Marcy Kaptur

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I also compliment the chair of our subcommittee, Mr. Fleischmann of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for his very gentlemanly behavior on both sides of the aisle so that we can actually move bills, which is our public responsibility. I thank our diligent staff for all their hard work on this bill. I have to say I am very proud that ours is one of the first three bills to come to the floor. They are long delayed, not because we didn't do our work. We are ready. We want to pass funding for the new fiscal year, which begins on October 1. I also thank the minority staff, Scott McKee, Anisha Singh, and Adam Wilson, and my personal staff, Kaitlin Ulin, TJ Lowdermilk, and Margaret McInnis. I thank them all, and I thank them for putting up with me. Engineered energy and water systems undergird America's way of life. Energy and water are not optional but essential to sustaining life. Of late, we have been piercingly reminded about our subcommittee's purpose. July brought nearly double the usual flood warnings, the second highest in 40 years. On July Fourth, Kerr County, Texas, sadly, saw one of the deadliest flash floods in U.S. history, with 117 lives lost. These tragedies inform us of the power of water and wild energy in our atmosphere. Let me be clear: No matter how much Members on the other side of the aisle want to pretend that climate change is not happening, for the record, the last 10 years are the 10 hottest in recorded history. Think about that. Our Great Lakes, the region I represent, comprise the largest body of freshwater on Earth. Specifically, Lake Erie, the southernmost of the lakes, no longer freezes over. Some of our favorite sports, ice boating and ice fishing, are now becoming a memory of the past, and hockey is now played indoors. America's electric grid is old and under deep strain. The Energy Information Administration documented that the U.S. just set new records twice in July for peak electricity demand. The old grid system is being tested by hotter weather and higher usage. When the grid strains, costs rise and the most vulnerable families suffer first. How would you like to be in Tucson at 120 degrees week after week? Unchecked growth in data centers alone could raise average U.S. electricity generation costs by roughly 8 percent by 2030. This is not hypothetical. It is happening as we meet today. In Ohio, rapid demand growth from Big Tech data centers pushes electricity prices dramatically higher every month. Starting this July, households in Ohio saw their monthly energy bills increase a minimum of 10 percent. Some more than doubled. Families noticed a massive increase in monthly bills. I have one constituent who called and told us that her family's bill moved from $230 a month to $494 in July. This cost of energy increase is not sustainable for working families. Sadly, this Republican energy and water bill does not meet our Nation's energy and water imperative for the future nor for the present. We must invest faster in modern infrastructure to become energy independent in perpetuity. That is our awesome--underline ``awesome''--responsibility. We must reduce energy costs by investing in modern grid resilience and an all-of-the-above energy portfolio. This bill fails to address the cost-of-living crisis currently underway. Overall, household electric bills nationally are up 10 percent. That is just since January. In places like northern Ohio, I am hearing that, for many people, the total for energy and water bills has doubled. Every family in this country knows that. Even higher energy bills lie ahead for families and businesses. China is investing record levels in energy, making its products more competitive. Sadly, this bill retreats from U.S. global energy leadership. What do I mean? The bill cuts $1.6 billion, or 47 percent, from the Department of Energy's energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. This undermines our Nation's imperative to deliver clean, affordable, and secure energy to the American people. Our Nation should lead, not lag, in the global race toward energy independence in perpetuity. We must build an abundant clean energy future. This bill eliminates funding for the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, which means building the future. It revokes $5.1 billion of bipartisan infrastructure law resources from the Department of Energy, which will cede the U.S. global lead in hydrogen, direct air capture, battery recycling, and consequent energy savings possible in every public and private structure. Already, U.S. businesses have delayed or canceled--this is a shocking number--more than $33 billion in investments in energy projects this year. That is lost economic growth. Over 64,000 jobs have already been lost or stalled in the clean energy sector. That is uncalled for. In May, this administration revoked $3.7 billion in Federal energy investment for 24 energy projects already signed, sealed, and delivered across America, including for manufacturing companies to become more energy-efficient and including over $100 million for Libbey Glass, Owens-Illinois Glass, and Kraft Heinz across our region of Ohio alone. President Trump promised he was going to help American manufacturing. That revocation actually goes completely in the opposite direction. Thus, I must strongly oppose these additional Republican cuts to vital energy production and conservation--and America's future--through the U.S. Department of Energy. Shortchanging these advances pushes our Nation backward and raises already high energy prices even more for consumers. In other areas, this bill dangerously shortchanges our national security. The bill slashes $412 million from the Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation account. This effectively guts our efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, detect covert nuclear threats, and uphold arms control agreements that keep us safe. All of those cuts are a big gift for Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea. Additionally, this bill turns its back on communities still living with the toxic legacy of America's atomic past by zeroing out the Army Corps program to clean up radioactive waste at early nuclear sites. This is deadly. It slashes $779 million from nuclear cleanup efforts. That is three- quarters of a billion dollars. This will delay the cleanup that these communities have been promised for decades. I will note that one of these American atomic waste sites is in the village of Luckey, Ohio, not so far from my district. Finally, this bill includes numerous controversial poison pill riders that are so extreme that they cannot gain bipartisan support and become law. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill. America can and must meet the new age frontiers of energy and water. Nature is signaling. Times are changing. We must not turn back the clock but seize the baton for future generations to come. Now is the moment to keep America on a steady path forward for an all-of-the-above energy, water, and nuclear security portfolio. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Mrvan), a very hardworking member of the Appropriations Committee.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the hardworking and highly able distinguished ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the authorizing committee.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor), who works so hard on all climate issues. I thank the gentlewoman so very much for speaking today.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Foster), who is a genius who just happens to be a Member of Congress, as well, so the country is twice blessed.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chair, this Energy and Water bill costs American households, undermines U.S. global leadership, and weakens national security. Sadly, this Republican Energy and Water bill does not meet our Nation's imperative for the future. In closing, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill. America can do better, and we must lead in the new frontiers of energy and water. We must keep this country secure. Our Nation's future depends on all of these. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this bipartisan amendment and offer the comment that I wish all legislation could be accomplished in this manner. This en bloc contains noncontroversial amendments from Members of both parties. I have no objections and urge support of the amendment. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I thank Congressman Taylor for coming to the floor, who is a fellow Buckeye. It is great to have southern Ohio and northern Ohio on the floor at the same time. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Dexter).

