[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 14, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H603-H610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 7176, UNLOCKING OUR DOMESTIC LNG 
                         POTENTIAL ACT OF 2024

  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on 
Rules, I call up House Resolution 1009 and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 1009

       Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be 
     in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 7176) to 
     repeal restrictions on the export and import of natural gas. 
     All points of order against consideration of the bill are 
     waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of 
     order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous 
     question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on 
     any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening 
     motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and 
     controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the 
     Committee on Energy and Commerce or their respective 
     designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Pennsylvania is 
recognized for 1 hour.

[[Page H604]]

  

  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I 
yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
McGovern), who is my good friend, pending which I yield myself such 
time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all 
time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.


                             General Leave

  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and in 
support of the underlying legislation.
  House Resolution 1009 provides for consideration of H.R. 7176, which 
is the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2024, under a closed 
rule with 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair 
and ranking minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce or 
their respective designees. It provides one motion to recommit.
  Mr. Speaker, since President Biden took office, he has waged a war on 
American energy independence while supporting policies that have 
emboldened Vladimir Putin, the Ayatollah of Iran, and the dictator in 
Communist China, Chairman Xi.
  Mr. Speaker, if you don't believe me, then let's go through some of 
the facts.
  President Biden green-lit the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to provide 
Russian gas to Europe at the same time that he blocked the Keystone XL 
pipeline here at home. He has proposed and enacted rules that have 
devastated clean, coal-fired power plants while China approves two coal 
power plants a week.

                              {time}  1315

  He has deleted the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to its lowest levels 
since 1983 and sent millions of barrels of oil to where? Communist 
China.
  Mr. Speaker, on the 22nd anniversary of 9/11, almost as if he was 
trolling patriotic Americans and the families of victims of 9/11, on 
that same day, he turned around and unfroze $6 billion in oil sanctions 
to Iran. Just days later, the Iranians turned around and helped fund a 
horrific, medieval, barbaric attack on our number one ally, the State 
of Israel.
  The Biden administration's policies have truly embodied the slogan, 
America last. That is not all. You might be thinking there can't be 
more that he has done to devastate energy production and harm ourselves 
and our allies, but wait, there is more. We are going to talk about it 
right now.
  Last month, this administration announced an indefinite pause in new 
approvals of liquefied natural gas exports. This deeply concerning 
decision puts American family-sustaining jobs and the security of not 
only ourselves but our allies and other partners around the globe at 
risk.
  In the wake of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, our European 
allies have nearly tripled their import of U.S. LNG while significantly 
reducing their reliance on Russian natural gas.
  Studies have shown that LNG exports can provide upward of $73 billion 
to the U.S. economy by 2040, create an additional 450,000 jobs, and 
help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, Biden and his 
administration have tried to put a stop to all that.
  This administration's actions will undoubtedly cause significant 
disruptions to the United States and global economies.
  Let me be clear about one thing. The only people who stand to benefit 
from this decision are people based in Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow, and 
maybe White, affluent suburbs that vote for Joe Biden and want to feel 
good about themselves. Other than that, no one else benefits from this 
decision.
  That is why House Republicans are bringing to the floor this week the 
bipartisan Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2024, which ends 
the Biden administration's ban on LNG exports and streamlines the 
permitting process by removing the Department of Energy from the 
approval process.
  This week's vote will be very clear. Do you support American workers 
and American energy, or do you support authoritarian and Communist 
regimes abroad?
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would say to my Republican friends, enough with the 
lectures. I just spent the last hour listening to the debate on the 
previous rule where the Republicans basically were saying the Democrats 
had an obligation to fix what the Republicans screwed up to begin with, 
that we basically have to clean up their mess.
  I just heard the gentleman talk about our obligation to our allies as 
the basis for this crummy piece of legislation that we are now talking 
about. Really, to get a lecture from Republicans about our obligation 
to our allies while they are blocking aid to Ukraine as we speak? The 
Senate, with a 70-vote margin, passed in a bipartisan way aid, to 
provide essential aid to Ukraine so that Putin will not have a victory, 
will not invade Ukraine.
  When I hear my friend talk about an obligation to our allies, I urge 
him to ask his Speaker to please let the House work its will to bring 
this bill to the floor. Let us have a vote. What we are talking about 
here today is ridiculous.
  Mr. Speaker, this will be the fourth time this Congress that language 
either identical or nearly identical to this bill has been reported out 
of the Rules Committee. First, it passed as part of Republicans' 
destructive H.R. 1 energy package. Then, Republicans tried to pass it 
as a standalone bill but had to pull the rule for the bill from the 
floor because they didn't have the votes. The third time, the bill was 
put on the floor, but it failed to pass because the MAGA clown show 
threw a fit after not getting what they wanted. Here we are again, for 
the fourth time.
  I don't know if my Republican friends have looked at the calendar 
recently, but Groundhog Day was actually last week. Maybe they think 
this is Nick at Nite, and they want to start airing more reruns.
  This is Congress. This is Congress--Congress. The American people 
vote for us and pay us because they expect us to work together to get 
things done.
  The only real difference this fourth time around is that 
Republicans--and you really can't make this stuff up--Republicans 
blocked Democratic amendments that were made in order the last two 
times. The last two times this bill came through the committee, they 
made two Democratic amendments in order. Now, they have been blocked 
because this is a completely closed rule.
  Last night, I asked my colleagues across the aisle why. Why did you 
block two Democratic amendments that were germane and made in order the 
previous times we looked at this bill? Nobody could answer. My 
Republican friends kind of just looked at each other and shrugged.
  I am assuming it must have been a directive of the Speaker. Maybe 
Speaker Johnson decided that he doesn't even want to pretend to care 
about bipartisanship anymore, and that is why he told Republicans to 
block Democratic amendments that were made in order in previous rules. 
We are dealing with a completely closed rule. The worst part is that 
this whole circus is for a garbage LNG bill.
  Mr. Speaker, do you know who is happy about this Republican LNG bill? 
Big Oil CEOs, and fossil fuel tycoons. China is thrilled with what my 
Republican friends are doing today. Wall Street is applauding them.
  This bill is awful for hardworking families. It is awful for people 
who are worried about high energy prices. It is awful for our climate.

