for their misguided actions in 
2015 when they reversed the 40-year ban on exporting crude oil--
including exporting to our foreign adversaries.
  This bill does nothing to prevent the sale of oil to China, whether 
from the strategic petroleum reserves or otherwise, because American 
companies can simply buy the oil and sell it to China for a profit.
  This legislation will result in unwarranted and unnecessary restraint 
on the ability of the president to act in a time of crisis or a 
national emergency.
  We should not be passing legislation that will restrict the 
president's ability to help American working families, as he did when 
he used the strategic petroleum reserves in response to Putin's illegal 
invasion of Ukraine.
  If we really want to address this issue in a common sense and 
expansive manner, then we should instead adopt the Democratic 
alternative to this ill-conceived Republican bill now under 
consideration.
  In the 117th Congress, under the leadership of Energy and Commerce 
Committee Chairman Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), the Democrats introduced the 
Buy Low and Sell High Act, which would implement a comprehensive 
approach to protect American interests.
  The Democrats' Buy Low and Sell High Act not only bans the export of 
oil from the strategic petroleum reserves to China, but it also bans 
sales to North Korea, Russia, Iran, and any other country under U.S. 
sanctions.
  If Republican's were serious about protecting and refilling the 
strategic petroleum reserves, they would work with Democrats to pass 
the Buy Low and Sell High Act that advances a comprehensive approach to 
American energy policy.
  We must take a wide-ranging, bipartisan, and strong approach to 
ensure that the president can support all Americans, and especially 
working-class families during times of national energy crisis.
  We must take a strong bipartisan approach to ensure that we do not 
allow our politics to cloud our judgment and hamstring the president's 
ability to bring down gas prices in times of need.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko), a member of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee.
  Mrs. LESKO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 22.
  This administration's war on American energy has sent energy costs 
through the roof. While this administration has continued to shift 
blame for the rising prices, President Biden is draining our Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve meant for emergencies by selling off some of these 
reserves in a Band-Aid solution for his policy failures.
  Since May of last year, the Biden administration has sold off 1 
million barrels of oil per day until after the midterm elections. 
Thanks to President Biden's actions, our oil reserve is now at the 
lowest point in 40 years. Yet, this administration has no plan to 
unleash American energy production to replenish our emergency oil 
supply and reduce prices.
  To make matters even worse, while the Biden administration is selling 
off our emergency oil reserve at an unprecedented rate, some of these 
barrels

[[Page H215]]

of oil have gone to Communist China. That is right. Our emergency oil 
supply is now in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.
  We are exporting a total of 300,000 barrels of oil per day to China. 
In part--because of the Biden administration--China, not the U.S., has 
the largest government-controlled stockpile of oil in the world.
  With this legislation, House Republicans are delivering on our 
promise to restore our Nation's energy security and better protect our 
national security. This legislation stops the Biden administration from 
selling any more of our emergency supply to the Chinese Communist 
Party.
  House Republicans will continue to stand up to China and stop the 
Biden administration from ceding our energy security to our enemies.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains on both 
sides.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New Jersey has 5\1/2\ 
minutes remaining. The gentlewoman from Washington has 11\1/2\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the House majority leader and 
also a longtime member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
  Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Washington 
(Mrs. Rodgers), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and my 
dear friend, for yielding and for bringing this legislation, H.R. 22, 
to the floor. It is such an important piece of legislation to start 
standing up for America's national security.
  If you think about the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, just think of the 
first word in that name, ``strategic.'' It is there for America's 
national security.
  First of all, raiding SPR, as it is referred to, President Biden has 
done over and over again, depleting 40 percent of our national security 
strategic reserve, not to move world oil prices.
  As you can see, Mr. Speaker, multiple times, starting in November 
2021, President Biden has raided SPR because he has attacked American 
energy. As he attacked American energy, starting on his first day in 
office, the price of oil and gasoline at the pump subsequently has 
risen dramatically, crushing middle-class families. So, he started 
feeling the heat.
  His answer should have been to reverse the failed policies that are 
dramatically increasing gas prices by crushing American energy. That is 
not what President Biden did because the extremists on the left don't 
want that. They won't allow him to do it.
  Then, he turned to SPR, and he said, well, maybe we can just try to 
trick the American people by raiding SPR. So, he did. When he raided 
it, what happened? You got a sugar high for about a week, and, boom, 
the price started going back up again because the world markets 
recognized President Biden has taken American energy off the market.
  By the way, Mr. Speaker, we are the only country in the world that 
can produce massive quantities of oil that is a free-market country. 
The rest of the countries that have an abundant supply are cartels: 
OPEC, Russia, Iran, Venezuela. They want a high price. The only check-
and-balance to high prices of oil is a free-market, producing America.
  By the way, if you want to hide behind the Green New Deal and global 
warming and whatever other names they attach to it, climate change--
they change the name every couple of years because the American people 
figure out that all it is is an attack on American energy.
  The price keeps going up because we are shutting off the cleanest 
producing country in the world.
  Do you want to lower carbon emissions in the world? Produce more oil 
in America. It is not just about creating more jobs. It is not just 
about our national security, Mr. Speaker. It is about actually reducing 
global emissions.
  This bill addresses President Biden selling our strategic reserves to 
China. China is building about a new coal plant every week, 
dramatically increasing carbon emissions, while President Biden shuts 
down American manufacturing and production, shuts down oil, which, by 
the way, we were reducing emissions during those times when we were 
producing energy.
  Over and over again, raided SPR, raided SPR, raided SPR. The price 
kept going up. What went down is America's national security. That is 
what we are getting to the heart of here, 40 percent of our reserves.
  We have two different ways to get energy. We can actually produce it. 
As the moniker right above the Speaker's rostrum says, let us develop 
our natural resources. We have natural resources. We have the best 
technology in the world. We can produce it cleaner than anybody else in 
the world. As long as we are producing energy, it actually can lower 
the cost.
  We don't just produce enough for ourselves because, by the way, if we 
weren't allowed to export energy, then you would see a decrease in 
production. You would see a decrease in exploration. It is like a 
farmer. If a farmer can only produce and sell in America, they are 
going to plant a lot less because they can't have access to world 
markets.

