[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S723-S726]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             WILLOW PROJECT

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I am coming to the floor for the final 
time to give remarks about the Willow Project. I will explain it a 
little bit in my remarks.
  The President is getting ready to make a decision--a huge decision--
on a big project in Alaska--really, an inflection point for our State's 
future. He is likely to make that decision any day. So I am just going 
to come down and kind of wrap up the arguments that we have been 
making.
  I really want to thank a number of folks: Senator Murkowski, of 
course, who, with me--we have been focused on this issue for 2 years, 
the entire time of the Biden administration--2 years, arguments every 
day, including a meeting with the President last week, last Thursday; 
Congresswoman Peltola, who has done a really strong job in this regard, 
particularly in the meeting last week with the President. Some of my 
Democratic colleagues have been weighing in on this project. I really 
appreciate that. I know it takes a lot of courage.
  I am going to talk about some of the far-left lower 48 environmental 
groups that don't support it based on nothing--no facts, no data. But 
stand up to them, go to the White House and say: Come on, Mr. 
President. Come on, Biden administration. You have to make sure Alaska 
has this.
  So my Democrat colleagues, I am not going to name you. I don't want 
to get you in trouble or anything, but thank you. I really, really 
appreciate this.
  As I mentioned, we had a meeting with the President last week, and, 
at the beginning of the meeting, in addition to handing the President a 
unanimous resolution from the entire Alaska Legislature--the entire 
State senate, the entire State house; Democrats, Republicans, 
Independents; Native, non-Native--all passed a resolution saying to the 
Biden administration: Please support the Willow Project.
  There were three pads. I handed that to the President. I also handed 
him this map that describes really the context, as I said to the 
President, of what is happening in Alaska under this administration.
  I was respectful. We were in the Oval Office. Of course, you are 
going to be respectful with the President and his team. The Oval Office 
is a very historic place, obviously. But I said, respectfully: Mr. 
President, in every region of the State, every industry--oil, gas, 
mining, hunting, fishing; you name it--there have been 45 Executive 
orders and Executive actions--it is now 46; there has been another one 
since the meeting we had last week--looking to shut down Alaska. It is 
exhausting, to be honest. No other State is getting that kind of 
attention.
  I walked through some of these, but I just, again, respectfully, 
wanted the President to know, and that is it. Every time we meet with 
senior White House officials and say--these are the days we have met 
with senior White House officials--``Hey, how about a ceasefire?'' we 
just get more, more.
  There is no other State in the country getting this kind of 
attention. It is unwanted attention. As I have told many of my 
Democratic colleagues, hey, if a Republican administration came after 
you like this, singling your State out, putting thousands of people out 
of work, and you came to me and said, ``Hey, Dan, could you help me?'' 
I would help you. Every Democrat here knows I would help you. So I 
appreciate the help that we are getting.
  That was the context of the meeting. Again, it was respectful. We 
appreciated it. We had over an hour with the President and his team. He 
is a busy, busy man, the leader of the free world. So we appreciated 
that.
  (Ms. HASSAN assumed the Chair.)
  I was also recently down in Houston at this very big energy 
conference called CERAWeek. To be honest, it is not an exaggeration to 
say that all eyes are on the Willow Project because, essentially, the 
question that is being posed in our energy sector is this. There was a 
very good Wall Street Journal editorial last week calling the Willow 
Project the test for Biden. This editorial lead by saying that the 
``President . . . says the only barrier to more U.S. oil production is 
recalcitrant'' companies.

  OK, a lot of us don't believe that, by the way. So here is an 
opportunity to say: Is that true or not? Because if the Biden 
administration--the President--approves Willow tonight, ConocoPhillips 
will start moving people to build it tomorrow. We are ready. The State 
is ready. The private sector is ready.
  So I think that is the key question, and it was the key question down 
in

[[Page S724]]

