Fred Upton

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. I would just say to the gentleman, I agree with what you have to say, that the electromagnetic pulse, EMP, and geomagnetic disturbances really do pose a real threat to the grid. I think your amendment is constructive. It moves the bill forward. I have a few small concerns, but it is a good amendment, and I certainly intend to vote for it.

Mr. UPTON. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, even though I am not opposed to it.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I support the amendment. I think that it is a good amendment. It includes energy storage as a form of energy that DOE should consider to enhance emergency preparedness for energy supply disruptions during natural disasters. It improves the bill, and I compliment the gentleman. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. UPTON. Madam Chair, I want to stress that this authorizes voluntary vegetation management within 150 feet of the exterior boundary of the right-of-way, prevents the sale of vegetation, and limits legal liability. I think it is a good amendment. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition, but I support the amendment.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. UPTON. I just want to say to the Chair and colleagues, this amendment requires the EPA to satisfy regulatory planning review requirements established by both the Clinton and Obama administrations. I think the amendment is a good one, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I claim the 5 minutes in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. UPTON. And I will use my time to support the amendment. This amendment does establish minimum privacy standards for smart meters. I think it is a smart amendment, brilliant, and it needs to be adopted. I encourage my colleagues to support it. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time is remaining on both sides?

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton), the chairman emeritus of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop), the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen).

