Ed Whitfield

Mr. WHITFIELD

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. In closing, I might say that I certainly agree that the owners of these manufacturing plants do not want to build new plants while using old rules. They want to use the best technology, but they want clear guidance from the EPA about what it should be because, when they don't have that, they find themselves involved with lawsuits with all sorts of environmental groups on a regular basis. I might also say that there are many reports out there relating to manufacturing--I am just going to read from a few--that state that one of the key factors for investor confidence is a timely and efficient permitting process that is matched to current technologies. Ken Weiss, global managing partner for Environmental Resources Management, which has extensive experience in the permitting process, testified: We routinely advise clients that obtaining a PSD permit can take anywhere from 1 to 3 years and that a minimum of 12 to 18 months need to be allowed in the project schedule. The President, himself, acknowledged in his latest State of the Union speech this year that projects were being delayed and that there is a need to ``cut red tape'' to get factories built. And that is what this legislation is about. We are not telling EPA what the regulations should be. We are not telling EPA to disregard science. We are simply telling EPA, with all of their expertise, that when they issue the new regulation, that they provide clear guidance for the States and the companies and the individuals and the entities that want to build these new plants with new technology. That is what this legislation is all about. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Chairman, I offer my amendment.

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

Mr. WHITFIELD

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Louisiana, Dr. Bill Cassidy, the author of this bill, a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, a real leader in trying to bring about energy independence in America.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 3 minutes to gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the distinguished majority whip and member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and a strong leader for energy independence for America.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick).

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of a point of order.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition to the gentlewoman's motion.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the gentlewoman that President Obama, through a regulation, decided that diluted bitumen is not crude oil for the purposes of the trust fund tax, so the problem was created by President Obama and the IRS. We are in the process of trying to address that issue. It is under the jurisdiction of the Ways and Means Committee. In their tax reform package, that is an issue that they are looking at. But if we try to change that now in this bill, we would be treating TransCanada differently than all other pipelines are being treated bringing bitumen into the United States. I would also point out this pipeline's greater safety characteristics. It has more safety characteristics than any other pipeline built. We would think you would want to incentivize its use and not punish it with further taxation. So, in my opinion, while I have great respect for the gentlewoman from California, this is simply a ruse to kill the bill. I would respectfully ask our Members to oppose this motion to recommit and pass H.R. 5682. The Senate has said--Senator Reid has said--that they will take it up in the Senate. That is precisely what we would like to see. I urge defeat of the motion to recommit, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, we have no further speakers and I think I have the right to close, so I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, may I ask how many minutes I have remaining?

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to, first of all, thank Mr. Waxman of California for the many contributions that he has made while a Member of the House of Representatives. I have had the opportunity to serve with him on the Energy and Commerce Committee for many years. He has very strong beliefs; he is committed; and I just want to wish him the very best in his future endeavors. I know that he won't be retiring. He'll be very active in some worthwhile cause, and I just want to tell him how much we admire and respect the work that he did. Although I personally didn't agree philosophically with some of it, as I am sure you do not agree with many of mine, I do wish you the very best, Mr. Waxman, as you move forward. In conclusion, on this important debate, I would like to say this is not a new piece of legislation. It has passed the House of Representatives on eight separate occasions, and we really did not plan to bring it up in this lameduck session except that Senator Reid, the leader of the Senate, the Democratic leader of the Senate, changed his mind and decided to bring it up on the Senate side. So when we found out about that, Mr. Cassidy introduced this legislation, which mirrors the bill on the Senate side, and we are thrilled that we have an opportunity to pass this legislation, and I expect that we will pass it. I might add that it has been studied for over 6 years. There have been four complete environmental studies completed. The Secretary of State's office on more than one occasion--two occasions, three occasions--has said it would have a negligible environmental impact. In fact, in one place they said they would be better off to build this pipeline than not to build it because the environmental degree of moving it by pipeline would be better than the alternative in which it is being moved today. So I think it is a win-win-win situation for America. Many people have said, well, they are simply bringing this oil through the United States and then it is going to be exported. We have had many hearings. Some of it will be exported, but some of it will be refined right here in the U.S. It will be 850,000 barrels of oil a day, which is about half of what we are importing from the Middle East. It will make us less dependent. Some labor unions support this legislation. The Governor of Nebraska supports this legislation. So I think it is a win-win-win for everyone. There are additional safety requirements on this pipeline that are not required on other pipelines. I think there are going to be adequate safeguards. We have had so many hearings on this. I would urge the body, the House of Representatives, to pass this legislation and give us the opportunity to send it down to the White House for the President's consideration. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WHITFIELD