Ms. KAPTUR. Will the gentleman yield?

Ms. KAPTUR. Representing the largest fishery on the Great Lakes where we have white fish, perch, and pickerel, I would be very interested in the gentleman letting us know how long brown fish grow. What is their length?

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, we ought to have a fish day up here on Capitol Hill to make everybody feel better. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I thank the Chair for his good measure today. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, in rising in opposition to this amendment, I do so because the amendment prohibits funds provided by this act from being used to close campgrounds or parks operated by the Army Corps of Engineers that are located at or around Lake Sidney Lanier in Georgia. I can certainly understand the strong interest in preventing the Corps from closing campgrounds and parks in any particular area and certainly this one. The Corps is one of the Nation's leading Federal providers of outdoor recreation. They do not provide it in my district, though it would be nice if they did. In this place, the Corps' recreation sites receive more than 260 million visits each year and include more than 400 lake and river projects in 43 States. They have a very broad reach. Unfortunately, the Corps of Engineers' recreation funding has declined in recent years, and I support the notion that we do not want the Corps to close recreation sites due to lack of funding. However, this is an issue that affects hundreds of sites across dozens of States. Then there are places like I represent where we don't have any Corps sites but we would like one. I don't believe we should begin the practice of using funding prohibitions to carve out special designations but, instead, should develop a comprehensive solution to address the challenge of funding Corps recreation sites. For this reason, at this moment I oppose the amendment. I look forward to working with my colleagues to develop a solution to the larger challenge at the Corps. The door is open if we can find other sources of funding. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition because this amendment, as I understand it, creates a funding prohibition related to the Delaware River Basin Commission. The Delaware River Basin Commission is a Federal interstate compact agency charged with managing the water resources of the Delaware River Basin on a regional basis without regard to political boundaries. As established by law through the Delaware River Basin Compact that went into effect in 1961, which is a half century ago, the Commission consists of the Army Corps of Engineers and the four basin State Governors. Those States include Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. Each is a significant place in the union. The Corps of Engineers and these States work as equal partners for planning, development, and regulatory action for the river basin. Given the Commission's statutory mission, it analyzed the risks to water resources posed by high-volume hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling techniques. We know something about this in Ohio; that is for sure. Through a public rulemaking process, the Commission developed regulations related to high-volume hydraulic fracturing within the Delaware River Basin. As a reminder, the Commission consists of the Governors of the four basin States--Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York--and the North Atlantic Division commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It does not strike me as the proper role for Congress, particularly through an appropriations rider, to overrun or overrule regional and local governments on this matter. While the commission's work could be further discussed, I am also concerned that this implicates funding provided to the Delaware River Basin Commission as community project funding on behalf of a Member of this body. For those reasons, Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to think about all this. I will be voting against this amendment, but I think there is a little more homework that has to be done on this one. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, as I am listening to this debate, and I haven't studied the maps completely, it sounds like Pennsylvania's effluent flows into points east of Pennsylvania. Is that correct, Congressman?

Ms. KAPTUR. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Ms. KAPTUR. We understand this challenge from Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. We have our own tristate issues there. This amendment prohibits funding for the Delaware River Basin Commission. It is hard to oppose the gentleman from Pennsylvania, but established by law through the Delaware River Basin Compact that went into effect in 1961, the commission consists of the Army Corps of Engineers and the four basin State Governors. Those States include Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. I guess any State could disagree, but the purpose of a commission is to try to get people to work together. The effluent that is flowing from Pennsylvania into New Jersey may have to be tested for its content. I don't really know, but the Corps of Engineers in these States work as equal partners for planning, development, and regulatory actions for the river basin. While the commission's work could be further discussed, my strongest reason for opposition to this amendment is that the underlying bill provides $715,000 to the Delaware River Basin Commission as community project funding on behalf of a Member of this body. The community project funding process allows Members of Congress to request funding for their community to meet urgent needs that they identify, and there is a rigorous process for the vetting and inclusion of community project funding including strict transparency and accountability rules. I am a little surprised that one Member would target another Member's community project funding through an amendment on the floor. Mr. Chair, I strongly urge my colleagues to work together and to vote against this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to this amendment.