  You want to have access to world markets, but you want to also have a 
reserve in case--not in case you have a failed policy, as is what we 
are seeing with President Biden. You want to reserve in case there is a 
natural disaster. If a hurricane hits the Gulf of Mexico, as we have 
seen, it actually spikes the price, so you have a brief disruption, and 
you want a reserve to fill that need. If you have some kind of national 
security emergency, like they did in the 1970s--by the way, that is 
when SPR was created.
  That is when we created this reserve for our country, when cartels 
controlled world oil markets, because we didn't have the technology to 
access like we do today. We didn't have fracking technology. We didn't 
have the ability to go 5,000 feet in the deep waters of the Gulf of 
Mexico to find billion-barrel reserves like we do today.
  The cartels controlled everything. There were lines at the pump. You 
had to have an even-numbered license plate to get gasoline on a certain 
day. That was the 1970s. So, Congress created SPR for our national 
security.
  I understand a little history lesson might help people recognize how 
we got here. It is not by accident that we got here. We should want, as 
Congress, to be able to work together to fix this problem, to address 
the fact that prices have gone up not just for gasoline at the pump but 
also when people are heating their homes in a cold winter. The price 
shouldn't be that high.
  By the way, we were also, by exporting energy, helping our friends 
around the world so we don't have to be dependent on oil or natural gas 
from other places.
  As was the case in the buildup to Afghanistan, Putin was making about 
$700 million a day, Mr. Speaker, selling his oil to America and Europe 
because President Biden shut off the American supply. No reason that 
should have happened, but that is what got us here.
  What can get us out? First, let me remind you what else got us here 
because they are trying to blame everybody else under the Sun. It is 
Putin's fault. It is the oil companies' fault. It is the weather's 
fault.
  It is President Biden's fault. Day one, he started mountains of rules 
and regulations. These aren't laws passed by Congress, by the way. 
These are rules and regulations that have come out of the Biden 
administration just in the last 2 years attacking American energy, not 
foreign countries. President Biden was okay with pipelines from Russia 
to Europe, but he said ``no'' on day one to a pipeline from Canada to 
America.
  All of these actions had a cost. The cost is dramatic prices at the 
pump for hardworking families, crushing the lowest income families 
amongst us.
  What agencies, by the way, are represented here? The Department of 
Energy went after American energy, and the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission. The Securities and Exchange Commission, through woke 
policies, went after American energy. The Department of Agriculture, 
yes, went after American energy in these rules and regs. The Council on 
Environmental Quality, the Department of State--that gets to the 
Keystone pipeline. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Department 
of Justice,

[[Page H216]]

and, yes, the Department of the Interior all represented right here in 
rules and regulations that crushed American energy, making us more 
dependent on foreign countries and leading to President Biden raiding 
our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, 40 percent, making our country less 
safe.
  This foolishness has to end. We can solve this problem.