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill, H.R. 8.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, today we commence debate on H.R. 8, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015. This bill culminates a multiyear, multi-Congress effort to ensure that folks in Michigan and every corner of the country have access to affordable and reliable energy. It has been nearly a decade since we last considered a broad energy package and a lot--a lot--has changed. Back then, the energy situation looked downright dire: declining domestic oil and natural gas output, increasing reliance on imports, and energy prices that seemed like they had nowhere to go but up. Remember 7 years ago they were $3.84 a gallon. Manufacturers were leaving and fleeing overseas in pursuit of cheaper energy. But thankfully, because of breakthrough innovation, a little American ingenuity, and a lot of hard work, we are now experiencing game- changing energy abundance that has, in fact, redefined America's standing at home, as well as around the globe. Now Michigan and many parts of the country are enjoying a welcome manufacturing renaissance thanks to reliable and affordable energy. It is well past time that our laws rooted in energy scarcity caught up to our newfound 21st century reality. The first order of business is to allow the private sector to expand the Nation's energy infrastructure. The Keystone XL pipeline is certainly one of the most well-known examples of energy infrastructure projects being delayed and ultimately denied, but it is far from the only one. We have a Federal permitting process that is not designed to expeditiously handle the many projects necessary to bring online the Nation's growing energy output and to meet energy needs of homeowners and businesses. How can it be that in this century we can't get energy to consumers in some parts of the country? We need to fix that problem. This bill does that. H.R. 8 has several useful provisions to make the approval process more timely for projects such as interstate natural gas pipelines, LNG export facilities, and new hydropower, which we discussed during a hearing with the FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, just today. And I would add that these streamlining provisions were done so in a manner that keeps the environmental and safety protections intact. Perhaps the biggest changes brought on by our energy abundance are geopolitical. Where we once feared rising dependence on the likes of OPEC, now we can, in fact, control our energy destiny and use our new standing as an energy superpower to help our allies and friends around the world and engage in energy diplomacy. However, this is a new role for the U.S., and we don't have in place the means to act globally on energy policy yet. This bill changes that. Using the Department of Energy's Quadrennial Energy Review as a guide, this bill begins the process of incorporating energy security and diplomacy considerations into the decisionmaking process. It also creates forums through which we can coordinate with our North American neighbors, as well as our allies and trading partners around the world, on energy policy. Unfortunately, the energy news over the last decade hasn't been all that good. Cyber threats and electromagnetic pulses pose a growing and more sophisticated risk to the Nation's electricity system. We need new measures to better address these and other threats to the grid, and this bill, H.R. 8, has a number of important provisions. I would add that while our energy abundance is a real blessing, it does not in any way reduce the importance of energy efficiency. H.R. 8 again includes a number of updates to energy efficiency policy, including measures to help the Federal Government use energy more wisely, as well as improvements to existing energy efficiency programs that have proven problematic. A decade ago, no one, no one here, could have imagined where we would be in 2015 and how much the energy script would be flipped in our favor. It is a new day, but now that we are here, it is time to bring our energy policy in line with those new realities. It is time that we put the scarcity mindset in the rearview mirror and say yes to energy and yes to jobs. I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Natural Resources, Washington, DC, November 16, 2015. Hon. Fred Upton, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I write regarding H.R. 8, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015. This bill contains provisions under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Natural Resources. I recognize and appreciate your desire to bring this bill before the House of Representatives in an expeditious manner, and accordingly, I will agree that the Committee on Natural Resources will not seek a referral of the bill. I do so with the understanding that this action does not affect the jurisdiction of the Committee on Natural Resources, and that the Committee expressly reserves its authority to seek conferees on any provision within its jurisdiction during any House-Senate conference that may be convened on this, or any similar legislation. I ask that you support any such request. Finally, I also ask that a copy of this letter and your response be inserted in the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 8 on the House floor. Thank you for your work on this bill, and for your cooperation and consideration on this and many other matters shared by our committees. I look forward to H.R. 8's enactment. Sincerely, Rob Bishop, Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I really thank Chairman Price for the budget process that we have seen this year. One of the toughest votes any Member has, whether the Republicans are in charge or the Democrats--either side--is the passage of a budget. For a lot of years, at least on our side of the aisle, we complained bitterly that the Senate was never able to pass a budget for, probably, 4 or 5 years, I want to say. It didn't happen this year. We passed a responsible budget in the House, and the Senate passed a budget. I don't think many Americans realize that the budget, itself, does not go to the President for his signature or veto. It is just the roadmap for us, and it sets up the stage where we can use reconciliation. This is a process, I want to say, President Reagan used for the first time back in the eighties. I worked at the White House then. This is a way that you don't need the 60-vote threshold that most bills require in the Senate. You only need 50 votes. So that budget process, by getting a conference agreement, was nurtured through the two bodies--the House and the Senate. Then began the process of reconciliation within the authorizing committees. Our committee--Energy and Commerce--Ways and Means, Education and the Workforce, and others can come up with a real savings to match that budget target that we set last spring. That is what this is. It is reconciliation. It is a coming together based on the budget, and this, in fact, is a bill that goes to the President. In the Statement of Administration Policy, we are expecting a veto, but at least we are getting the job done. We are delivering on what we said we would do, and we are getting the bill to the President for action either way. I just want to take this time and again thank Chairman Price and others and my fellow committee chairs for their hard work because it is. It is hard work to get a bill to the House floor, particularly one that actually does reduce the deficit, something that many of us on both sides of the aisle actually support. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Tom Price), and I ask unanimous consent that he be allowed to control the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I inquire of my friend from New Jersey how many speakers he has remaining on his side. We are prepared to close.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of this important bill, H.R. 3762, which addresses some of the most pressing and important issues certainly to folks in Michigan and around the country: the deficit and the President's healthcare law. Rarely a day goes by when I am back home in Michigan that someone somewhere doesn't stop me and say, whether it be in a coffee shop, on a plant floor, or the local service club like a Rotary or a Lion's Club, you name it, asking what we are doing to address the broken promises, the high cost, and the surprises and the lack of choices associated with ObamaCare, and what are we doing to get spending under control. There is a lot of misunderstanding on what this bill does or does not do, so let's set the record straight. This bill would repeal the most harmful, damaging, and unpopular provisions of the health law. This bill would repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund. Don't let the name fool you. The administration views it as a veritable petty cash fund that has been raided for wasteful projects, including building support for ObamaCare. This bill would, for a period of 1 year, prohibit any Federal funding to States for a 1-year period for prohibited entities like Planned Parenthood. At the same time, the bill would increase funding for community health centers like the Family Health Center in Kalamazoo or InterCare in Benton Harbor, two cities in my district, to help provide access to women's health care. Stalwarts in the life movement, including the National Right to Life, the Family Research Council, and Susan B. Anthony List support that approach. Mr. Speaker, the bill would repeal the unpopular individual mandate, which forces Americans to purchase coverage of the government's choosing, the exact opposite approach that we need to create a patient- centered healthcare system. The bill would also repeal the employer mandate. Repealing this provision helps encourage economic growth and improve the job outlook. The bill would also, as we know, repeal the medical device tax. This job-killing tax has hurt Americans across the country, including in my district, certainly, Kalamazoo, where folks have lost their jobs because of the harmful tax. In closing, Mr. Speaker, the CBO has found this bill would reduce the deficit by nearly $130 billion over the next 10 years, spur economic growth and the creation of jobs, and cut taxes on literally millions of Americans. Today we say to folks in Michigan and around the country: We hear you. Yes, we do. We are addressing what matters to you most. I would ask my colleagues to support this important bill. I reserve the balance of my time.