  The American people are worried about climate change. They say we 
need action. I don't know if my Republican colleagues got the memo, but 
climate change is real. Thankfully, President Biden is doing something 
about it.
  Republicans still can't answer another simple question from us. Why 
do they want to turn LNG into a Wild West that mimics the oil market? 
For people who are sick of OPEC and Russia fixing the prices that we 
pay at the pump every day like I am, just know that this bill makes it 
easier for that to happen with LNG.
  Republicans talk a big game on China. Their bill helps China and 
other

[[Page H605]]

adversaries who rely on American LNG imports.
  The truth is this is just another handout to the GOP's best friends. 
They want to make sure that Big Energy CEOs and corporations can pad 
their pockets while raising prices on all of us. Follow the money. Look 
who contributes to them. That tells you all you need to know about why 
we are dealing with this bill today.
  This entire week is just a master class in Republican incompetence. 
My friend across the aisle tells us routinely how crucial their bills 
are and how important they are, and then the bills are defeated not by 
Democrats but by Republicans.
  Republicans just wasted time debating a rule that would bring to the 
floor a 1-year, limited fix to the SALT problem that they created with 
their Trump tax scam. They caused the problem. Now, we are debating a 
rule that they didn't have the votes for last week, and it is likely to 
fail on the floor today.
  Last night, they impeached Secretary Mayorkas by one vote. They had 
to rush and redo that one before Tom Suozzi was sworn in.
  The Rules Committee is supposed to meet on a new FISA bill later 
today, our third attempt this Congress. Maybe this one will pass. Who 
knows?
  Everything we are doing this week is a rerun: another impeachment 
vote, the FISA bill, the SALT bill, and this LNG bill. This is all 
because Republican leadership keeps bringing half-baked ideas to the 
floor without knowing where their own Conference stands. It didn't work 
the first time or even the second or third time. I guess we have to do 
it again.
  Look at what is going on in this country. My Republican friends are 
barely hanging on to this majority by their fingernails.
  Mr. Speaker, you would think that Republicans would look at the 
results of last night's election and have a come to Jesus moment. The 
American people are rejecting Republican extremism. They are voting 
against Republicans' cynical move to tank the bipartisan border deal.
  I don't know if you looked at some of the exit polls and some of the 
commentary about people who were voting yesterday. People are puzzled 
why my Republican friends made such a big deal about the border crisis. 
Then, you have a bipartisan border deal that is negotiated in the 
Senate, and then the Speaker of the House says it will never see the 
light of day and that we don't need any legislation. People are seeing 
through this cynicism.
  People are against the sham impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas. What 
an offensive waste of time that was yesterday. I don't know, maybe 
MAGA-based donors are impressed by that kind of behavior, but it does 
nothing about anything at the border. It is more grandstanding. People 
are sick of that.
  Here is the deal. People actually want Republicans to work with 
Democrats to get stuff done. What a radical idea that, in Congress, 
people would try to work together to pass legislation to help improve 
the lives of the people we represent.
  That is not what this is today. That is not what we have been seeing 
the last several months.
  Mr. Speaker, I pointed this out the other day, but I think it is 
worth repeating. The Rules Committee is kind of the traffic cop of 
Congress. Almost every major piece of legislation that comes to the 
floor goes to the Rules Committee, certainly legislation of 
consequence.
  The last time the Rules Committee brought a bill to the House floor 
that actually became law, that passed the Senate and was signed by the 
President, was 9 months ago. All this time, bringing these messaging 
bills to the floor, the impeachment of Mayorkas, all this garbage that 
is being brought to the floor, none of it becomes law.
  Why are you here? Mr. Speaker, we are here today considering the same 
old bills over and over again because the Republican Party has nothing 
to offer but chaos, confusion, and disarray.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a lot to rebut there, but let's start with the 
notion that we are here passing the same bill over and over again. That 
is simply not true. We are here for one reason and one reason only. 
Last month, Biden and the far-left radical Democrats catered to their 
base and put an indefinite ban on LNG exports.

