[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 188 (Tuesday, November 14, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5483-S5484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 ENERGY

  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, recent events--notably, Putin's war of 
aggression in Ukraine and Hamas's deadly October 7 attack on Israel--
have thrown the importance of national security into sharp relief. At 
its most basic level, of course, national security means having a 
strong military, a fighting force that can meet and defeat any threat 
it is called upon to face. But there are other key components of 
national security as well. There is border security, there is economic 
security, and there is energy security.
  Now, what do I mean by energy security? I mean a strong and stable 
energy supply that does not depend upon imports from hostile countries 
or unstable regions of the world. You only have to look at the soaring 
costs and supply challenges countries like Germany have faced in the 
wake of Russia's attack on Ukraine to realize that relying on energy 
from other countries, particularly hostile countries, can leave a 
country in a deeply vulnerable position.

[[Page S5484]]

  The United States has been doing a good job of maintaining our energy 
security. We developed domestic resources, both renewable and 
conventional, which meant that we were able to minimize our reliance on 
other countries. But President Biden upended that trajectory with his 
singular focus on Green New Deal policies, and now we are at an 
inflexion point, honestly.
  President Biden's energy policies have put us on a dangerous 
trajectory, one that could easily result in significant disruptions to 
our domestic supply. For starters, there is the President's notable 
hostility to conventional energy production. Since the day he took 
office, President Biden has pursued an agenda that is hostile to 
conventional sources of energy--namely, oil and natural gas.
  He set the tone on his first day in office when he canceled the 
Keystone XL Pipeline--a pipeline project, by the way, that was already 
underway and was to be paired with $1.7 billion in private investment 
in renewable energy to fully offset its operating emissions. He also 
almost immediately froze new oil and gas leases on Federal lands, 
sending a clear signal to oil and gas producers that his administration 
would be reluctant to work with them to increase American energy 
production. And he has continued along the same lines ever since, with 
a recent notable example being his cancelation of seven oil and gas 
leases in the small portion of the ANWR, the Arctic National Wildlife 
Refuge, that is available for energy exploration and development.
  The problem with the President's actions, of course, is that our 
Nation is nowhere near being able to end our reliance on conventional 
energy. And let me just say, I am a big and longtime supporter of 
renewable energy, but we are simply not in a position yet where we can 
rely predominantly on alternative energy technologies. The President 
himself admitted as much in his most recent State of the Union Address, 
but that hasn't stopped him from pursuing policies that seem designed 
to eventually force our Nation to rely on other countries for oil and 
gas, with all the attendant security and economic risk that brings.
  And the President's energy agenda isn't limited to canceling oil and 
gas leases or discouraging investment in conventional energy 
production. Also of deep concern is the President's apparent 
determination to force Americans to adopt electric vehicles on a broad 
scale within the next decade. And why is this so concerning? Because 
our electric grid is nowhere near capable of supporting that kind of a 
widespread transition to electric vehicles. Rising electricity demand 
is already stretching our grid, which has been weakened by the move 
away from conventional energy sources.
  In February, the PJM Interconnection, which manages a substantial 
part of eastern America's electric grid, warned that fossil fuel plants 
are being forced to retire at a faster rate than new renewables can be 
brought online--at a rate of roughly 2 to 1. In other words, we are 
rapidly approaching a situation in which we simply don't have the 
ability to keep up with our current electricity demand. Add charging 
for tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles on 
top of that, and we would be looking at a future of widespread 
blackouts and brownouts, to say nothing of soaring electricity prices.
  So it goes without saying that a nation that can't reliably keep its 
lights on or its homes heated is a nation that is less than secure. To 
make matters worse, the Biden administration has proposed a rule that 
would severely constrain supply chain for distribution transformers, 
which is a critical component of America's electric grid.
  Stakeholders are already facing significant backlogs for these 
critical components, whether they are trying to recover from a storm, 
improve the grid, or tie in new development. The Biden administration's 
proposed rule would guarantee that these problems would get worse.
  Recent events remind us that we can't take our Nation's security for 
granted. We have to work constantly to maintain our Nation's strength, 
both to ensure that we are always prepared to meet any threat and 
because being strong is the best way to discourage any threat; and 
energy security is an essential part of maintaining that strength. If 
we want to maintain our energy security and if we want to maintain the 
kind of energy supply that can not only deal with all domestic energy 
demands but will leave us free from overreliance on other countries, we 
can't keep heading down the path the Biden administration has set us 
on.
  I hope the President and his allies will realize this important point 
before it is too late.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Padilla). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, I seek recognition.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized.

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