{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2025-02-26-pt1-PgS1383-2", "2025-02-26", 119, 1, null, null, "TERMINATING THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARED WITH RESPECT TO ENERGY", "SENATE", "SENATE", "ALLOTHER", "S1383", "S1390", "[{\"name\": \"Michael F. Bennet\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Elizabeth Warren\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Jeff Merkley\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Peter Welch\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Marsha Blackburn\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Ron Wyden\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Shelley Moore Capito\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Joni Ernst\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Charles E. Schumer\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Tim Kaine\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Edward J. Markey\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"John Hoeven\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"John Barrasso\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", "[{\"congress\": \"119\", \"type\": \"SJRES\", \"number\": \"10\"}, {\"congress\": \"119\", \"type\": \"SJRES\", \"number\": \"10\"}, {\"congress\": \"119\", \"type\": \"SJRES\", \"number\": \"10\"}, {\"congress\": \"119\", \"type\": \"SJRES\", \"number\": \"12\"}]", "171 Cong. Rec. S1383", "Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2025)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2025)]\n[Senate]\n[Pages S1383-S1390]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n   TERMINATING THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARED WITH RESPECT TO ENERGY\n\n                             S. J. Res. 10\n\n  Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I wanted to come down here and talk a\nlittle bit about energy with my colleagues in the Senate today, and\npart of the reason why is that as you know, Mr. President, and others\nknow, the President of the United States has declared an energy\nemergency, and he did it on the day he was inaugurated here in the\nCapitol, on a day when he had lots of comments about the fact that God\nhad saved him so that he would be there to be inaugurated--that this\nwas going to be the greatest moment in American history, and that we\nhad an energy emergency because there was an insufficient production of\noil and fossil fuels.\n  As anybody who reads the newspaper in America knows--and there may\nnot be anybody left who has access to a paper, but I encourage you to\ndo it; it is a lot better than what you are reading on Twitter these\ndays--the United States has actually produced more oil than we ever\nhave produced in our history. In fact, last year, with the Biden\nadministration, we produced more oil than any country in the history of\nhumanity.\n  The same is true for natural gas. The same is true for LNG exports.\nThe United States produces more oil than any other country in the\nworld. We produce more natural gas than any other country in the world.\nWe are the leading exporter of liquefied natural gas, which, by the\nway, has been incredibly important recently because we have allowed our\nallies in Europe to get off the Russian oil that they were on and\nreplace that with liquefied natural gas produced by American citizens,\nexported by American citizens, to break the back of Putin's ability to\nrestrain Europe's participation in the war, because we were able to\nreplace half their energy. I am so glad that we were able to do that.\n  And we are also the world's leading producer of renewable energy, as\nwell, and we have seen a huge amount of growth in solar, a huge amount\nof growth in wind, and I like to think of Colorado as the place that\nstarted an awful lot of that.\n  We are both a producer of fossil fuels and a producer of renewables.\nWe know it takes everything to drive this economy, but we want to do\nall of this in a way that is cognizant of the very real climate issues\nthat our globe faces and that our country faces.\n  The good news for the United States is there is no country in the\nworld that is better positioned to lead the transition of our energy\neconomy in this world than the United States of America. We are the\nwealthiest country in the world. We have the biggest and most abundant\nsupply of fossil fuels and nonfossil fuels. We are less corrupt than\nalmost any country on the face of the planet, and especially less\ncorrupt than economies that are dominated by petrochemicals and by oil\nand gas around the world. We are the innovators in the world. We have a\ncommitment to the rule of law. All of that puts us in this incredible\nposition to lead.