  Again, as I said in my opening, this is going to hurt American 
workers. This is going to hurt our allies and partners around the 
world. If you are worried about carbon emissions, it is going to be bad 
for the environment. Who benefits from this?
  The people who benefit from this are Putin; the dictator in Communist 
China, Xi; and the Ayatollah in Iran. They are the only three that 
benefit from this. The loser, again, is the American worker and our 
allies abroad.
  If you support dirty Russian and Iranian oil and gas, then go ahead 
and vote against this bill, but know that your vote supports them. If 
you support American energy and the American worker, then vote for this 
bill. That is why we are here today.
  To talk about this being a handout to Wall Street and big 
corporations, I tell my colleague across the aisle that the early 2000s 
want their Democratic Party back because, the last time I checked, we 
are now the party that supports the people who shower after work, not 
before. They are the party of Wall Street, and we are the party of Main 
Street.
  When President Biden took office, you can look at what he did. What 
he did was detrimental to Main Street, detrimental to the American 
workers, very beneficial to corporate America, and very beneficial to 
Wall Street.
  When President Biden took office, inflation was at 1.4 percent. Since 
then, prices have risen 17.9 percent. That includes a 28.6 percent 
increase in electricity, a 20 percent increase in food prices, and an 
18 percent increase in rent prices.
  If you factor in inflation, wages have actually fallen 4 percent 
since Biden took office. For 26 straight months, inflation has outpaced 
wage growth. Last October, mortgage rates hit a 23-year high.
  Today, Americans are spending just about $12,000 more per year just 
to buy the basics. That is like coming and saying we are going to take 
$1,000 out of your paycheck every month just to keep up with 
Bidenomics.

                              {time}  1330

  Who does that hurt? It doesn't hurt the executive working at 
BlackRock that sends money to the Democratic Party. It doesn't hurt the 
fat cats running corporations. It hurts the supporters and the American 
workers. The base of the Republican Party is who pays the price for 
this.
  Mr. Speaker, for the Democrats to say that we are somehow concerned 
with Wall Street, that is their party. We are worried about Main Street 
on this side of the aisle.
  Now, talking about Republicans not wanting to support our allies 
abroad, maybe I was asleep last week when the Democrats voted down a 
clean Israel aid package, because that aid package would have helped 
our allies abroad. I am not sure who my friend is talking about when he 
is saying we don't want to help our allies abroad.
  It is very clear that we are the party who wants to support democracy 
abroad because the LNG issue is one of the most beneficial things we 
can do for our allies in Europe, in particular. Despite disaster after 
disaster on the foreign stage, this could actually help alleviate it.
  Let's talk about Biden's disasters on the international stage. 
Biden's foreign policy has led to--and I will list it: a disastrous 
withdrawal from Afghanistan that killed 13 Americans.
  By the way, my friends across the aisle claim they care about women 
and children, but do you know who is paying the price for Biden's 
disaster in Afghanistan right now? It is all the women who had rights 
when we were there, and all the children that now have to grow up under 
the medieval-style rule of the Taliban.
  Biden's disaster just didn't stop with Afghanistan. He also 
emboldened Iran to unleash a proxy network that killed American troops 
in the Middle East, along with three brave servicemembers lost in 
Jordan from Iran's aggression. Also, the Biden administration has had a 
failure to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea from ragtag 
Houthi

[[Page H606]]

rebels, which Biden delisted from the terrorist organization list.
  This shouldn't be surprising, though. Former President Obama's own 
Defense Secretary commented that Joe Biden has been wrong on every 
single foreign policy decision he has ever made. I would submit to you 
that this LNG export ban is in that list of decisions that Biden has 
made for foreign policy that is simply wrong.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Pennsylvania just kind of 
regurgitated a whole bunch of statistics. I am not going to rebut every 
single one of them. He went through a whole litany of things that are 
wrong with our country.
  Here is a novel idea for Republicans: rather than just complain, 
maybe actually try and find some solutions. If all the things the 
gentleman says are problems that we need to deal with, then my 
suggestion is to get about the business of passing legislation in a 
divided Congress to fix them.
  This is the least productive Congress, I think, in decades or maybe 
even since the Great Depression. My friends have done nothing. They 
have done nothing.
  They come to the floor and they complain. This is not just a do-
nothing Congress, this is a do-nothing Congress over and over and over 
again. We are doing reruns this week. We have dealt with this 
legislation. This is the fourth time we are dealing with it, and I 
predict we will probably deal with it a fifth, a sixth, a seventh, and 
an eighth time before the end of the year when, hopefully, your 
majority comes to an end.
  I don't want to be lectured about jobs from somebody who supported 
Donald Trump, who when he was President, had the worst jobs record 
since the Great Depression. I don't want to be lectured about blue-
collar workers. I come from an area in Massachusetts where we actually 
stand proudly with our unions, something that my Republican colleagues 
fight against every single day in this Chamber.
  I will just give some friendly advice to the gentleman based on the 
results of last night's election, which my Republican friends were 
predicting a victory, but I am saying that the reason why you did not 
win last night is because people think that what you are doing is not 
the right thing.
  Your ideas are unpopular, and they are sick of the incompetence and 
the inaction. They are sick of the complaining and no solutions. You 
complain about the border. Democrats and Republicans work together in 
the Senate to come up with a bill. Maybe it is not everything you want, 
but it was negotiated by some pretty conservative, rightwing 
Republicans. Rather than bring it to the House floor so we can have a 
debate and a vote, the Speaker and Republican leadership says it is not 
allowed to be considered on the House floor.
  Again, the gentleman talks about national security. None of us can 
understand the game the Republicans are playing with Ukraine. How can 
you do this to the Ukrainian people, playing into the hands of Vladimir 
Putin? Are Republicans cheering a Putin victory against Ukraine? If so, 
that is sick.
  The Senate passed this in an overwhelmingly bipartisan manner, and 
the Speaker said it is dead on arrival. We can't even consider it here. 
I just want to also say, because I think it is important for the 
record, that last night in the Rules Committee, Ms. Scanlon of 
Pennsylvania offered an amendment to the rule to make in order 
amendment No. 2 to H.R. 7176, offered by Representative Houlahan, which 
requires the commission to deny applications with regard to covered 
foreign countries including China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran, as 
well as foreign entities owned by, controlled by, or subject to the 
jurisdiction or direction of the government of those countries.
  Do you know what happened, Mr. Speaker? It was defeated 4-9. Mr. 
Burgess, Mr. Reschenthaler, Mrs. Fischbach, Mr. Massie, Mr. Norman, Mr. 
Roy, Mrs. Houchin, Mr. Langworthy, and Chairman Cole all voted ``no.'' 
They all voted against making that amendment in order, which would have 
made sure that none of these countries that I just mentioned would 
benefit in any way, shape, or form.