                              {time}  1015

  Now, Mrs. McMorris Rodgers in her committee, they actually have real 
ideas about how to solve this problem. The good news is, Mr. Speaker, 
under this majority we are going to be bringing bills through committee 
to the floor to fix this problem.
  Now, on the other side today you hear them talking about this magic 
bill. They have got a bill. Boy, if we just killed this bill--because 
they want to keep selling our strategic reserves to China; 950,000 
barrels already that President Biden has sold to China--they have some 
magic answer.
  My question would be: Where was that magic answer 2 years ago, 2 
months ago, 2 weeks ago when they were in the majority?
  They had the House, Senate, and White House, and, I guess, in the 
last 2 weeks they finally figured out the answer because they surely 
didn't pass that to the President 2 weeks ago, 2 months ago, or 2 years 
ago.
  What they did do is they brought mountains and mountains of 
regulations to crush American energy. Then Biden gets on a plane called 
Air Force One. We have checked it, there are no solar panels on the 
wings of Air Force One. It actually uses jet fuel.
  He flies to Saudi Arabia and begs Saudi princes to produce more 
energy because he shut down America's energy production. No leases, no 
pipelines, no permits. He has done all those things, and it led to 
higher prices. He didn't have to get on Air Force One and fly thousands 
of miles back and forth.
  Who knows what the carbon footprint of that is?
  I would love to see the press dig into that because they love talking 
about carbon footprints for other things.
  He didn't have to get on Air Force One at all. He could have picked 
up the phone and called Port Fourchon in Louisiana and said: Will you 
produce more energy in America? It is cleaner, more efficient, and 
there are better jobs than anywhere else in the world. He didn't do 
that.
  It is time we get smart policies. It is time we have some common 
sense in our energy policy, so we stop crushing those middle-class 
families.
  To sell our oil to China?
  Not just our oil, our reserves. This is our piggy bank in case there 
is a disaster. He has depleted 40 percent of it, and he keeps reducing 
it to mask his failed policies.
  Let's get the policy right and start fighting for those hardworking 
families who are suffering because of this.
  Let's pass this legislation. Let's keep going to work for those 
families.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
  I listened to the majority leader, and I want to stress that history 
is not on his side.
  The fact of the matter is that the Republicans created this problem 
by lifting the ban on the export of crude oil to China and the rest of 
the world when they were in the majority. This bill does nothing to 
solve the problem.
  Only 2 percent of the oil that is exported to China comes from the 
SPR. Even if this bill passes, which it won't in the Senate, it will 
still allow the other 98 percent of crude oil to go to China.
  The consequence of the Republican policy was to destroy jobs at 
American refineries, including my home State of New Jersey, because 
they allowed the crude oil to be exported, and as a result, a lot of 
the refineries closed, and we lost jobs here.
  Don't tell me that this is a bill that is going to help our country, 
help jobs. It is just the opposite. It is just masking the reality, 
which is they want to continue to sell oil to China, to Russia, to 
Iran, and to all our adversaries.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ 
minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce), a member of the 
Energy and Commerce Committee.
  Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for 
yielding, and I congratulate her on her historic leadership position.
  Mr. Speaker, our Nation and our national security have always been 
tied to our ability to utilize the resources that we have right here in 
America to remain free.
  The energy resources that are underneath the feet of my constituents 
were vital to the production and fueling of the tanks, the planes, and 
the ships that gave Americans the advantages that we needed to win 
World War II.
  And now, the Chinese Communist Party threatens free nations with 
oppression.
  The Biden administration has allowed our Strategic Petroleum Reserve 
to be sold to Chinese companies for political purposes. Instead of 
approving new leasing permits, Biden delayed new drilling projects and 
canceled on day one the Keystone XL pipeline.
  Instead of incentivizing companies to use the resources that we have 
in Pennsylvania, Biden targeted American energy producers with new 
regulations that made natural gas and oil more expensive for American 
families.
  Selling away our Strategic Petroleum Reserve for political gain has 
left our Nation less safe and our economy less secure.
  Mr. Speaker, 950,000 barrels of American strategic petroleum to the 
Chinese Communist Party?
  This boggles the American mind.
  It is time to refill our strategic reserves. It is time to stop 
risking our national security to score cheap political points.
  I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important 
legislation.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time because they have more time on their side.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 
minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Balderson), a leader on energy 
issues and a new member of the committee.

