Cathy McMorris Rodgers

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Weber), a leader on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen), a leader on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Balderson), a leader on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger), a leader on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, the administration may have temporarily artificially reduced gas prices. Up until election day, they were selling a million barrels per day out of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. They have now drained the reserve, leaving us vulnerable, and gas prices are on their way up again since Christmas, 40 cents just since Christmas. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), our majority leader.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan), the chairman of the Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining?

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I am pleased to yield 45 seconds to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Malliotakis).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I yield 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining?

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, this is reasonable, commonsense legislation that will strengthen America's energy security, protect our national security, and preserve our strategic energy stockpile for true emergencies. It only addresses the nonemergency sales. The Biden administration has sold off more than 250 million barrels, a million barrels per day up until the election, and more than 40 percent of our reserve. Put an end to this. Mr. Chair, I urge support of H.R. 21, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the amendment that would maintain current law. President Trump imposed a decade-long ban in offshore drilling off the coast of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Nothing in the underlying bill, H.R. 21, would change that. To be clear, nothing in H.R. 21 affects any existing statutory or regulatory restrictions that may prohibit offshore oil and gas development. The purpose and scope of the bill is limited. It is to protect the SPR from politically motivated drawdowns and to ensure the American people are protected from true emergencies in energy supply disruptions. It would require the Department of Energy to develop a plan. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support the amendment and the underlying bill, H.R. 21.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I reserve a point of order against the amendment.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I do insist on the point of order. The amendment amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992. That statute is not amended by this bill.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I withdraw.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, this amendment excludes a tract of land in the North Atlantic from being included in the leasing plan. So virtually all offshore oil and gas leasing occurs in the Gulf of Mexico. Offshore oil and gas exploration accounts for roughly 15 percent of all domestic oil production and 2 percent of domestic natural gas production. By further limiting this potentially vast resource, we are not going to be able to keep up with demand as it increases. H.R. 21 does not require the Department of Energy to drill in any specific area. We shouldn't take items off the table before a review has been done. Moreover, our plan can be changed as new information comes along, while the mandate in this amendment is inflexible to fact, science, and the needs that may arise from national emergencies. Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the gentlewoman from South Carolina informing us of what the current law states. I just want to confirm that the bill has no effect on these current laws and regulations. It is a good amendment and I support it.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I reserve a point of order.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I withdraw my reservation of a point of order.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, this amendment really duplicates an amendment that we just passed, if you think about the amendment that was offered by Congressman Matt Gaetz. President Trump imposed a decade-long ban on oil drilling off the coast of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina; and nothing in this legislation--nothing in H.R. 21--will change that. If my colleagues across the aisle are concerned about drilling off the coast of Florida, I would just note that. To be clear, nothing in H.R. 21 affects any existing statutory or regulatory restrictions that may prohibit offshore oil and gas development. The purpose of the underlying bill is limited. It is to protect the SPR from politically motivated drawdowns and to ensure the American people are protected in times of true emergencies when the energy supply is disrupted. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has enjoyed bipartisan support for years. This administration decided to draw it down unilaterally leading up to the election. It has been drawn down 40 percent. The underlying bill would ensure that we can take the steps necessary through domestic energy production to refill SPR. The amendment that was introduced by my colleague on the Energy and Commerce Committee is really unnecessary. It goes beyond the scope of H.R. 21. Mr. Chair, I urge opposition, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment. But in response to the ranking member, I just want to underscore that H.R. 21 is designed to stop the abuse of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for nonemergency political reasons such as President Biden's decision to drain the SPR in the days leading up to the election. So the other side likes to say: Well, it was the war in Ukraine that caused the prices to go up. The war in Ukraine just exposed the energy crisis that started on day one of the Biden administration. Mr. Chair, on day one of the Biden administration, gas prices were $2.33 a gallon, and they have just continued to go up, jeopardizing reliability and affordability, as well as our national security. My concern with the gentlewoman's amendment is that the SPR is one of America's most important energy security tools, and we cannot tie the hands of the President regardless of which party is in office when we have a real emergency like a hurricane, a terrorist attack, or something that disrupts our oil supply. The underlying bill, H.R. 21, is focused on protecting SPR from President Biden's abuse of it. H.R. 21 should be a bipartisan bill. It should be a bipartisan bill. Just a couple of weeks ago, we passed H.R. 22, Protecting America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve From China Act which gained the support of my Democrat colleagues--over 100 Democratic colleagues voting with us to ban exports of SPR to China. Let's keep the momentum going. Let's send the Senate and the President a very strong, bipartisan bill. Representative Greene is right that President Biden has abused our strategic stockpile, and he has failed to put forward a plan to increase domestic energy supply. Let's pass the underlying bill and get back to work. Mr. Chair, I urge ``no'' on the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.