[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S449-S451]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Nomination of Lee Zeldin

  Mr. President, over the last 4 years, the Biden administration set 
our energy security on a dangerous path. Administration policies 
created serious uncertainty for energy producers. The administration 
sharply restricted oil and gas development. New government

[[Page S450]]

regulations threatened to close existing powerplants, even as our 
electric grid struggled to keep up with demand. The President attempted 
to force the widespread adoption of electric cars--again, despite the 
incredible strain that would place on our already shaky power grid. And 
the list goes on.
  Mr. President, a recent report from the North American Electric 
Reliability Corporation warns of ``mounting resource adequacy 
challenges'' in the next decade. One reason is the retirement of 
conventional energy generators--in some cases, because of regulation. 
Another is increased demand--like increasing demand for electricity 
being driven by artificial intelligence data centers.
  It takes roughly 10 times as much electricity to run a ChatGPT query 
as it takes to run a Google search. Think about that. Imagine the 
energy demands of AI at scale. Anyone who thinks we can be on the 
leading edge of new technology with less--or less reliable--energy 
should think again.
  We need more energy, and the good news is: We have it. In fact, we 
have the resources to be energy dominant. But we need to start saying 
yes to American energy.
  On his first day in office, President Trump took the first steps 
toward restoring American energy dominance. He declared a national 
energy emergency, which will allow him to cut through some of the 
redtape that stifles energy production, as we continue to work toward 
broader regulatory relief.
  He also reversed the Biden administration's pause on new exports of 
liquefied natural gas, a decision that threatened American jobs and 
left our allies looking elsewhere for their energy. President Trump 
also reopened parts of Alaska to energy development that the Biden 
administration had previously closed off. He spared the American people 
from the Biden electric vehicle mandate. And he put the brakes on 
spending from the Democrats' so-called Inflation Reduction Act--in 
reality, a climate bill whose actual cost has skyrocketed since it 
passed.
  Mr. President, energy is an asset, and producing our own energy means 
we don't have to rely on other nations for a critical resource, 
including countries that don't share our values. Energy dominance is a 
deterrent to our adversaries, and it is literally the engine of our 
economy. But if we want to restore our energy dominance, we have to 
start saying yes to American energy--yes to an ``all of the above'' 
energy strategy that includes everything from oil and gas to hydropower 
and biofuels--everything. We need all of it.
  I have come to the floor many times to discuss the negative effects 
of burdensome regulations, and for the last 4 years the EPA has put 
forward some of the Biden administration's most harmful regulations. 
There was the WOTUS rule that would have been a disaster for farmers 
and ranchers; the Good Neighbor rule that would have shuttered 
powerplants in several of our States; the Clean Power Plan 2.0, which 
would have jeopardized our future energy security; overly strict 
emissions rules for vehicles that would have forced Americans into 
electric vehicles that they don't want and, in most cases, can't 
afford; costly standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks that would 
have harmed small trucking operations. The list goes on.
  Regulations like these, drawn up in Washington, DC, have real-world 
impacts, and I am pleased that President Trump has committed to giving 
Americans relief from excessive regulations and that his EPA nominee 
will help him implement that vision.
  Lee Zeldin, whose nomination we will vote on later today, is a former 
four-term Congressman representing a district almost completely 
surrounded by water.
  He understands the stakes of environmental protection. His record in 
Congress speaks to this. But Mr. Zeldin also recognizes that the EPA 
can't be a hammer in search of nails and that EPA rules have to be 
balanced with the needs of our economy, our national security, and the 
American people.
  He also understands the importance of collaboration with 
stakeholders--something that was too often lacking in the Biden 
administration. I know farmers and ranchers in my State would have 
appreciated a seat at the table before the Biden administration 
resurrected the harmful WOTUS rule, and I am pleased that Mr. Zeldin is 
focused on bringing that collaborative approach to the EPA.
  I am also grateful that Mr. Zeldin committed to timely release of the 
renewable volume obligations, as is required by the renewable fuel 
standard. In years past, the Biden EPA has been late in releasing its 
renewable volume obligations, which were often below industry 
production levels, creating instability for producers.