  Mr. BALDERSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I 
am honored and blessed to be able to serve with you.
  Instead of supporting American energy producers and reversing their 
disastrous energy policies, the Biden administration decided to drain 
our energy reserves to the lowest levels since 1983.
  So who benefited from this decision to drain these reserves?
  The Chinese Communist Party now has the largest government-controlled 
petroleum reserve in the world. In fact, this administration 
transferred 900,000 barrels from our stockpile to a subsidy of the 
Chinese Communist Party-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation.
  H.R. 22, sponsored by Madam Chair McMorris Rodgers, bars the 
Secretary of Energy from selling any of America's petroleum reserves to 
an entity affiliated with the CCP or any entity that intends to export 
it to China.
  Energy security is national security. House Republicans are fighting 
to ensure one of our greatest geopolitical challengers, China, does not 
benefit from this administration's misguided energy policies.
  I urge passage of H.R. 22, the Protecting America's Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve from China Act.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time until we are prepared to close.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 
minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).
  Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 22.
  The bottom line is, do we sell our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to 
China or not?
  The answer is we should never sell one ounce of our Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve to the communist country of China.
  Remember, Joe Biden as a candidate on day one declared war on 
American energy by shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline. He still 
commits to the war on American energy.
  We in America are paying way more for energy than we should because 
of the policies of this administration.
  H.R. 22, Mr. Speaker, is an easy one. The United States of America 
should not sell one ounce of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the 
communist country of China.

[[Page H217]]

  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 22.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 
minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Weber), a new member of the 
Energy and Commerce Committee.
  Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have paid attention to the SPR 
since 2008 when I got elected to the Texas House. As you know, 60 
percent of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is housed in my district.
  I am pleased to announce that the Independent Petroleum Association 
of America endorses this legislation put forth by House Republicans 
aimed at reining in the administration's misuse of the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, as we call it.
  The SPR was not intended to be used as a political tool to bring down 
gasoline prices in an election year. Next thing you know, the President 
will be giving away free college tuition. Oh, he did that, too. This is 
only a Band-Aid on the overarching situation.
  The long-term solution is to enhance, rather than hinder, America's 
leadership in natural gas and oil production. Our true domestic natural 
gas and oil reserves, from production to pipelines and through the 
supply chain, are ready to work, and Republicans' legislation puts them 
and our American allies at the forefront.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.
  It certainly is no surprise that the oil industry would support this 
bill because this bill does absolutely nothing to prevent them from 
selling to China and to Russia and all our adversaries.
  Only 2 percent of the oil that is sold to China comes from the SPR, 
so they will continue to be able to sell to whoever they please.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to 
the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Van Drew).
  Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for yielding. We 
are proud of you, and I look forward to working with you.
  You guys have got to be kidding me. Seriously?
  You were in control. You had the House. You had the Senate. You had 
the Presidency. If you thought there were any good bills or good ideas 
to stop this or bills that were better than anything we are 
putting forward, why didn't you do them? You had the control.

  You didn't need us for a whole lot of other things. You voted and 
rammed through things that we didn't want, rammed things through that 
were radical, and yet, this commonsense type of legislation, nothing 
happened. You can't be serious. That is a bad argument.
  Since there has been one-party rule in Washington--Democratic rule--
Republicans were forced to watch President Biden drain more than 250 
million barrels, nearly 40 percent--40 percent--of our petroleum 
reserve. This puts our national security at risk. It puts the American 
people at risk.
  For our military, what will they do if they need the petroleum 
reserve?
  For Americans, what will they do when natural disasters strike, and 
their town needs the petroleum reserve?
  For our rescue and emergency personnel, what will they do if they 
need the petroleum reserve?
  Why would anyone ever vote against this bill?
  Maybe if you want to lower gas prices temporarily for political gain, 
you would oppose this bill.
  Make a choice. Do what is right. Vote for this bill.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time until we 
close.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 
minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. De La Cruz).
  Ms. De La CRUZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of American energy 
independence and the oil and natural gas workers of south Texas.
  This act is a crucial step to holding China accountable and 
repositioning the United States as a global energy leader.
  It is essential that we recover our energy independence and stand up 
for Texas' workers who have unfairly suffered as a result of this 
administration's misguided policies that have emboldened regimes like 
China and Venezuela's narco-dictatorship.
  The decision to prioritize a foreign energy over our own puts 
American workers, our industries, and our country at a disadvantage. 
Protecting American energy will strengthen both our economic and 
national security.
  I stand fully committed to fighting for all the natural gas and oil 
workers in south Texas and across our Nation.

