[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 1, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3100-S3101]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Energy

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, ``Amid explosive demand, America is running 
out of power.'' That was the title of a Washington Post article this 
March highlighting some of the challenges facing our Nation's electric 
grid.

       Vast swaths of the United States are at risk of running 
     short of power as electricity-hungry data centers and clean-
     technology factories proliferate around the country, leaving 
     utilities and regulators grasping for credible plans to 
     expand the nation's creaking power grid.

  The state of our Nation's electric grid is becoming a matter for 
serious concern. Our grid has been weakened by increased demand and the 
move away from conventional energy sources, and we are rapidly 
approaching a situation in which there will not be sufficient 
electricity to keep up with demand.
  And it is against this backdrop, against the backdrop of an aging, 
weakened grid struggling to meet even current needs that the President 
is attempting to force the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.
  Last month--the same month in which the Post published its report on 
how America is running out of power--the Biden administration finalized 
emissions rules for cars and light- and heavy-duty trucks that will 
have the practical effect of forcing car and truck companies to 
electrify a huge portion of their sales lots.
  That will place incredible new demands on our power grid--demands 
that our grid is unlikely to be able to sustain. And to add insult to 
injury, at the same time that the President is preparing to place 
enormous new demands on our grid, he is also implementing regulations 
that will weaken our grid even further.
  After endangering existing powerplants with its so-called ``Good 
Neighbor'' rule last year, last week, the Biden administration issued 
new carbon capture and emissions regulations that will reduce the 
amount of electricity plants provide to the grid and almost, 
unquestionably, force coal-fired plants--which still, by the way, make 
an essential contribution to our Nation's electricity supply--it will 
force them to close.
  If not overturned, these rules are likely to result in a gaping hole 
in the U.S. electricity supply, just as the President is forcing more 
Americans to turn to electricity to power their cars, not to mention 
the fact that they will saddle consumers and businesses with higher 
energy costs for less reliable energy.
  When he is not trying to weaken our electric grid or force a move to 
electric vehicles that our grid cannot support, the President is taking 
aim at conventional energy production.
  Less than 2 weeks ago, the administration announced that it would be

[[Page S3101]]

banning oil and gas development across more than half of the National 
Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
  Well, think about that. Of course, it is not the first time the 
President has moved to restrict conventional energy development, but it 
was notable for the scale of the restrictions and for the fact that his 
target was the National Petroleum Reserve.
  I mean, think about this. The National Petroleum Reserve was 
established specifically for the purpose of providing the United States 
with energy resources, of leveraging our abundance of natural resources 
to promote our security. Now more than half--half--of that area will be 
closed to development.
  The President's anti-conventional energy policies have consequences. 
By discouraging investment and curtailing the areas available for 
domestic production, the President is setting us up for a future in 
which we could have to rely on other countries for a significant part 
of our energy supply. And that is a problem, particularly when you 
consider the fact that that could mean relying on hostile countries. As 
European countries learned the hard way after Russia invaded Ukraine, 
relying on hostile nations for your energy supply is not a winning 
proposition. Plus, foreign production can be far less environmentally 
friendly than producing oil and gas here at home in the United States.

  While the President fantasizes about eliminating the use of oil and 
natural gas and forcing all Americans into electric vehicles, the fact 
of the matter is that we are a long way away from being able to rely on 
alternative energy production to supply our Nation's energy needs.
  We are going to need conventional energy for quite a while yet. And 
the best way to get that conventional energy is by developing the 
abundant domestic resources of the United States in an environmentally 
responsible way. We need an ``all of the above'' energy policy that 
embraces the full spectrum of available resources from alternative 
energy technologies to existing coal-fired and future natural gas-fired 
generation.
  Between overloading our electric grid and discouraging future 
conventional energy production, the President's energy decisions and 
regulations are painting a bleak future for American consumers.
  But there are things that we can do to check the President's 
irresponsible policies. Thanks to the efforts of Senator Sullivan and 
Senator Ricketts, we will soon have a chance to vote on a Congressional 
Review Act measure to overturn the emissions rules that will force car 
and truck companies to electrify a huge portion of their sales lots and 
strain our electric grid even further.
  I anticipate that Senate Republicans will also soon challenge last 
week's powerplant rules, and I hope--I really hope--that there are at 
least a few Democrats who will join us to overturn these regulations.
  Our grid simply cannot bear the burden of the President's new 
policies. And if Democrats care about more than winning votes from 
environmental radicals, they will see that and vote with us to overturn 
these regulations.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.