  Biofuels are an important asset in America's energy portfolio, so I 
am pleased that Mr. Zeldin will ensure that biofuel producers have the 
certainty that has been lacking in recent years, and I am encouraged 
that Mr. Zeldin is willing to work with Congress on President Trump's 
promise of year-round E15 sales.
  Restoring energy dominance will require an ``all of the above'' 
approach. It will require a smarter approach from regulators, and I 
look forward to working with Mr. Zeldin in carrying out this important 
work.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am here to back the nomination of Lee 
Zeldin of New York to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency, so my vote will be yes in a few hours from now when we vote on 
that nomination.
  The EPA plays a very important regulatory role in the United States. 
Not only does it regulate pollution, like many Americans already know, 
but it also regulates many areas that impact Americans every day.
  As many farmers in Iowa know, the previous administration's EPA put 
out a regulation that would overregulate what we know in this town as 
waters of the United States or, as the leader just put it, WOTUS. This 
would have regulated 96 percent of the land in the State of Iowa, and 
that would subject that land to Federal water regulations. It would 
almost be impossible to do regular farming operations without wondering 
whether you were violating some regulation. That is what the leader 
just said. This regulation is not common sense.
  The EPA also oversees issues critical to agriculture, such as the 
approval and labeling of pesticides and other important tools for 
farmers.
  The EPA also oversees the renewable fuel standard and protects its 
integrity. The renewable fuel standard provides an important framework 
for biofuels, which benefits farmers by sustaining an additional market 
for their commodities.
  Besides, biofuels, or in Iowa because we are No. 1 in the production 
of ethanol, we like to say it is good for agriculture; it is good for 
good-paying jobs in rural America that we would never have without the 
ethanol industry; it is good for the environment because it is clean-
burning; it is good for our national security--less reliance upon 
foreign sources of energy. There is everything about biofuels that is 
good, good, good. There is not a negative that you can come up with 
about them.
  In our meeting earlier this month in my office--Mr. Zeldin came 
there--I impressed upon him the far-reaching impact that his Agency has 
over the lives of farmers and all Americans.
  Mr. Zeldin assured me that he would be responsive to Congress and 
that he would provide ample time to provide transparency and market 
stability before regulations from his Agency are promulgated. Mr. 
Zeldin's assurance about making decisions on time is important because 
previously the required volume obligations dealing with biofuels and 
the small refinery exemptions have not been finalized in time to make 
the RVOs whole. This leads to less ethanol blending, which goes against 
President Trump's commitment to farmers and the ethanol industry, which 
Mr. Zeldin assured me that he supports. For the sake of Iowa farmers, I 
am hopeful that Mr. Zeldin stays true to his word.
  Just in case you wonder whether or not we have anything to fear from 
EPA in agriculture, I want to give you a little history that is now 
history, but it just shows you how, in this town, which I call an 
island surrounded by reality--the real America is outside of this 
island here--a few years ago, they were going to promote a rule that 
you would say is just unbelievable. You have to be telling us a story. 
They wouldn't be proposing this rule.

[[Page S451]]

  It was called the fugitive dust rule. OK. The theory of the fugitive 
dust rule from EPA is that if you are farming and you create dust in 
the normal operations that go into a farming operation--plowing, 
disking, planting, spraying, whatever it might be, combining the 
harvest--that you are supposed to keep that dust within your property 
lines.
  Now, that is what EPA tried to promulgate. In fact, I think one time 
we thought we had it killed, and a couple of years later, it came up 
again. Now I think it is dead forever because it doesn't meet the 
commonsense test that a farmer working his fields can keep the dust 
within his property lines.
  So I tried to explain it to EPA Administrators this way in regard to 
the harvesting of soybeans, which leaves a lot of dust. I said that 
when soybeans are 13 percent moisture, it is very necessary that you 
very quickly harvest them because 13 percent is the most ideal time 
with that amount of moisture in soybeans.
  Do you know, to these Administrators, only God determines when the 
wind blows, and whether the wind is blowing or not, your soybeans are 
13 percent, you have to get in there and combine them and not worry 
about where the dust goes, and you have about 2 weeks during the 
harvest season to accomplish the same goal.
  But, no kidding, that is what EPA was trying to do to agriculture a 
few years ago.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.