  Sometimes we come to the floor to debate these issues, and I am not 
quite sure whether we are dealing in reality or an alternate universe. 
The bottom line is, if the gentleman cared about the things he just 
said, why couldn't we make this amendment in order and have an up-or-
down vote on it? Why was this such a radical idea? Why was this such a 
bad thing to do?
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Ryan), a great colleague.
  Mr. RYAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I don't get up very often and speak much on the floor, 
to be honest. What I heard in the few minutes here from my colleagues 
is, as the gentleman from Massachusetts said, the greatest hits, the 
recurring talking points over and over and over that are completely 
disconnected from where constituents in my district, in the Hudson 
Valley of New York, are on a whole host of issues.
  These are people who want us to actually fix problems. Specifically, 
they are people who want us to stand up for freedom and democracy in 
the face of rising authoritarian access around the world. Instead of 
doing any of that, we are debating these same bills over and over and 
over.
  We should be voting right now to stand strong with our democratic, 
small d, allies around the world from Europe to the Middle East to the 
Indo-Pacific. I am not going to read this letter, but as I was walking 
here, I received a letter from one of my constituents, an 18-year-old 
young man--I am not going to say his name and embarrass him without his 
permission--from Warwick, New York, who I had the incredible honor to 
nominate to the United States Military Academy at West Point, my alma 
mater. All of us have been giving these nominations to great American 
young men and women who, even in the time of incredible risk and danger 
around the world, are willing to stand up.
  He said: I now fully realize why I want to serve my country; why I 
need to serve my country.
  How are we going to send our young men and women in uniform into 
harm's way without looking them in the eye and saying: We stand for 
something. We stand for democracy. We stand for freedom. That is why I 
signed up and raised my right hand and took the oath as a commissioned 
officer in the United States Army.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania). The time of the 
gentleman has expired.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from New York.
  Mr. RYAN. Mr. Speaker, by ignoring the bipartisan Senate bill to 
provide support to our allies, instead of keeping faith with our allies 
in Ukraine, who have stood proudly and strongly against all odds and 
against all expectations, and who continue to do so, instead of voting 
to send them the support they need, to have our allies' back, we are 
debating this same stuff over and over.
  We all know why. It is at the direction of one former President for 
political, selfish reasons, the same person who called my brothers and 
sisters in arms suckers and losers. He is now the puppet master as 
Putin gets every single thing he wants.
  How can I look this young man and all the people who we are sending 
to all of our service academies in the eye, when we can't even have a 
vote? If you don't want to vote for democracy and freedom, fine, but at 
least be proud enough and brave enough to stand on the floor of the 
House of Representatives and let your constituents know that.
  Mr. Speaker, I won't use the full balance of the time that the 
gentleman yielded. I just strongly urge all of my colleagues, not as 
partisans, not as politicians, but as patriots, demand a vote on this 
bill and stand and be counted.
  Let us stand with our allies in Europe. Let us stand with our allies 
in the Middle East against Iran. Let us stand with our allies in the 
Indo-Pacific. That is what we owe the American people.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.

[[Page H607]]

  Mr. Speaker, again, there is a lot to rebut there.
  If the gentleman wants to talk about Trump and foreign policy, let's 
talk about it.
  It is not a coincidence that under the Obama administration, you had 
an aggressive Russia moving into Crimea. Then you have 4 years where 
Russia does not invade any of their neighbors. Then enter Joe Biden and 
the radical Democrats, and Vladimir Putin senses the weakness of Joe 
Biden and invades Ukraine.
  I will take President Trump's record on the foreign stage over Joe 
Biden's record any day of the week. Furthermore, to suggest that 
President Trump doesn't care about the military and about advancing 
American interests abroad, I would remind the gentleman--maybe he 
forgot--that it was President Trump who took out Soleimani. It was 
President Trump who took out al-Baghdadi. It was President Trump that 
debilitated and destroyed ISIS. It was President Trump who brought 
forward the Abraham Accords that actually brought the promise of peace 
and stability to the Middle East.

  I will take President Trump's foreign policy any day of the week, as 
would probably the Ukrainians, the Israelis, and the Taiwanese people.
  Now, the comment about this bill benefiting authoritarian regimes, it 
is completely the opposite. If we limit our export of LNGs, the demand 
for LNGs abroad is not going to go away. That is fantasy land.
  Our allies will still need liquefied natural gas, but instead of 
having the benefit of buying it from places like Pennsylvania and 
Oklahoma, our allies will have to buy it from places like Russia, 
Tehran, and Venezuela, for example.
  So who are you supporting when you ban the export of LNG? I would 
submit to you that you are supporting the authoritarian regimes that 
you proclaim to despise.
  Now, my friend and colleague--and I do consider him a friend--from 
Massachusetts made a comment that we are operating under a different 
set of facts. It is like we are looking at two different fact patterns. 
That might be right, but I think we are looking at two different 
decades.
  Again, this is no longer 2006. This is a new Democratic Party. This 
is a Democratic Party made up of radical extremists, leftists, and the 
Republican Party has also shifted.
  There was a comment about union jobs. It is pretty clear where the 
Democrats stand on union jobs when literally on day one of the Biden 
administration, right out of the gate, he cancels the Keystone XL 
Pipeline.
  Do you know how many union jobs were lost? There were over 60,000 
union jobs lost.
  So the guy that is driving the EV to the yoga class, he might be 
happy that the Keystone XL Pipeline went down, but that is the guy that 
has the ``Ridin' with Biden'' bumper sticker on his car.

