Liz Cheney

Ms. CHENEY

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Ms. CHENEY

Ms. CHENEY. Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained in a meeting with the Chief of Naval Operations. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 410. Stated against:

Ms. CHENEY

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 454 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 454, which provides a structured rule for the consideration of H.R. 2910, the Promoting Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act; H.R. 2883, the Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act; and H.R. 218, the King Cove Road Land Exchange Act. Mr. Speaker, our domestic energy industry has suffered greatly over the last 8 years under outdated regulations and burdensome bureaucratic red tape that have prohibited growth and innovation. Today's rule allows for consideration of two very important bills that will provide clear and transparent policies for our pipeline permitting processes, making them more efficient and effective so that we can fully realize the North American energy boom; create American jobs; grow our economy; and strengthen our relations with our largest energy trading partners, Canada and Mexico. The first bill, H.R. 2910, the Promoting Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act, is sponsored by my colleague, Mr. Flores of Texas. This bill reinforces the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's role as the lead agency for siting interstate natural gas pipelines by directing it to identify and invite all agencies considering an aspect of an application to establish a schedule for concurrent reviews, and to impose deadlines for final decisions. Recent advancements in energy exploration have allowed companies to tap into previously inaccessible natural gas reserves, leading to a dramatic increase in domestic production. The increased supply has lowered energy costs and increased demand for natural gas. As a result, current U.S. pipelines are now operating near capacity, making new pipelines necessary to deliver gas to consumers across the Nation, especially to those in the Northeast and Midwest, where demand for energy is high, but where they lack the infrastructure to deliver domestic natural gas. Additionally, due to its abundance and affordability, many manufacturers are beginning to rely on natural gas as a primary fuel. Unfortunately, the permitting process for new pipelines is arduous and unnecessarily burdensome. Currently, when siting a pipeline project, multiple permits are required, including permits under the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Air Act, for example. According to the Government Accountability Office, the average processing time from pre-filing to certification for interstate natural gas pipelines has been 558 days. We cannot afford to wait that long, Mr. Speaker. It is critical that we expand and modernize our Nation's pipeline infrastructure to ensure the access to affordable energy and affordable prices for consumers across the country. In order to do this, we simply must promote timely and efficient reviews as well as coordination among Federal, State, and local regulators. This bill accomplishes these goals, and I support its passage. The rule we are discussing today also provides for consideration of H.R. 2883, the Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act, sponsored by the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Mullin). This bill creates a uniform and transparent process to authorize the construction, connection, operation, and maintenance of international transfers of oil, natural gas, and electricity imports and exports. The bill directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to review cross-border oil and natural gas pipelines and the Department of Energy to review cross-border electric transmission facilities, requiring the relevant official to issue a certificate of crossing, unless it is found not to be in the public interest. Recent advances in technology, Mr. Speaker, have dramatically increased our ability to harness our vast natural resources, but the current ad hoc permitting process has inhibited energy producers from exporting American-made energy to our international trading partners and has significantly delayed recent proposals, such as the Keystone XL pipeline. The value of energy traded between the United States and its North American neighbors exceeded $140 billion in 2015, with $100 billion in U.S. energy imports, and over $40 billion in exports. We simply cannot afford to gamble our energy security and competitiveness on an inefficient permitting process. Today's rule, Mr. Speaker, also allows for consideration of H.R. 218, the King Cove Road Land Exchange Act, sponsored by the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young). This bill authorizes an equal value land exchange to facilitate the construction of an 11-mile road linking the remote city of King Cove and the city of Cold Bay, which has a modern airport. The State of Alaska will transfer approximately 43,000 acres to the Department of the Interior to add to the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in return for 206 acres of Federal lands to build the road. This road is critical, Mr. Speaker, because harsh winter conditions make transporting individuals in the remote King Cove community of nearly 1,000 people dangerous and sometimes fatal: gale-force winds ground planes and prevent sea travel; evacuations can take days; and the hovercraft terminal and medical facility that Congress temporarily provided funds for, in lieu of land for the road, ceased operation in 2010. The King Cove community has been denied proper hospital care and access to essential emergency services since they began fighting for this road 40 years ago, and that, Mr. Speaker, is unacceptable. Ensuring these folks have ground transportation options for accessing the regional hub at Cold Bay, especially during harsh winters, is vital to the safety of this community in emergency situations. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I encourage support for the rule for these important bills, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. CHENEY. I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman.

