[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S75-S76]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Daines, Ms. 
        Murkowski, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Marshall, 
        Mr. Cramer, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, and Mr. Lee):
  S. 31. A bill to provide for the development and issuance of a plan 
to increase oil and gas production on Federal land in conjunction with 
a drawdown of petroleum reserves from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; 
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come to the floor today to talk 
about the need for more American energy.
  We are approaching the end of January. Winter storms have been 
covering the country from Colorado to Connecticut. We are seeing it 
everywhere: Temperatures drop. Energy prices go up. In a typical year, 
cold actually kills more Americans than extreme heat. This winter, 
millions of families are in danger of being left out in the cold 
because of the cost of energy. We know that more than 20 million 
households in America, right now, have fallen behind on their ability 
to pay their energy bills.
  Record-high inflation has robbed the American people of more than 
$10,000 for each and every family since Joe Biden has become President. 
Just look at what people were paying for things before he came into 
office and what they are paying today. As a result, people are able to 
save less, and they are having to pay more. We know that about two out 
of three American households are living paycheck to paycheck. Personal 
savings in this country is now at a record low; household debt is at a 
record high. People are having to borrow more money and put things on 
the credit card at higher and higher interest rates.
  At the same time, energy prices are dramatically higher than they 
were the day Joe Biden took office. The cost of heating oil is up by 
two-thirds. Natural gas is higher now than in a long time. Electricity 
is up by 20 cents on the dollar. As a result, there is actually the 
risk of people having their energy and their electricity shut off this 
winter. Some are doing it voluntarily because they don't want the big 
bill that is going to come.
  It is hard to believe that it is happening here in the wealthiest 
country in the world. We have enough energy to keep every American warm 
this winter. Some of it, they won't let us get out of the ground, but 
we have it. So it is an absolute disgrace, with the energy resources we 
have in this country, that Americans are facing brownouts and blackouts 
from an energy standpoint because of the Biden administration's radical 
climate policies. Millions and millions of Americans are living with 
financial fear and with massive frustration at this administration for 
ignoring the needs of the people.
  So what are the Democrats doing about it? Nothing. Joe Biden actually 
sold some of our emergency Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China. You 
wouldn't believe that; yet it happened. Our petroleum reserve is for 
America. It is for emergencies. It is for natural disasters. It is for 
war. It is not for China.
  This week, I am introducing legislation to make sure this never 
happens again. The House has already passed this legislation. The vote 
was completely bipartisan, more than 100 Democrats voted for it in the 
House. There is no reason it shouldn't be bipartisan here in the Senate 
as well.
  So I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in this 
effort. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is for us. It is not for our 
enemies.
  Joe Biden has promised to use our tax dollars--I mean, it is 
astonishing. He went to the United Nations and said he was going to 
give $11 billion a year to the United Nations for climate reparations--
for energy we have used--giving away American dollars when Americans 
can't afford to pay for energy costs here at home. Why is he doing it? 
If you listen to his speech, it is because he wants to say he is sorry. 
That is what we have, a President who wants to apologize once again for 
America. He wants us to feel guilty about the fact that we have built 
the strongest economy in the world by

[[Page S76]]