CERAWeek, the biggest energy conference probably in the world, with 
almost 8,000 attendees.
  This is a really important question, not just for Alaska but for 
America.
  I think the key arguments here are, given the President's priorities, 
what the President emphasizes, what he and his administration talk 
about. The Willow Project is actually exactly the kind of project 
President Biden and his team should support because it reinforces so 
many things that they talk about and care about.
  Let me just mention four of those.
  No. 1, which, of course, is really important, is that this project 
has the highest environmental standards of any major energy project in 
the world, by far. It is not even a close call. How do we know this? 
Because the Biden administration's own environmental impact statement, 
which came out a month ago, says this. It says this.
  The Trump administration passed this project in their environmental 
reviews with flying colors. Then, it was five pads. The Biden 
administration's EIS, or environmental impact statement, took it down 
to three. We didn't really like that, but that is about the minimum it 
could go. And they explained in this administration's own environmental 
impact statement--the scientists, the career staff were saying things 
like that the greenhouse gas emissions would be ``minimal,'' not a 
climate bomb like these lower 48 far-left groups keep talking about--
minimal.
  Here is the number: Emissions from this project, according to 
President Biden's own environmental impact statement, 0.15 percent, the 
2019 emission levels. And they call it ``minimal.''
  They also said if you don't do the Willow Project, the market 
substitution analysis in the Biden administration's own EIS says that, 
then, we will likely--we, America--have to go to other countries--Saudi 
Arabia, Venezuela--to get oil, and their environmental records and 
standards are so bad that the emissions globally from not doing this 
project will actually rise.
  That is in the EIS.
  I have talked about the high standards for Alaska with regard to the 
high standards in the world and the impacts on the environment.
  By the way, this project is next to existing infrastructure. So you 
don't have to build a lot of infrastructure. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline, 
just plug it in.
  This has the highest environmental standards in the world. How do I 
know that? Because the Biden administration's environmental impact 
statement lays it out in about 1,500 pages. That is one very important 
argument that fits with the Biden administration's priorities.
  Let me give you another one. The Biden administration frequently 
talks about racial equity, racial justice, environmental justice for 
people of color, indigenous people. They talk about that all the time. 
The indigenous people in my State overwhelmingly support this project. 
There are a few people--and that happens in every State, in every 
country--who are opposed. They are getting a lot of press, by the way. 
But the vast majority of the people, the First Nations' people, the 
Alaska Native people in our State, strongly support this.
  We held a press conference last week here in the Capitol. Some of the 
most famous Alaska Native leaders in our State's history flew thousands 
of miles just to be here to support this.
  So all this rhetoric from the administration on racial equity, racial 
justice is going to be very empty if they say: Do you know what? We are 
going to choose the Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace's 
priorities in the lower 48 over the priorities of the people who live 
there.
  I want to go into this a little bit deeper. This is a quote from the 
Voice of the Arctic Inupiat. This is a group of Tribes and Native 
leaders, a really broad-based group of the people who live where this 
project would be. Here is a quote from Nagruk Harcharek:

       Outside activist groups opposing Willow have drowned out 
     local perspective--

  That is for sure--

     and are actively working to supersede the views of the Alaska 
     Native people.

  That is for sure.

       This is not environmental justice or any kind of justice. 
     It is a direct attack on Alaska Native self-determination.

  Some of our Native leaders last week were saying: Do you know what 
really is infuriating? These lower 48 environmental groups that are all 
driving the opposition of this project, are trying to tell Alaska 
Natives who have lived in Alaska for thousands and thousands of years 
how to live and what is good for them.
  Do you know what some of our Native leaders are starting to call 
this? The second wave of colonialism, eco-colonialism. Condescending 
lower 48 environmental groups that don't know anything about Alaska are 
coming up to our State and telling the Native people how to live--eco-
colonialism. By the way, that topic came up in the Oval Office meeting.
  The administration is going to listen to lower 48 environmental 
groups that condescendingly tell Alaska Native people how to live? That 
is certainly not racial equity. That is certainly not racial justice. 
That is the definition of eco-colonialism, and I hope that they are not 
going to go there.
  One other area, another great group of Americans, whom I love to talk 
about on the floor who support this project, are the great men and 
women who build things in America. There has been no better champion of 
that in the entire country than the president of the Laborers, my good 
friend, Terry O'Sullivan, who, just 2 days ago, wrote another letter to 
the President. He has been such a great advocate. The Laborers are the 
greatest construction union in America.
  This project will create 2,500 jobs, 75 percent of which are union 
jobs, building trade jobs.
  Madam President, I would like to submit for the Record another great 
letter from Terry O'Sullivan. This one is dated March 6, 2023, to the 
President of the United States. I ask unanimous consent to have the 
letter printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                    March 6, 2023.
     President Joseph R. Biden,
     The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear President Biden: I write to once again express my 
     support for the ConocoPhillips' Willow Project and express 
     concern over recent reports on the Administration's upcoming 
     decision. Recent reports indicate that Administration 
     officials are considering approving the project however 
     limiting its scope to only two (2) of the proposed Pads 
     currently under consideration. I want to be clear, a limited 
     approval like this is, in fact, a rejection of the project.
       Proponents of this approach are displaying the kind of con-
     game that has American voters and LIUNA members turning away 
     established political norms and embracing the hyper-partisan 
     extremism that our country seems to be lurching toward 
     uncontrollably.
       Alaska's Willow Project will develop a domestic source for 
     the United States' energy portfolio, benefit local 
     communities, and put skilled union laborers to work. The 
     project will be built primarily through U.S.-sourced 
     materials and create over 1,800 union construction jobs with 
     long-term, family-sustaining careers for Alaskan workers, a 
     state with the fourth-highest unemployment rate in the 
     country.
       The project's peak production of over 180,000 barrels per 
     day of responsibly produced domestic oil will reduce our 
     Nation's dependence on foreign energy supplies which often 
     come from nations that are only nominal allies or are hostile 
     to the interests of the United States. Additionally, our 
     imported oil comes from countries or regions of the world 
     with some of the worst human rights violations and where 
     environmental standards are either sub-par or lacking 
     altogether.
       Experienced union workers are trained for the exacting, 
     detailed work needed to ensure compliance with Willow's 
     strict environmental protection requirements to safeguard the 
     Alaskan tundra and its wildlife. After years of collaboration 
     between ConocoPhillips, government agencies, Alaska Native 
     corporations, communities and the public, the comprehensive 
     project plans ensure Willow will be produced with the 
     strongest environmental and social standards.
       With roughly 75% of Willow's North Slope installation work 
     hours slated to occur over five years, this union workforce 
     will continue to grow, creating family-sustaining careers 
     with good pay and benefits. In the North Slope, schools, 
     clinics, and essential services are almost entirely funded by 
     oil and gas production. Willow will generate over $10 billion 
     in public revenue, and 50% of federal royalties will go 
     towards local grants there to improve public resources for 
     North Slope communities and the indigenous population that 
     live there.