                              {time}  1345

  The guy that is actually driving to work in a truck, that is the guy 
who is voting Republican, so a different set of facts. I suggest a 
different decade. It is a new Republican Party, and it is a new 
Democratic Party, for sure. Those union workers are voting Republican.
  Let's talk about what we have done in Congress so far. It is hard to 
prove a negative, but in some ways we can talk about the rush to the 
Green New Deal and us preventing a rush to the Green New Deal. If the 
Democrats were in power right now, we would be all in on the disastrous 
policies of the Green New Deal, which does nothing but benefit China. 
However, because we are in the majority, we have been able to stop 
extreme left positions and ideas.
  Again, let's go back to the Green New Deal. The path forward for the 
Green New Deal has been propped up by adversaries like China. Why is 
that? It is because we rely on China for critical minerals. We need 
those critical minerals to build everything from an electric vehicle to 
a solar panel to windmills.
  Biden's administration, by the way, openly admits this. According to 
his own Secretary of the Interior, the administration's rush to green 
policies has furthered our dependence on China. She said that in a 
hearing, by the way, in the Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on 
the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. She is right about 
that. China accounts for 63 percent of the world's rare earth mining, 
85 percent of rare earth processing, and 92 percent of rare earth 
magnet production.
  While Democrats hamper our domestic energy production, China is busy 
emitting more greenhouse gases than the U.S., the entire EU and Japan 
combined. China is the one that is bringing two coal-fired power plants 
online every week, two a week.
  It is clear when the White House and congressional Democrats push for 
the Green New Deal, they are actually absolutely colorblind. What they 
really are pushing for is a red new deal that benefits our number one 
adversary, China.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts has 12 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Boy, that is a lot to try to wrap my head around, listening to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania. This is not just reruns week in terms of 
legislation. It is reruns week in terms of talking points.
  The previous President, Mr. Trump, who my Republican friends are so 
enamored with, let me just remind you of some of what he was all about.
  He called President Xi brilliant. He said he got love letters from 
Kim Jong-un of North Korea, and then he said: ``We fell in love.'' Who 
says that?
  He says Prime Minister Orban is one of the strongest leaders in the 
world.
  He can't say enough nice things about Vladimir Putin. While he was 
President, Vladimir Putin was planning his invasion of Ukraine.
  The other day, Donald Trump said, do you know what? If NATO doesn't 
do what I want, then I don't care whether or not Putin invades them. 
Who says that?
  Biden has united the world against Putin's aggression in Ukraine. 
Rather than helping Ukraine stand up to Vladimir Putin, my friends on 
the other side of the aisle are basically giving him a gift. They are 
denying essential aid to help the Ukrainian people repel a violent and 
vicious attack by Vladimir Putin.
  What is wrong with this place, Mr. Speaker, that this is where we 
are?
  I don't know whether my friend from Pennsylvania supports the 
Ukrainian people in their struggle to prevent Russia from invading them 
or not. If he does, then he should join with us and say let's have a 
vote. I mean, they are literally down to bullets.
  Putin is ecstatic. Putin is thrilled that the Republican leadership 
in this Congress is holding up aid that will prevent Ukraine from being 
able to repel a Russian invasion. Putin is thrilled.
  Please, give me a break.
  Putin is a thug. He is a dictator. He is trying to re-create an old 
empire. The idea that people in this Chamber are sitting by and saying, 
okay, do whatever you want, I never ever thought we would ever get to 
this point, but here we are.
  We are debating a bill for the fourth time that is going nowhere, and 
my friends are pretending like it is some big deal. It is a nothing 
burger, yet we can't bring legislation to the floor to help the 
Ukrainian people.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I remind my friend across the aisle that when President 
Trump was naming those world leaders, those world leaders were actually 
alive.
  Let's talk about Ukraine aid. I don't know if my friend knows my 
record, but it is pretty hard to find someone who is more hawkish on 
Russia than me. The difference with my position is I am consistent. My 
friends across the aisle are not.
  It is amazing. The same people who are calling for a blank check for 
Zelenskyy, saying it will take as long as it takes, those are the same 
people who are telling our allies in Israel who are under attack every 
single day from the north, south, and west that they need an off-ramp, 
that they need to

[[Page H608]]

turn it down. They are the ones who voted against a clean Israel aid 
package just last week.
  I am very proud to be consistent. I don't like Russians in Ukraine, 
and I also don't like Hamas attacking Israel. I wish that consistency 
were across the aisle. I think my friends, though, are too beholden to 
their radical, anti-Israel, far-left base.
  If we want to talk about Biden failures, there is more than just 
foreign policy. Let's talk about the border crisis. Joe Biden and 
Secretary Mayorkas, I would submit to you, have intentionally left the 
southern border open. Under President Trump's leadership, America never 
had a single month of over 150,000 illegal border crossings. It never 
crossed that threshold. Do you know what that number is under Joe 
Biden? Thirty-four. It is as if he is intentionally leaving the border 
open. This is an absolute dereliction of duty by Mayorkas and Joe 
Biden, and it is because they are beholden to their far-left radical 
extremist base.

  Just how bad is this? Let's be clear. On day number one, this 
administration put in motion a border agenda that endangers our 
national security, exacerbates our fentanyl crisis, and puts our 
communities at risk.
  Do you want to talk about more numbers? Every single day, roughly 300 
Americans die of fentanyl overdoses. It happens every day. That would 
be like a commercial airliner once a day going down and my friends 
across the aisle not caring or saying anything about it. It is amazing 
the silence on the fentanyl issue.
  It didn't have to be this way. Joe Biden could have had remain in 
Mexico. He could have had catch and release. He could have done 
numerous executive orders that President Trump did, but Joe Biden, 
Mayorkas, and, again, the extreme radical Democrats have refused to do 
anything to secure the border.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Langworthy), my good friend, to add more.
  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the rule and 
the underlying legislation, the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential 
Act.
  The decision by the Biden administration to halt the export of 
American LNG will only further cripple our economy by killing good-
paying jobs, driving energy costs even higher for hardworking families, 
and inflicting more pain on American businesses.
  We cannot cut off LNG exports, regulate natural gas out of existence, 
and lock away America's natural resources without inflicting enormous 
long-term pain on American families and communities.
  The Department of Energy announced that this ``pause'' on LNG exports 
allows for the Department to assess the impacts of these exports on 
climate and consumer costs. Yet, with this pause in exports, Americans 
are expected to see gas prices soar, making it more expensive than ever 
for hardworking families and businesses, big and small, to survive in 
the Biden economy.
  A pause in shipping LNG to our closest friends and allies in Europe, 
Asia, and elsewhere further emboldens our greatest adversaries on the 
world stage. At a time when the President is pushing for more funding 
for Ukraine, it is disingenuous that he is turning around and forcing 
our allies to rely on Russia for natural gas.
  This pause is incredibly shortsighted, and it undermines everything 
this country stands for. It is absolutely disgusting that President 
Biden has chosen to appease the woke mob that runs his party instead of 
doing what is right for our Nation. The American people are sick and 
tired of Biden's America last policies.
  We must end the Biden administration's all-out war on American 
energy. The future of our economy depends on it. For that reason, I 
strongly support this legislation and the rule before us today, and I 
urge its adoption.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  What the American people are sick of is all of this. I mean, the 
disingenuousness of what is being said here takes my breath away.
  The gentleman talks about the border. When conservative Republicans 
negotiated a bipartisan border deal, and Donald Trump said we would 
rather have it as an election issue than actually do anything, the 
Speaker decided to pull it.
  The same with our allies. The idea is that Vladimir Putin has 
viciously attacked Ukraine, and my Republican friends are standing by 
and cheering Putin on. I can't believe we are at the point we are at in 
this Congress.
  What the American people are sick of is this do-nothing Republican 
majority, and they can't wait, quite frankly, to replace this current 
regime, as evidenced by the election last night.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an 
article from Newsweek titled: ``Chip Roy Furiously Tears Into Fellow 
Republicans.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts?
  There was no objection.

                     [From Newsweek, Nov. 16, 2023]

            Chip Roy Furiously Tears Into Fellow Republicans

       Chip Roy attacked his fellow Republicans in a surprising 
     speech on Wednesday.
       Speaking on the House floor, the Texas Republican and 
     Freedom Caucus member accused his own party of having done 
     ``nothing'' with their majority in the House of 
     Representatives. They have 221 seats to the Democrats' 213.
       He said: ``You know, we have had a tumultuous year of 
     sorts, but in the eyes of the American people, they've been 
     watching from afar wondering when this body, the people's 
     House, will stand up in defense of the people who send us 
     here.''
       ``When are we going to do what we said we would do?'' he 
     continued.
       His attack comes amid internal divisions in the GOP, which 
     led to the ousting of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in 
     October. Mike Johnson was elected as the Speaker of the House 
     later in the month, but it took four ballots of voting.
       The House has just averted a government shutdown by passing 
     a short-term funding bill, but 93 Republicans voted against 
     it, in part because it did not include the spending cuts they 
     wanted.
       ``For the life of me, I do not understand how you can go to 
     the trouble of campaigning, raising money, going to events, 
     talking to people, coming to this town as a member of a party 
     who allegedly stands for something . . . and then do nothing 
     about it,'' Roy said.
       ``One thing: I want my Republican colleagues to give me one 
     thing--one--that I can go campaign on and say we did. One!'' 
     He then asked Republicans to come down to the floor and 
     ``explain to me one material, meaningful, significant thing 
     the Republican majority has done besides, well, `I guess it's 
     not as bad as the Democrats.' ''
       Reacting to a clip of the speech on X, formerly Twitter, 
     Matt Gaetz, a Florida representative, said Roy was 
     ``correct.''
       Campaign group Republicans Against Trump also shared a clip 
     and wrote: ``Republican Congressman Chip Roy just gave 
     Democrats their best campaign ad for 2024.''
       Brian Williams, a surgeon and a Democrat who is running for 
     Congress in Texas, said: ``Never thought I'd say this . . . 
     but if you agree with Chip Roy, make a contribution to our 
     campaign to help flip Congress and put Republicans leadership 
     out of their misery.''
       This is not the first time Roy has clashed with his own 
     party. Marjorie Taylor Greene took umbrage with him and 23 
     other Republicans voted who voted against. Greene's efforts 
     to censure Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib over her 
     response to the Israel-Hamas conflict. She was later censured 
     in another vote.