using oil, gas, coal--all of the energy resources that we have in this 
country.
  The American people have nothing to apologize for. Joe Biden is 
wrong. We shouldn't apologize for being an energy superpower. We 
shouldn't apologize for using our energy resources. If he wants to 
apologize, he ought to be apologizing to the people of the United 
States for the policies he has put in place that have driven up costs 
and caused pain for families all across America. He should apologize 
for raising taxes on American energy. He should apologize for wasting 
tax dollars.
  The Secretary of Energy--his Secretary of Energy--has given more than 
$200 million in loans to companies in China. The Secretary of the 
Treasury is going to China soon. She met with China's Vice Premier 
recently in Switzerland. According to the Treasury Department, she 
agreed to ``enhance cooperation [with China] on climate finance . . . 
as well as support for . . . developing countries in their clean energy 
transitions''--in other words, more American taxpayer dollars for other 
people in other countries.
  Again, the excuse for all of this is climate.
  The Democrats in Washington are utterly obsessed with the green 
dreams of the coastal elites who run the Democratic Party, who call the 
tune. Again and again, the Democrats side with the climate elites over 
the common folks. I hear it in Wyoming. I hear it no matter where I 
travel in the country. The Democrats are offering working families 
nothing more than higher taxes and higher prices, and they continue to 
raise taxes.
  The Democrats just threatened to ban natural gas stoves. Nearly half 
of the homes in America use natural gas. This is the administration--a 
nominee by the President. That is what he said. He didn't say it once. 
He said it repeatedly. The Democrats also just raised taxes on coal by 
more than $1 billion.
  So what happens with all of these new taxes? They get handed down to 
working families in Wyoming and across America. What happens with 
higher taxes? It means higher prices and higher energy costs.
  Janet Yellen is flying around the world and offering more of our tax 
dollars to these other countries. Last week, there was a large Democrat 
political rally held in Switzerland, at a place called Davos. The 
masters of the universe flew to Switzerland for the World Economic 
Forum.
  From the television reports and the news reports, much of the 
conversation was about climate. The President's energy/climate czar, 
John Kerry, was there. He gave a speech. You talk about somebody with 
smug superiority; he just thinks he knows better than anybody else.
  Here is what he said. This is from John Kerry:

       It's extraordinary that we, a select group of human beings 
     . . . are able to talk about saving the planet.

  Thank you, John Kerry. You are going to save us all. I can hardly 
wait.
  He added:

       If you say that to most people, they think you're just a 
     crazy, tree-hugging, lefty, liberal do-gooder . . . but 
     that's where we are.

  Well, John Kerry, you are right. Most people--certainly, anybody in 
Wyoming--who would listen to you would say you are just a crazy, tree-
hugging, lefty, liberal do-gooder. That is who we have got from the 
President of the United States doing his climate bidding in 
Switzerland. This is exactly what people think about John Kerry and the 
climate crisis and the positions of this administration.
  As if one failed Presidential nominee and candidate weren't 
embarrassing enough, then we had a real Vice President who came to 
speak, a former Vice President named Al Gore. Anyone watching Al Gore 
speak would say that, basically, he descended into an unhinged rant. 
About what? Well, climate of course. That is all he ever rants about. 
The former Democrat Senator and Vice President said we are ``boiling 
the oceans.'' That is what we are doing, apparently, he said, if we 
don't obey his energy policies. Well, I am sure he and John Kerry have 
great times together. ``Boiling the oceans.'' He even said we are 
creating what he called ``rain bombs.''
  He wants to save the planet as well, and I would say: What planet is 
he on? That is what we are seeing coming out of this administration as 
their voice on the world stage.
  When it comes to energy, what are the Democrats offering? A 
fairytale, a fantasy, and a fraud. That is what we hear from the 
Democrats. The Democrats' green dreams are causing nightmares for 
working families, who have to pay for all of this. The only green thing 
about the Democrats' energy agenda is how much green it costs American 
families.
  John Kerry said it himself. He said:

       How do we get there?

  And he said:

       Money, money, money.

  That is his answer--American money, American dollars--and he is going 
to save the planet.
  Europe has already tried its own Green New Deal. It has been a 
disaster for the working people of those countries. We can't let that 
happen here. We just cannot.
  The International Energy Agency projects a record high demand for oil 
later this year. This is at a time when Joe Biden is making us keep it 
in the ground. Wyoming is the energy breadbasket of the Nation. We have 
it. It is affordable. It is available. It is reliable. That is not good 
enough for Joe Biden. No. He wants to go to Iran, go to Venezuela, go 
to Saudi Arabia, with hat in hand, and beg them to produce more and 
send it here. It is interesting listening to the climate elites as they 
are fixated on renewable energy regardless of the costs and regardless 
of the consequences.
  The Democrats need to stop this science fiction. It is long past time 
for America to unleash our energy and stop this foolishness coming from 
the administration that has us buying energy from our enemies instead 
of selling it to our friends. We have an abundance of American energy, 
and the Democrats want to keep it buried in the ground. For every 
American family who is struggling to make ends meet and is falling 
further behind because of the inflation caused by the Democrats' 
spending, it is time to unleash American energy right now.
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