Mr. WHITFIELD. So all we are saying to the President is, okay, let's be reasonable. This legislation will allow EPA to regulate CO2 emissions, but you can build a new coal plant if you use the best available control technology. And if you want to regulate existing plants, you adopt the regulation, but Congress will set the effective date. The President is going to be gone from office when all of these regulations really start hitting, and America is going to be hit in its ability to compete in the global marketplace. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this legislation.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that we have this bill on the floor today. I am going to confine my remarks to one piece of legislation, and that is the Electricity Security and Affordability Act. This legislation has passed the House before, and it is designed to do two things. One is to reverse the extreme regulations coming out of the EPA on existing coal-fired plants and new coal-fired plants. We all understand that the President of the United States views that the number one issue facing mankind today is climate change, and, while we all recognize that there is climate change, we do not view it as the most important issue facing man today. Because of the President's position--his extreme views--he is dictating to the EPA to take positions that are damaging the coal industry but, more important than the coal industry, damaging the electricity produced from coal. Now, what does that mean to the American people? Well, how many of you are aware that CO2 emissions in America today are lower than they have been for 20 years? America does not have to take a backseat to any country in the world. And yet, this President, with his EPA, has passed regulations that make it impossible to build a new coal plant in America and in an amount that makes it commercially feasible to do. So here we are in America, doing a better job than any other country in the world, and yet this President, because of his extreme views, makes it impossible to build a new coal plant. Now, I would be the first to admit that a new coal plant is not going to be built in America because our natural gas prices are very low. We are fortunate, with the shale development, that gas prices are extremely low. But what if we find ourselves in the position that they found themselves in Europe? Gas prices coming from Russia are so high that they started mothballing their natural gas plants to produce electricity and started building new coal plants, and last year, they imported 53 percent of the coal exports from America. So, in Europe, they have that flexibility. But in America we don't have that flexibility. So, if gas prices go up, which they may very well do, then we can't build a new coal plant because it is too expensive and the technology is not there to meet the extreme, stringent emission standards set by EPA. So this legislation would stop that, and it would say, EPA, you can regulate CO2 emissions, but you can build a new coal plant if you use the best available control technology. Now, what do we do--you know, next June EPA is coming out with a new regulation that, in effect, will federalize the electricity-generating business in America for the first time. EPA is setting standard emission caps for every State in America. We already know that in Kentucky they have identified 15 coal units that will be closed down. And guess what? When they adopted this regulation, they did not do any thorough reliability studies. Now, we all recognize that renewables play an important role, but they cannot be the base load of electricity production in America. And if America is going to remain competitive in the global marketplace, we have to have low-cost, abundant, affordable, reliable electricity.

Mr. WHITFIELD

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to include an exchange of letters between the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Natural Resources. House of Representatives, Committee on Natural Resources, Washington, DC, June 19, 2014. Hon. Fred Upton, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I write in regard to H.R. 83. As you are aware, the bill was primarily referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, but the Committee on Natural Resources has a jurisdictional interest in the bill and has requested a sequential referral. I recognize and appreciate your desire to bring this legislation before the House in an expeditious manner, and, accordingly, I agree not to insist on a referral of H.R. 83. I do so with the understanding that by foregoing such a referral, the Committee on Natural Resources does not waive any future jurisdictional claim on this or similar matters. Further, the Committee on Natural Resources reserves the right to seek the appointment of conferees, if it should become necessary. I ask that you insert a copy of our exchange of letters into the Congressional Record during consideration of this measure on the House floor. Thank you for your courtesy in this matter and I look forward to continued cooperation between our respective committees. Sincerely, Doc Hastings, Chairman.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 83) to require the Secretary of the Interior to assemble a team of technical, policy, and financial experts to address the energy needs of the insular areas of the United States and the Freely Associated States through the development of action plans aimed at reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels and increasing use of indigenous clean-energy resources, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material in the Record on the bill.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, in conclusion I would once again urge everyone to support H.R. 83. I want to thank Chairman Upton and Ranking Member Waxman and staff on both sides of the aisle for working to bring this important legislation to the floor. I urge its passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank Dr. Christensen for being the primary author of this important legislation. H.R. 83 requires the Secretary of the Interior to assemble a team of technical, policy, and financial experts to address the energy needs of the insular areas of the United States and the freely associated states of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands through the development of energy action plans aimed at promoting access to affordable and reliable energy. These U.S. territories have few conventional energy resources, and they are dependent upon imports to meet a significant portion of their energy needs. As a result the resident of those areas pay unusually high electricity bills. In addition, because these areas are isolated from areas that provide their energy fuels, as well as the added cost of transporting these fuels, they face higher energy costs and greater threat of supply interruption than areas that are energy independent or have a more convenient source of energy fuels. Dr. Christensen has done a great job of bringing to the attention of our committee the unique challenges faced in those areas. H.R. 83 will assist these important U.S. territories in addressing their energy needs by establishing a team of energy experts to help develop and implement an energy action plan for each of these areas. Congress certainly has an ongoing interest in the energy needs of the Nation, as well as the insular areas of the U.S. and the freely associated states. Helping these territories develop affordable and reliable sources of energy are hallmarks of a thriving economy that can improve the quality of life for all. H.R. 83 will not entirely solve these issues, but it will help facilitate the efforts. I would urge all Members to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WHITFIELD

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield myself such time as I may consume. S. 276 requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reinstate the license and extend for 3 years the deadline for commencement of a hydroelectric project involving the American Falls Reservoir. Hydropower is a critical component of our all-of-the-above energy strategy, and this bill will help facilitate the construction of an affordable and reliable source of domestic electricity. As many people around the country understand, many Members of the House and Senate have very strong differing views with the President and his administration over the direction that we are going on energy in America, particularly the impact that regulations are having on the electric generation system in America. It looks like it is going to be creating a lot of chaos, but when we have projects like this hydro project at American Falls Reservoir, I think there is unanimous agreement that we need to move forward expeditiously on these types of projects. This bill has passed the U.S. Senate, and I would urge all Members of the House to support it. At this time, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WHITFIELD. I also urge passage of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. WHITFIELD

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5057) to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to permit exemptions for external power supplies from certain efficiency standards, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.