[[Page S725]]

       With significant stakeholder input and a lengthy and 
     exhaustive review process completed, it is clear that this 
     project is widely supported in the State of Alaska and the 
     local communities that share the land with this project. It 
     is time to listen to local leaders, workers, and residents 
     and reject the game-playing that press reports indicate is 
     happening behind the scenes in the Administration.
       Your personal commitment to American workers has been 
     exemplary. Please do not allow the opinions of those who are 
     against domestic energy production and are indifferent to 
     American workers, steer you in the wrong direction on this 
     important decision. If the Administration decides to limit 
     the scope of the approval, it will be a decision to kill this 
     project. LIUNA members, their families, and the citizens of 
     Alaska will understand this fact.
       I implore you to keep your commitment to a rational energy 
     policy that allows for the responsible development of 
     domestic energy resources while the Nation transitions to a 
     lower-emission economy.
       With kind regards, I am
           Sincerely yours,
                                                 Terry O'Sullivan,
                                                General President.

  Mr. SULLIVAN. So I am just going to read a few lines from this 
letter. But Terry O'Sullivan is a very astute man. He has seen what is 
happening in Washington this past couple of weeks.
  Here is what he said:

       Administration officials are considering . . . limiting 
     [Willow's] scope to only two of the proposed Pads.

  By the way, there is no environmental analysis of that at all in the 
EIS in the Trump administration or the Biden administration. So if they 
do that, it won't be based on any science, any data.

       I want to be clear--

  Said Terry O'Sullivan--

     a limited approval like this [of two pads] is, in fact, a 
     rejection of the project.

  This is what we have told the President. This is what we have told 
his team many, many times. They know that.

       Proponents of this approach are displaying the kind of con-
     game that has American voters and LIUNA--

  That is the laborers--

     members turning away [from] established political norms.

  So this great American, Terry O'Sullivan, he is a working man. He 
leads working men and women. He is saying: Don't play these games. Two 
pads is a denial. That was our respectful message last week.
  What else did Terry O'Sullivan have to say in his final letter to the 
President?

       It is time to listen to local leaders [check] workers [for 
     sure] and residents and reject the game-playing that the 
     press reports indicate is happening behind the scenes in the 
     Administration.
       [K]eep your commitments [Biden administration] to a 
     rational energy policy that allows for the responsible 
     development of domestic energy resources while the Nation 
     transitions to a lower-emission economy.