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), my friend and colleague, and the sponsor of H.R. 218. (Mr. YOUNG of Alaska asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am proud to be here, and I am proud of the agenda that we have taken up under the Republican leadership in this Congress. We are indeed doing the important work that the people sent us here to do. So far, just a list of some of the things that we have done in the first few months of this Congress: We have taken the first step in our obligation to repeal and replace ObamaCare, a system that is absolutely failing, that is causing rising premiums. It is causing people to lose their insurance all across the Nation, a system that will collapse if we don't fix it. We, the House Republicans, have taken important steps in order to begin the repeal and replace process of ObamaCare. Also, Mr. Speaker, we have passed a bill to repeal and replace Dodd- Frank, legislation that was strangling our local community banks across the country. We have taken a step to begin to fix that and provide relief. We have also dealt with important immigration issues and taken important action in terms of passing legislation to end human trafficking. I am very proud, as a member of the Armed Services Committee, of the work that we have done to pass the National Defense Authorization Act to begin to rebuild our military and get the military the resources it needs so that it can defend us against a growing array of threats and a very complex array of enemies across the Nation. We have also, Mr. Speaker, taken important steps using the congressional review action process to repeal regulations put in place over the last 8 years that have been damaging to our industry, to individuals, to small businesses all across the Nation. We have been historically productive, and it may be that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle don't agree with the steps that we have taken, but it is simply not accurate to say we aren't focusing on what is important. We are focusing on those issues that matter most to the men and women across this Nation that will begin to make sure we can keep everybody safe, begin to make sure we can defend ourselves, begin the process of reforming our outdated and burdensome tax code, as well, Mr. Speaker, as ensuring we bring back the kind of economic growth we know we need and fixing our healthcare system. These bills that we are debating today, the rule for these bills, are part of that process. I want to thank my colleagues, Mr. Flores, Mr. Mullin, and Mr. Young, for their hard work on this legislation. In Wyoming, which is one of our Nation's largest energy-producing States, we know how important it is that we work to develop our domestic energy resources. We know the technology that has been available that has helped us do that, that has helped us begin to, for the first time ever, have energy independence that has really helped us begin to have the kind of economic growth we need. We cannot depend just on that technology. We also have got to improve the permitting process, Mr. Speaker. Improving the pipeline permitting process by promoting the kind of timely review, supporting interagency coordination, and creating a new and streamlined system for safety that will help us to transport our energy exports and imports are all crucial steps in our ability to ensure affordable energy and economic growth. The other bill that we are considering under this rule, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 218, will provide a desperately needed road, as you heard my colleague Mr. Young explain, to improve the safety and well-being of the residents of King Cove, Alaska, and save lives, Mr. Speaker. Therefore, I urge adoption of both the rule and the underlying bills.

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I understand that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle don't want to talk about energy. They don't want to talk about fossil fuels. They don't want to talk about how important these are to the economy. I would propose, Mr. Speaker, maybe what we should do is turn out the lights in this Chamber. Maybe we ought to turn off the air conditioning, Mr. Speaker, and we could have the debate in the dark, which is where we would be, frankly, if we followed the energy policies in the approach of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. These bills are hugely important, Mr. Speaker, to ensure that we are able to continue to get access to the energy that we need; and it is crucially important that we not skip over the burden that has been caused by the Federal Government, by the regulatory burden we have been feeling, and that we take action, as is our responsibility, to begin to help to roll back that overreach, to begin to help to provide some relief so that we can, in fact, get the jobs back that our colleagues say they desire so much and that we know we need. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King).

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I share my colleague's dedication to job creation, and what we know is that the kind of job creation we need in this Nation can only come with access to reliable, affordable sources of energy. Our fossil fuels in this country are a national treasure, and these bills that are being considered under this rule today are bills that would help to streamline the regulatory process. We have been, Mr. Speaker, really facing a war on fossil fuels during the course of the last 8 years. We have seen these industries targeted, completely unfairly targeted, based on some notion that, by shutting down our fossil fuel industry, we are somehow going to be able to continue to have economic growth. We have seen the environmental officials of the previous administration even admit before this body that things like the Clean Power Plan would result, if fully implemented, in a negligible impact on the environment. So, again, I think that it is important to recognize that it is at the center of the agenda that we are pushing forward, frankly, with historic progress in this Congress to begin to generate the kind of economic growth that we really need to get back on track. We have been stagnant now for 8 years. We have seen overreach from the Federal Government. We have seen a situation in which companies, industry, individuals, and small businesses are strangled by regulatory red tape. No one is suggesting that there shouldn't be oversight. No one is suggesting that there shouldn't be environmental review, but what we know is we have got to streamline it. We cannot be in a position where bureaucrats--and, frankly, it is often unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.--impose absolutely unattainable restrictions, impose rules that our industry can't meet and prevent us from being able to have access to our own energy sources. Again, it is that reliable, affordable energy that will allow our economy to grow and bring back the jobs that the gentleman says, and to which I agree, are so important for this Nation. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams).