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Roy took to the floor and said: ``One thing. I want 
my Republican colleagues to give me one thing--one--that I can go 
campaign on and say we did. One. Anybody sitting in the complex, if you 
want to come down to the floor and come explain to me one material, 
meaningful, significant thing the Republican majority has done.''
  Frankly, it seems like my fellow colleague on the Rules Committee and 
I agree on something: The Republican majority has been useless. It has 
done nothing unless you enjoy lurching from crisis to crisis or 
peddling sham impeachments.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, let's refocus this debate on what we are here to 
discuss, and that is LNG exports, making sure that we are exporting 
clean liquefied natural gas to our allies abroad.
  Let's talk about LNG export stats. In 2021, Russian gas accounted for 
more than 40 percent of the European Union's gas supply. Today, roughly 
10 percent of the EU's natural gas supply still comes from Russia, a 
share that could be lowered further with U.S. LNG.

[[Page H609]]

  In 2022, the U.S. surged more than 800 LNG cargoes to Europe, a 141 
percent increase from 2021.
  In December 2023, more than 87 percent of the U.S. LNG exports went 
to the European Union, the United Kingdom, or Asian markets. U.S. LNG 
has helped reduce natural gas prices in Europe by over 83 percent from 
2022 levels, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
  American LNG has 41 percent lower lifecycle emissions than compressed 
natural gas from Russia. The Department of Energy estimates that LNG 
exports could add between $50 billion to $73 billion--that is 
``billion''--to the U.S. economy by 2040 and create between 200,000 and 
500,000 jobs as well as increase downstream industries like 
manufacturing. The top five importers of U.S. LNG are South Korea, 
Japan, France, the United Kingdom, and Spain.
  By standing against LNG exports, you are reversing all this good that 
is coming from it. You are making our allies more dependent on Russia. 
You are hurting the environment because you are having our allies burn 
Russian gas that is 40 percent dirtier than any LNG that is coming from 
the United States. You are standing in the way of American jobs and the 
American economy by the devastating impact of stopping our LNG exports.
  However, don't just take my word for it. Let's go through some quotes 
on LNG exports. Let's look at our European allies and what they say. 
Here is what Eurogas said: ``If additional U.S. LNG export capacities 
don't materialize, it would risk increasing and prolonging the global 
supply imbalance. This would inevitably prolong the period of price 
volatility in Europe and could lead to price increases with the 
consequent implications that would have for economic turmoil and social 
impact.''
  Again, that is Eurogas. That is our European allies. That is not the 
Republican Party saying this.

                              {time}  1400

  Let's talk about the Directorate-General for Energy for the European 
Union. The director said:

       We do not have the abundance of energy sources in Europe. 
     We need to rely on partners in the United States, and we need 
     to become as resilient as possible within that reality.

  Again, what the director of the EU is saying is if they don't have 
LNG from the United States, they are going to go elsewhere.
  Where is that elsewhere? That elsewhere is Russia.
  Let's look at industry. My good friend Toby Rice, the CEO of EQT has 
said: ``These types of executive orders send a chilling effect through 
the industries and the investors.'' Again, that is Toby Rice, the CEO 
of EQT, the largest LNG exporter in the United States.
  The American Petroleum Institute, American Exploration & Production 
Council, and other industry leaders have said: ``Any action to halt 
U.S. LNG export approvals would be a major mistake that puts American 
jobs and allies at risk while undermining''--wait for it--``global 
climate goals.''
  Let's end with our friends from across the aisle. What are Democrats 
saying about LNG exports?
  Well, Secretary of State Antony Blinken says: The U.S. is ``. . . now 
the leading supplier of LNG to Europe to help compensate for any gas or 
oil that it's losing as a result of Russia's aggression against 
Ukraine.''
  It stands to reason that if you want to help Russia and do exactly 
the opposite of what Blinken is saying, you would stop LNG exports from 
the United States.
  Let's look at what Secretary Granholm has said. ``I believe U.S. LNG 
exports can have an important role to play in reducing international 
consumption of fuels that have greater contribution to greenhouse gas 
emissions.'' That was Secretary Granholm, not exactly a right-winger.
  Again, if you are against this bill, you are against all these 
individuals that are speaking up for U.S. LNG exports.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Alford), my good friend, to add more to the conversation.
  Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Pennsylvania for 
yielding me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the rule and to address a 
pressing issue affecting each and every American--our energy security.
  You see, Mr. Speaker, energy is not a luxury. It is the bedrock of 
our Nation's strength. It heats our homes, it cooks our food, and it 
fuels our travels.
  Yet, our energy independence is threatened as domestic energy 
producers face unprecedented challenges. The pause on LNG export 
permits empowers countries like Russia and Iran and hurts our allies 
who depend on U.S. energy.
  This is precisely why we need this legislation, Unlocking our 
Domestic LNG Potential Act. We have witnessed a regulatory assault that 
has stifled investment. It has spiked energy prices. It has hit 
families where it hurts the most, in their pocketbooks and purses.
  Remember, American-produced LNG is cleaner with 41 percent lower 
life-cycle emissions than Russian gas, but now, because of a political 
stunt by the President of the United States, our Strategic Petroleum 
Reserve is at its lowest level since the 1980s.
  This is just not an environmental issue. It is an economic and 
security crisis. The energy sector supports millions of American jobs 
and has been the engine of our economy, but the current policies risk 
these jobs and our growth.
  This is not about politics. This is about our very survival as a 
Nation. We must act, and we must act now. We must support policies that 
bolster American energy, support our American allies, and ensure our 
American security. By doing so, we uphold the American legacy of 
resilience and ensure a prosperous future for all American citizens.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, two quick things.
  Let me correct myself. I said EQT is the largest exporter. They are 
the largest producer in the United States.
  Madam Speaker, I inform my friend across the aisle that I have no 
more speakers. I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Madam Speaker, my friend from Pennsylvania talked about his good 
friend, some CEO of some LNG corporation that he is worried about.
  You know what? I am more worried about the consumers in this country 
who will see their energy costs rise, potentially, if this bill were 
ever to become law.
  I will make two quick points. This bill is going nowhere because it 
is written in such a way that it will not get bipartisan support in the 
House or in the Senate, and it certainly will not make it to the 
President's desk and will not be signed into law. For the fourth time, 
I will say that this bill is going nowhere, and this is a colossal 
waste of time.
  The second point I make is this Congress is doing nothing not only on 
energy, but it is doing nothing on everything that matters to the 
American people.
  My Republican friends have spent more time electing a Speaker and 
then replacing a Speaker and on useless, baseless impeachments than 
they have on actually legislating.
  Here is a radical idea. We get elected to Congress. We should work 
together to try to pass legislation that becomes law, that will improve 
the quality of life for the people we represent. That is something that 
is foreign to my friends on the other side of the aisle.
  Madam Speaker, it has become a familiar pattern by now. We have a 
looming government shutdown. We have urgent issues at home that require 
congressional action. We have pressing national security challenges and 
wars abroad, and Republicans are wasting time on impeachment stunts, 
silly censures, and MAGA messaging bills.
  I mean, look. They have us here debating the same bill for the fourth 
time. We can pass it 4 times or 400 times. It doesn't matter because it 
is not written in a way that can become law in a divided government. My 
friends won't admit that on the floor, but we all know it is true.