  Terry O'Sullivan, once again, Madam President, weighing in. I can't 
thank him enough, Sean McGarvey, the building trades.
  By the way, when we held this press conference last week, every union 
in Alaska supports this project. The trades, of course, but all the 
public unions, every single union, 100 percent.
  Now, again, this administration likes to talk about: Hey, we really 
care about the working men and women, the men and women who build 
things, the unions. OK. OK. Let's see where you are on Willow.
  Finally, Madam President, I want to talk about an issue that, again, 
came up in the Oval Office, and that is just the foreign policy 
ramifications of this upcoming decision.
  We are in a new era of authoritarian aggression that I talk about a 
lot. The brutal dictators Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and this guy 
Maduro in Venezuela, they are on the march. But the one thing they fear 
almost more than anything is American energy power. Read the reporting. 
Xi Jinping is scared to death, the dictator of Beijing, scared to death 
of American energy power. So is Putin, by the way.
  So in the last 2 years--because, like I said, Senator Murkowski and I 
have been raising this issue about daily--I have asked in dozens of 
hearings on the Armed Services Committee, military experts, Biden 
administration officials, Biden administration military members: Do you 
think it matters and do you think it is good for our national security 
if we have more energy in a project like this?
  By the way, Willow, at max production, will produce about 200,000 
barrels a day.
  Every single official in this administration who deals with national 
security, for 2 years--for 2 years--has said yes. Not one has said no.
  Now, I am not going to name names. I don't want to get anybody in 
trouble. But it is obvious. This is one of the great strengths of our 
Nation. And our adversaries--the dictator in Moscow and the dictator in 
Beijing--fear it.
  So why do I have this slide up? There is something going on right now 
that is unbelievable. And every time I have asked anybody and I have 
raised it with anybody in this administration, they look at me with a 
blank stare and don't answer my question.
  My question is this. This administration came in; they wanted to 
limit the production of American energy. I fully disagree with that 
approach, but what happened?
  Well, the predictable result happened. If you limit supply, prices go 
up. So prices on energy have gone up on working families for the last 2 
years like this. We all know it. Inflation like this.
  So what have they been doing? They have been going overseas begging 
other countries to produce more oil and then poured it into America. 
Now, why on Earth would you do that when you can do it here?
  So the latest and greatest--they did it in Saudi Arabia. They were 
rejected, by the way. They were flirting with Iran. My goodness, the 
largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, and you are flirting 
with those guys, with the blood of American soldiers on their hands? 
Ridiculous. But they went to Venezuela after the election, and they 
said: Let's lift sanctions on you.
  So we are now importing over 100,000 barrels a day from Venezuela. 
Can you believe that? That is a fact. Venezuela pollutes--in its 
processes to produce oil, it is a production and greenhouse gas 
emission process that is 18 times--with an ``x'' times--more polluting 
than in America and certainly way more polluting--probably 30 times 
more than the great State of Alaska's Willow Project.
  So if you really care about the environment, why did you just lift 
sanctions on one of the dirtiest producers in the world? They are a 
terrorist regime. They have a horrible human rights record, a horrible 
worker rights record, a well-known U.S. adversary, and we are already 
importing 100,000 barrels a day from them--just started. And we don't 
want to produce in Alaska, with the highest standards in the world on 
the environment and workers?
  So when I ask the question why would we do that and not let us 
produce in the great State of Alaska, like I said, I have never gotten 
an answer to that question. So, hopefully, the answer is going to be: 
Well, we are going to help the great State of Alaska with this Willow 
Project.
  Do it because, right now, Madam President, with regard to energy 
policy, my State is being treated worse than a terrorist regime. And 
that is not hyperbole. That is a fact.
  So in my final appeal before this decision is made, respectfully 
asking this administration: This is exactly the kind of project that we 
think should be easily supported by this administration, given their 
priorities--the highest standards in the world on the environment, no 
doubt about it; the lowest greenhouse gas emissions--negligible, 
according to the President's own EIS; racial equity; racial justice.
  The Native people of Alaska want this. Listen to them. Don't listen 
to the ecoterrorists down in the lower 48, coastal elites who don't 
know anything about Alaska and are trying to tell the Native people how 
to live their lives--insulting, by the way. Don't listen to the 
ecoterrorists. Listen to the great union members like Terry O'Sullivan, 
all of whose members support and help enhance the national security of 
America with strong energy policy in the great State of Alaska.
  I hope the Biden administration does the right thing. So many of my 
colleagues have helped. I want to thank Senator Murkowski again for her 
relentless, relentless advocacy on this with me.
  We will see. Big stuff for America. Giant stuff for my State. I hope 
they do the right thing for our country, for our workers, for the 
Native people, for our national security.

[[Page S726]]

  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________