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter), 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

Ms. CHENEY

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Ms. CHENEY

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Chair, there is nothing in my amendment that has any negative impact on our submarine fleet. In fact, I support strongly, as does the NDAA, the importance of the triad, as have administrations of both parties over many years. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers), the distinguished chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee.

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Chair, I rise to offer an amendment that will help ensure the strength of our nuclear deterrent by preventing further reductions to our deployed ICBM fleet below 400 missiles. At this point, our deployed fleet at 400 missiles is at the basic level necessary to maintain a strong and effective nuclear deterrence. Mr. Chair, our ICBMs are a critical leg of our triad as they provide our commanders with a responsive, flexible, and survivable military response ready 24/7, 365 days a year. Our ICBM leg of the triad also adds significantly to our deterrence capability by increasing the number of targets our adversaries must hold at risk. My amendment is a safeguard that prevents any unilateral disarmament that would leave our Nation vulnerable to attack. My amendment does not impact our compliance with the New START, and it does not change our current alert level or require the deployment of any additional ICBMs at this point. The amendment simply reaffirms to our adversaries and our allies that our nuclear deterrence will remain strong. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Chair, how much time do I have left?

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bacon), a retired brigadier general and the former commander of Offutt Air Force Base.

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Chairman, we have seen over the years many misguided efforts to unilaterally cut our strategic forces and to do so in a way that has been really based on a notion that somehow if we reduce the level of weapons in our inventory, that our adversaries will do the same. We know that is simply not the case. This amendment is crucial to ensure that we maintain the kind of deterrent that is necessary in a world in which we are facing increasing threats. Our ability to deter against the threats of our adversaries depends in large part both upon their understanding of our will to use our forces as well as their belief in our capability, and the last thing we should be doing is reducing below a safe and secure number. Mr. Chairman, in offering this amendment, my intention is very much to say, look, our obligation as Members of the House of Representatives is to provide for the common defense and to ensure that, while we are overseeing activities by the executive branch, we are not allowing the kind of irresponsible cuts that could put us at risk. So I urge the adoption of my amendment, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. CHENEY

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained recognizing the Military Times Sailor of the Year from Gillette, Wyoming. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 350, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 351, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 352.

Ms. CHENEY

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Chairman, it is surprising to sit here and hear arguments that we have been hearing really for the last almost 70 years now, the notion that the reason that our adversaries build nuclear weapons is because we are building nuclear weapons, or the notion that we all are building nuclear weapons for the same purposes. The North Koreans are building nuclear weapons in order to threaten us. They are building nuclear weapons, potentially, in order to hold us hostage. They are building nuclear weapons against which we must deter. The notion that if we advance our capabilities, the notion that if we produce the LRSO we are going to be in a position where we are encouraging the other side is just simply a flawed understanding. We already have a situation where our adversaries are modernizing their dual capable cruise missiles. They don't think these things are destabilizing. We shouldn't argue that they are for us, as well. In addition, the LRSO plays a hugely important deterrent role. It imposes important and real costs on any potential adversary. It forces them, in addition to modernizing their nuclear arsenals, to modernize their air defense arsenals. It is hugely important that we proceed. It is hugely important that we modernize. I agree it is a very expensive undertaking, but I would urge my colleagues to defeat this amendment and remember that the single most expensive thing we can do would be to fail to defend ourselves. The single most expensive thing we can do would be to encourage an adversary to attack us because they think they can overtake us or overcome our capabilities. I think it is important that we not go down the path of unilateral disarmament and that we do everything we can to continue to modernize at a very rapid pace, to speed up the pace at which we are modernizing. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

