House Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP Majority Leader Steve Scalise announced that Repunlicans will vote on legislation to “push back against President Biden’s radical, anti-energy agenda” during what they call ‘energy week’ but critics were eager to apply different labels to it.
“In fact, next week on the House floor, we’re dedicating the week to what we’re going to call ‘Energy Week.’ [We’re] bringing bills on the House floor next week that will promote American energy, to lower costs for families who recognize this,” said Scalise, who falsely claimed President Biden is “shutting down American energy” despite a record high level of production.
Last year, Biden approved the Alaska Gasline Development Corp’s (AGDC) $39 billion project that one day could ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States to Asia. In January, he announced a temporary pause on “pending decisions” on exports of LNG to countries with which the United States has not entered into a free trade agreement until the Department of Energy can update the underlying analyses for authorizations.
The pause was hailed by environmental leaders who want to shift to clean energy and slammed by Republicans, who would merely ignore the fact that climate change is having and will continue to have catastrophic effects unless humans stop pumping carbon into the atmosphere.
“Strong leadership, that rejects fossil fuel industry fear mongering, is our best bet to protect communities and ensure energy is affordable,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous.
“They know there’s no reason they should be paying more for energy and benefiting countries like Russia. When Joe Biden does a ban on LNG exports – as in essence, he did – it hurts LNG production in America but it emboldens countries like Russia,” said Scalise. “Why would you want to help Putin fund his war machine by giving him more leverage over Europe when we were providing LNG in America to our friends in Europe? These are the decisions that Joe Biden has been making unilaterally, that are hurting American families here at home and hurting our allies abroad.”
Environmentalists denounced House Republicans who are rolling out their “energy week” agenda, arguing that the bills represent a dangerous retreat from crucial clean energy projects and environmental protection measures.
“Once again, House Republicans are making it clear whose interests they’re really looking out for, and it’s not the American people,” said Mahyar Sorour, of the Sierra Club. “Rather than working to pass critical funding bills to keep our government running, they’re wasting time pushing forward the fossil fuel industry’s wish list.”
“These efforts only reaffirm that House Republicans care more about their fossil fuel company benefactors than about protecting our communities from deadly pollution or easing high energy costs for American families,” said Sorour. “They should drop this shameless push for corporate polluter handouts and focus on actually doing their jobs.”
New Jersey environmentalist Lisa McCormick criticized Congressman Tom Kean, Jr.’s support for fossil fuel interests over the well-being of communities and the environment., explaining the harmful effects of these bills, including hindering climate action, slashing funding for environmental programs, and promoting dirty energy practices.
“This reckless agenda disregards the urgent need for a transition to clean, renewable energy sources,” said McCormick. “It prioritizes corporate interests over the health of our planet and future generations.”
“These bills, championed by Congressman Tom Kean, Jr., signify a brazen attempt to undermine critical environmental responsibility and clean energy initiatives,” said McCormick. “The GOP’s agenda includes clawing back essential provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act supporting clean energy projects, promoting fracking and drilling on public lands, and repealing the Biden administration’s climate action and environmental justice efforts.”
“Congressman Kean’s role in this reckless endeavor is consistent with his support for fossil fuel interests over the well-being of communities and the environment,” said McCormick.
“Tom Kean’s so-called ‘all-the-above’ energy policy is just a guise for perpetuating fossil fuel production while pretending to support clean energy,” said McCormick. “It’s hypocritical and shortsighted, especially considering the urgent need to transition away from dirty fuels for the sake of our planet and future generations.”
McCormick urged lawmakers to reject these regressive Republican measures so America can move forward on environmental justice and lead the world in climate action.
“The Republican Party’s blatant disregard for environmental stewardship and public health is unacceptable,” said McCormick. “It’s time for lawmakers to prioritize the well-being of people and the planet over corporate interests and short-term gains.”
“Tom Kean claimed President Biden abused his power ‘for non-emergency, political purposes’ by drawing on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to keep prices low when demand snapped back from the Trump-era pandemic lockdowns,” said McCormick. “First of all, he should stop playing politics long enough to acknowledge the reality that oil and gas leases on federal lands take time to get fuel out of the ground, let alone bring it to market. Kean may be for high prices or against them, but he is trying to take both sides.”
“Secondly, it is unfair for Republicans to complain that Democrats take too long to clean up the messes they made, as they did when President Obama was confronted with GOP obstructionism as he struggled to rescue the global financial system from the market crashes induced by Bush Republicans,” said McCormick. “Now, the GOP is hindering President Biden’s fight against inflation but that would not be a problem if Trump Republicans had competently handled the pandemic and taken action to curb corporate greed.”
“Democrats would perform much better if they did not need to clean up the messes made by Republicans, like the global financial crashes induced by Bush Republicans, GOP inflation triggered by corporate greed, or the pandemic Trump Republicans handled so incompetently.”