                              {time}  1030

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mills).
  Mr. MILLS. Mr. Speaker, I had prepared a speech today to talk about 
my support for H.R. 22 and the protection of our Strategic Petroleum 
Reserves.
  But after hearing my colleagues on the left, it is very simple. They 
don't care about unleashing American energy, us getting to energy 
dominance, to ensuring that we have the global currency.
  They care about defending the Chinese and the CCP. That is why they 
have continued to try and prevent us from being able to sell our 
strategic petroleum reserves from China.
  That is why they tried to stop us from putting together a 
subcommittee that would have been a select subcommittee to go after the 
CCP and their malign activities.
  Mr. Speaker, it is very clear. They do not want to go to an America-
first agenda. They do not want to protect America. They do not want to 
unleash American energy for the American people to get our costs under 
control.
  They want to continue to protect the communist China party and the 
Chinese themselves.
  I rise in protection, not just in support of H.R. 22, but of the 
American people and the American workers.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much 
time is remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Washington has 3 
minutes remaining. The gentleman from New Jersey has 4 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Fallon).
  Mr. FALLON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a co-sponsor of Protecting 
America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act.
  China should not be the beneficiary of the Biden administration's 
foolhardy abuse of the SPR. It was at 695 million barrels, and it goes 
down to 371. That is halved, while the Chinese Communist Party has in 
reserve nearly a billion.
  This is foolhardy. This is an excellent piece of legislation, and I 
urge swift passage. Let's put America first.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.
  The gentleman talks about how China has built up its reserves, its 
petroleum reserves. It is because you, when you were in the majority, 
stopped the ban on export, and they used that opportunity to build up 
their reserves.
  This has nothing to do with the SPR. Mr. Speaker, 98 percent of the 
oil that is exported to China is not from the SPR.
  So they used the opportunity since 2015 when you lifted the ban to 
build up their petroleum reserves on your watch.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to address their 
remarks to the Chair.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Lawler).
  Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is America needs to be 
energy independent. We should not be relying on foreign governments. We 
should not be relying on China, least of all.
  Mr. Speaker, 60 percent of New Yorkers, for instance, rely on natural 
gas. We need to expand our energy portfolio. We need to increase 
domestic production of energy. We need to protect our reserves.
  We should not be engaging in the type of behavior that the 
administration has with respect to China, and we should continue to do 
everything we

[[Page H218]]

can to reduce the cost of energy here in America and increase our 
production.
  That has to be the goal at all times.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I find myself compelled to point out that listening to 
Republican arguments today, you would think that they have been sacred 
stewards of the SPR, and that couldn't be further from the truth.
  In fact, when Republicans had the majority in both the House and the 
Senate from 2015 to 2019, they passed six bills, none of which had 
anything to do with energy, that raided the SPR for a total of 260 
million barrels of crude.
  Now the Republicans stand here criticizing President Biden's usage of 
the SPR, and it is laughable. President Biden's usage of the SPR has 
helped lower gas prices by nearly $1.80 per gallon since their peak.
  While the Republicans want to pretend they are tough on China, it is 
really the opposite that is true. Last year, the Biden administration 
was forced to sell 20 million barrels from the SPR under one of those 
laws that I mentioned earlier that passed a Republican-controlled 
Congress.
  The Republicans didn't include any restrictions, no restrictions or 
stipulations on that sale, and as a result, the administration was 
forced to sell to the highest bidders, including a firm owned by the 
People's Republic of China.
  Again, I am going to stress in closing, the Republicans caused China 
to have a huge petroleum reserve by lifting the ban on crude oil in 
2015 when they were in the majority.
  Prior to 2015 when the Republicans lifted the ban on exports of crude 
oil, we had that ban in place for 40 years--40 years--and then in 2015, 
they came in, and they lifted the ban, so they caused this problem.
  During the Trump administration, the amount of crude oil that was 
sold to China was unbelievable. As a result, the petroleum reserve, you 
know, increased significantly in China. They took advantage of 
the situation.

  Now, if you really wanted to do something today, first of all, you 
would say that the SPR should not only be banned by selling oil from 
the SPR to China, but you should say that you can't sell it to Russia. 
You can't sell it to Iran. You can't sell it to North Korea.
  You can't sell it to our adversaries, which is exactly what the 
gentlewoman from Pennsylvania, Ms. Houlahan's bill, does on a 
bipartisan basis.
  But even beyond that, you could simply say no crude oil should be 
sold at all, exported at all, or certainly not exported to our 
adversaries, and that is not what is happening here.
  So this is a problem that was created by the Republicans, and they 
pretend that they are doing something about it today, but, in fact, 
they are not.
  The reason is because they are with the Big Oil. They are with the 
special interests that want to sell this crude oil, continue to sell it 
overseas, and they don't care that it goes to our adversaries. That is 
the bottom line.
  This bill is not going to accomplish anything, and so I would urge my 
colleagues to vote ``no'' on the legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance 
of my time.
  Leadership matters. American leadership matters. You can't be a 
diplomatic power without being a military power. You can't be a 
military power without being an economic power. You cannot be an 
economic power without energy.
  In order to reverse the damage to our energy security and our global 
leadership, we must flip the switch and unleash American energy 
production.
  We need to stop the Biden administration from wasting our strategic 
reserves.
  It is time to cut the red tape and expand energy production here at 
home, modernize our infrastructure, and create new opportunities for 
jobs and economic development.
  The Democrats suggested if the bill included Iran, Russia, and North 
Korea that they would support it. The fact of the matter is those are 
the countries this administration has gone to.
  They have gone to OPEC, Iran, and Russia and actually asked them to 
produce more oil.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the passage of this bill today, and I 
am eager--I am eager--to work with my colleagues on additional 
solutions to make energy more affordable, more reliable.
  It is America that is leading in clean, reliable, renewable, 
affordable energy, and it is so important to energy dominance.
  It is important to American leadership. It is important to our 
economy. It is important to every person in this country that has been 
living with record-high energy prices.
  Every time they go to the gas station to fill up over the last couple 
of years, they have been experiencing record-high energy prices.
  Mr. Speaker, we are prepared to lead. We want to unleash American 
energy, unleash clean American energy jobs. This is important to our 
national security. It is important to our economic security.
  I urge everyone to vote ``yes.'' Pass H.R. 22. It is just the 
beginning. There is more to come.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 5, the previous 
question is ordered on the bill.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 331, 
nays 97, not voting 6, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 31]

                               YEAS--331

     Aderholt
     Alford
     Allen
     Allred
     Amodei
     Armstrong
     Arrington
     Auchincloss
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Banks
     Barr
     Bean (FL)
     Bentz
     Bera
     Bergman
     Bice
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NC)
     Blunt Rochester
     Boebert
     Bost
     Boyle (PA)
     Brecheen
     Brownley
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budzinski
     Burchett
     Burgess
     Burlison
     Calvert
     Cammack
     Caraveo
     Carbajal
     Carey
     Carl
     Carson
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Cartwright
     Case
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chavez-DeRemer
     Ciscomani
     Cleaver
     Cline
     Cloud
     Clyde
     Cohen
     Cole
     Collins
     Comer
     Connolly
     Costa
     Courtney
     Craig
     Crane
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Crow
     Cuellar
     Curtis
     D'Esposito
     Davids (KS)
     Davidson
     Davis (NC)
     De La Cruz
     Dean (PA)
     DeLauro
     Deluzio
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Doggett
     Donalds
     Duarte
     Duncan
     Dunn (FL)
     Edwards
     Ellzey
     Emmer
     Eshoo
     Estes
     Ezell
     Fallon
     Feenstra
     Ferguson
     Finstad
     Fischbach
     Fitzgerald
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Fletcher
     Flood
     Foster
     Foxx
     Franklin, C. Scott
     Fry
     Fulcher
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garbarino
     Garcia, Mike
     Gimenez
     Golden (ME)
     Gonzales, Tony
     Gonzalez, Vicente
     Good (VA)
     Gooden (TX)
     Gosar
     Gottheimer
     Granger
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green (TN)
     Greene (GA)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guthrie
     Hageman
     Harder (CA)
     Harris
     Harshbarger
     Hayes
     Hern
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Himes
     Hinson
     Horsford
     Houchin
     Houlahan
     Hoyer
     Hoyle (OR)
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Issa
     Jackson (NC)
     Jackson (TX)
     Jacobs
     James
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Kaptur
     Kean (NJ)
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     Khanna
     Kiggans (VA)
     Kildee
     Kiley
     Kilmer
     Kim (CA)
     Kim (NJ)
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster
     Kustoff
     LaHood
     LaLota
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Landsman
     Langworthy
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Latta
     LaTurner
     Lawler
     Lee (FL)
     Leger Fernandez
     Lesko
     Letlow
     Levin
     Lofgren
     Loudermilk
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Luna
     Luttrell
     Lynch
     Mace
     Magaziner
     Malliotakis
     Mann
     Manning
     Massie
     Mast
     McBath
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClain
     McClintock
     McCormick
     McGovern
     McHenry
     Meng
     Meuser
     Mfume
     Miller (IL)
     Miller (OH)
     Miller (WV)
     Miller-Meeks
     Mills
     Molinaro
     Moolenaar
     Mooney
     Moore (AL)
     Moore (UT)
     Moran
     Morelle
     Moskowitz
     Moulton
     Mrvan
     Murphy
     Neal
     Neguse
     Nehls
     Newhouse
     Nickel
     Norcross
     Norman
     Nunn (IA)
     Obernolte
     Ogles
     Owens
     Palmer
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Peltola
     Pence
     Perez
     Perry
     Peters

[[Page H219]]


     Pettersen
     Pfluger
     Phillips
     Porter
     Posey
     Quigley
     Reschenthaler
     Rodgers (WA)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rose
     Rosendale
     Rouzer
     Roy
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rutherford
     Ryan
     Salazar
     Salinas
     Santos
     Sarbanes
     Scalise
     Scanlon
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Scholten
     Schrier
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Self
     Sessions
     Sewell
     Sherrill
     Simpson
     Slotkin
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smucker
     Sorensen
     Soto
     Spanberger
     Spartz
     Stanton
     Stauber
     Steel
     Stefanik
     Steil
     Steube
     Stevens
     Stewart
     Strong
     Sykes
     Tenney
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (PA)
     Tiffany
     Timmons
     Titus
     Torres (CA)
     Torres (NY)
     Trahan
     Trone
     Turner
     Valadao
     Van Drew
     Van Duyne
     Van Orden
     Vasquez
     Veasey
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Waltz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Wexton
     Wild
     Williams (NY)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Yakym
     Zinke

                                NAYS--97

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Balint
     Barragan
     Beatty
     Beyer
     Blumenauer
     Bonamici
     Bowman
     Brown
     Bush
     Cardenas
     Carter (LA)
     Casar
     Casten
     Cherfilus-McCormick
     Chu
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clyburn
     Correa
     Crockett
     Davis (IL)
     DeGette
     DelBene
     DeSaulnier
     Escobar
     Espaillat
     Evans
     Foushee
     Frankel, Lois
     Frost
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Garcia, Robert
     Goldman (NY)
     Gomez
     Green (TX)
     Grijalva
     Higgins (NY)
     Huffman
     Ivey
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Kamlager-Dove
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NV)
     Lee (PA)
     Lieu
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McGarvey
     Meeks
     Menendez
     Moore (WI)
     Mullin
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Omar
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Pressley
     Ramirez
     Raskin
     Ross
     Sanchez
     Schakowsky
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Sherman
     Smith (WA)
     Stansbury
     Strickland
     Takano
     Thanedar
     Thompson (MS)
     Tlaib
     Tokuda
     Tonko
     Underwood
     Vargas
     Velazquez
     Waters
     Watson Coleman
     Williams (GA)
     Wilson (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Buchanan
     Dingell
     Guest
     Hunt
     Swalwell
     Williams (TX)

                              {time}  1102

  Mr. GARAMENDI, Mses. SALINAS, SCANLON, and DEAN of Pennsylvania 
changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the bill was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated for:
  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Madam Speaker, due to a personal family 
matter, I had to return back to Texas and I was unable to vote today. 
Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 31.

                          ____________________