Ms. CHENEY

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank very much my colleague from both the Rules Committee and the Armed Services Committee, Mr. Byrne, for his work on this bill. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support both of these underlying bills, and I want to speak particularly about the National Defense Authorization Act. We are, today, living in a world where we face a more complex array of threats than at any time in the last 70 years. The obligation that we have to our men and women in uniform, to make sure that we provide them with the resources that they need to defend this Nation, is a more solemn obligation than any other we have. There are many things that we were elected to do when we came to Washington, and we have done many of those things in this Congress. We have been a historically productive Congress in the months that we have been here. We have passed repeal and replace of healthcare reform, we have passed the repeal bill for Dodd-Frank, we have begun our important work on immigration reform, and we have done tremendous work on regulatory reform to lift the burden of the massive overreach of the Obama years. But there is nothing that we do that is more important than providing the resources for our men and women in uniform. This bill is a very important first step in that direction. I want to mention a couple of things that this bill does in particular. In the aftermath of the ICBM test, the first successful North Korean ICBM test, one of the most important challenges we face as a nation is ensuring that we have provided for the defense of this Nation with respect to missile defense. This bill adds $2.5 billion above the administration's request for missile defense. It focuses on including additional interceptors for existing systems, as well as research for new technologies. Total missile defense is still below the funding levels during the Bush administration. This bill is a very important first step, but, Mr. Speaker, we have got to do much more. We also, in this bill, begin the process of providing the necessary additional resources and top line to begin to rebuild. We have not had a defense budget, Mr. Speaker, since 2011 that was based upon the Pentagon being able to assess the threats and telling us what we need to do to be able to defend against those threats. We have now, because we are living under the Budget Control Act, had a Defense Department, instead, that has been obligated to fund at levels that are arbitrary and to cut at levels that are arbitrary. No nation can responsibly live under that system. The next thing we have got to do is repeal the Budget Control Act. We have got to recognize that we have a huge and growing debt crisis, a huge fiscal crisis, but that crisis is not being driven by our defense budget. The Budget Control Act has been ineffective at getting at what we need to do in terms of reducing the debt. Instead, it has gutted our defense. We are in a world today where the North Koreans, the Iranians, the Russians, the Chinese, ISIS, and al-Qaida are all continuing to make strides against us, Mr. Speaker. One of the things that I am often asked as a new Member of this body is what has surprised me most in my time in Congress. I came to this body, Mr. Speaker, as somebody who has spent a lot of time focused on national security and defense issues, as someone who spent a large part of her career really invested in and studying and learning these issues, and I thought, Mr. Speaker, that I was relatively well informed about these issues. I have been stunned, Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, briefing after briefing after briefing, at the extent to which we have fallen so far behind. And I think it is critically important for my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, and for the American people to understand the extent to which our adversaries are, today, fielding and developing capabilities and systems against which we cannot, may not be able to defend. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to read something that Ronald Reagan said back in 1982 on an issue when they were having similar issues and debates and discussions about defense spending. He said: ``Now, I realize that many well-meaning people deplore the expenditure of huge sums of money for military purposes at a time of economic hardship. Similar voices were heard in the 1930s, when economic conditions were far worse than anything we're experiencing today. But the result of heeding those voices then was a disastrous military imbalance that tempted the forces of tyranny and evil and plunged the world into a ruinous war. . . . We must never repeat that experience.'' Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to remember that weakness is provocative, that it is when we are strong that we are most able to protect ourselves and to defend ourselves, and we must learn the lessons of the past. Passing this rule and passing the underlying legislation, this National Defense Authorization Act, is the first step in that direction. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in the affirmative and to ensure that we do everything we can to defend our Nation and to make sure that we defend freedom for the next generation.

Ms. CHENEY

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina.

Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, may I ask my colleague from North Carolina, the chairwoman of the Education and the Workforce Committee, to engage in a brief colloquy. Mr. Speaker, Wyoming has used CTE funds to pioneer innovative ways of improving the college and career readiness of our students. Protecting CTE funding in Wyoming for cutting-edge programs like the Pathway Innovation Center in Casper is crucial, in part, because the previous administration's harmful energy policies that devastated our economy, and we must now work to address a depressed labor market and hedge against future energy market downturns. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the chairwoman and her committee colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their efforts to reform and reauthorize the CTE programs. However, I have concerns that the bill, as drafted in its current form, could negatively impact my State. Therefore, I can't support it. Additionally, I know some Members from West Virginia and Louisiana share my concerns. Therefore, I ask the gentlewoman, would she be willing to work with us as this process moves forward to help address these concerns so we can get a bill to the President's desk that we can all support?

Ms. CHENEY. I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina.