[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 210 (Friday, December 12, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H5823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           FUNCTIONING IN THE FACE OF AN AFFORDABILITY CRISIS

  (Mr. LATIMER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LATIMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because American utility 
prices are going up and those currently in charge of this country are 
doing nothing about it. My constituents are looking at monthly bills 
that have increased by 19 percent, and that is not affordability-plus-
plus-plus.
  Rather than looking for bipartisan solutions to make energy more 
affordable, this majority and the Trump administration continue to 
fixate on putting young people back in coal mines and opening Alaska to 
oil and gas drilling. There is no set correlation between more drilling 
and lower consumer prices.
  We must act now to fix our outdated electric grid to bring more 
renewable energy sources online. This will make us less reliant on 
natural gas prices that fluctuate.
  This week, the majority brought bills before this House, claiming to 
save Americans money on utility bills. These bills did nothing to 
update our electric grid, interconnect clean energy projects, or combat 
the Trump administration's attacks on clean energy permitting.
  Mr. Speaker, while we waste our time on this legislation, I continue 
to hear from constituents worried about being able to afford their next 
utility bill. This is not how Congress should function in the face of 
an affordability crisis, and this crisis is real.

                          ____________________