  Meanwhile, the Senate is sending us bipartisan bills that Speaker 
Johnson refuses to bring to the floor. The Speaker doesn't seem to 
think that his job is to solve problems, but rather, he thinks his job 
is to block bipartisan solutions.
  We had a bipartisan immigration solution. It was blocked.

[[Page H610]]

  Well, guess what? My Republican friends now own the issue. You are 
responsible, solely now, for what is going on at the border. You are 
responsible for the fentanyl crisis in this country.
  We had a bipartisan bill that was passed in the Senate to help aid 
our allies in Ukraine and in Israel. The Republican leadership is 
blocking it, can't even get a vote. You are responsible.
  Madam Speaker, my friends on the other side are responsible for 
basically setting the world afire right now, creating all this 
insecurity and potentially giving Vladimir Putin a free pass to go in 
and invade Ukraine. I never thought we would be at this point.
  The bottom line is this: Democrats want to work together with 
Republicans to get things done. They seem to be able to do that in the 
Senate.
  I never thought I would ever say anything nice about the Senate, but 
they are working in a bipartisan way. That is why President Biden had 
us sit down and negotiate a bipartisan border deal.
  That is why Democrats work with Republicans in the Senate to come up 
with a bipartisan deal to address our national security challenges.
  The Speaker of the House says: The House should work its will. Then 
the Republicans refuse to bring bipartisan bills up for a vote on the 
floor because they are afraid of MAGA, they are afraid of Trump, and 
they are afraid that these bills will pass.
  Having a campaign issue seems more important than solving a problem. 
It didn't work for my friends last night. This idea that my friends 
have about not solving problems, that somehow that is good for their 
election chances didn't seem to pan out last night.
  What Republicans need to realize is that they control one-half of one 
branch of government and only barely.
  They are not dictators--at least not yet. They have a two-seat 
majority in the House--two seats--because the American people voted 
against extremism last night.
  This bill that we are talking about here today, the infomercials that 
are being delivered on the floor, they are going nowhere.
  The reason why my friends keep losing is they keep following the most 
extreme Members of their Conference. People don't want the solutions 
that Marjorie Taylor Greene brings before Congress.
  They don't want a deranged former President who has been indicted 
more times than he has been elected to be calling the shots here. They 
want leaders that have vision, not petulant children that have nothing 
to offer but division.
  Madam Speaker, my Republican friends lost last night for the same 
reason I believe you will lose in November. You have nothing to offer, 
nothing at all, but division, chaos, and incompetence. This is just a 
continuation of that.
  What is happening here is we are debating trivial issues 
passionately, but important ones, not at all. There are important 
issues that we need to deal with and to debate and to legislate on 
right now that affect the people of this country, that affect people 
all over the world, and we are doing this--bringing back a bill for the 
fourth time, a bill that we all know is going nowhere because it has 
been written so poorly and in such a partisan fashion.
  If my friends want to be serious about governing, you are going to 
have to learn to work with us. It is that simple. Take ``yes'' for an 
answer and work with us for the good of the American people.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Bice). Members are reminded to direct 
their remarks to the Chair.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield 
myself the balance of my time.
  Madam Speaker, this administration's decision will have long-lasting 
impacts on the workforce, including union jobs that my Democrat friends 
across the aisle claim to care about.
  It will also have long-term lasting impacts on our country's long-
term economic growth. That is why House Republicans will pass this 
legislation, which removes Biden's export regulations that add 
uncertainty to the market and that curtail production and decrease 
global price volatility prices at home and abroad.
  The underlying legislation lowers global emissions, strengthens 
energy security, and creates thousands of family-sustaining jobs.
  For those reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the 
previous question and ``yes'' on the rule.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the 
previous question on the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous 
question.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question are postponed.

                          ____________________