\n  I believe, 30 years from now or so, we are going to be in a place\nwhere we are able to say, not just to the American people but to the\nworld, that we are at net zero from a carbon point of view and that we\nwere able to get there through American technology and through American\nleadership and American ingenuity and American exports; that we took a\nstrategic approach; that we had a plan that made sense; and that we\ncaptured, along the way, every--every--molecule that we could find of\nfugitive methane from oil and gas and from agriculture and from\nlandfills; that we said yes to wind and solar; that we said yes to\nnuclear and yes to geothermal; that we said yes to investing in\nemerging technologies, like hydrogen, like carbon capture, and like the\ncarbon dioxide removal bill that I have with my friend Lisa Murkowski\nfrom Alaska, which just goes to show you that you can have a bipartisan\napproach; that we can move to a position of real leadership that can\nhelp us create an economy again that America, when it grows, it grows\nfor everybody, not just the people at the very top--because we have got\ngood energy jobs that are concerned with the production of oil and gas\nand the production of all those other forms of energy.\n  By the way, just on that point--and I will be brief here because I\nknow my colleague from Massachusetts wants to speak. On that subject,\nthis Senate is about to get rid of the commonsense methane regulations\nthat were passed in the last administration that are based on the\nwork--that fee based on the work--that we had done in Colorado, working\nwith industry, as the last administration did to create certainty, to\ncreate predictability, to send a message to the world that we want\nAmerican gas to be the cleanest gas of any gas in the world.\n  And having us capture that fugitive methane is a hugely important\npart of that. We are saying no to that now. We are saying yes to the\nair pollution that is going to result. We are saying yes to the climate\npollution that will result.\n  I say to my colleague from Massachusetts while she is here, I take no\npleasure--and the President knows this--from the fact that Donald Trump\nis our President. I regret that he is our President, but he is our\nPresident. And one of the ways that he got to be our President is that\nhe was elected twice.\n  And, in fact, more people voted for him this time than voted for him\nlast time. I regret that. I am sorry for that, and I think there are\nlots of reasons for that.\n  But I think one of the reasons for that is that there is a mythology\nout there that the Democratic Party believes that we are going to turn\nfossil fuels off yesterday; or that we are going to turn fossil fuels\noff next week; or that we don't respect the men and women who work in\nour energy fields or in our energy processing across the country.\n  If there are Democrats who feel that way, I disagree with them,\nbecause the worst thing we could do at this moment when we have the\nenergy abundance that we have, when we have the economic freedom we\nhave, when we have the lack of corruption that we have--the worst thing\nwe could do is elect a climate denier to be President whose most\ncreative approach to energy was Sarah Palin's shopworn ``drill, baby,\ndrill,'' which is what he announced under the dome of the United States\nCapitol the day he was inaugurated President and said--completely\nuntruthfully--that we were in an energy crisis, when what we have is an\nenergy abundance and no excuse--no excuse--for not leading the rest of\nthe world in making sure that this transition on net-zero carbon is\naccomplished and that we do it in a way that protects our economy; that\nwe do it in a way that protects our national security; that we do it in\na way that recognizes the contribution that people have\n\n[[Page S1384]]\n\nmade for generations in Northwest Colorado and all over our economy to\nbe able to drive this economy forward.\n  And to the extent that the failure is a failure of the Democratic\nParty to make clear our position, I want to own that failure and that\nresponsibility. It is not Donald Trump's fault that he was elected. He\nran; he won. We own some of the fact that he got elected. And I think\non this issue, we have not communicated clearly to the American people\nwhat we believe.\n  And as a result of that, once again, our children and grandchildren\nhave a climate denier in the White House, even though a majority of the\nAmerican people believe that climate change is real and that we should\nbe doing something about it.\n  And those of us who are advocates on this, on this side, have to be\nvery clear--much clearer, he said poorly and unclearly--but let me say\nagain--have to be much clearer about what we stand for, which is for a\ntransition that makes sense and that science commands and for the\nrespect of people that are working in the energy industry no matter\nwhat part of the industry they are working in.\n  And the fact that Donald Trump--even when oil is at $73 a barrel at\nhis inauguration and we are producing more than we have ever produced\nin the history of mankind for the United States--thinks we are in an\nenergy emergency or he claims that we are surprises me not at all.\n  Since he said he was going to drive prices down, the price of eggs\nare so high today as we meet here, you need a mortgage practically to\nbuy a dozen eggs in the United States of America.\n  We can do better than that, and we can do better than his ``drill,\nbaby, drill'' energy policy.\n  I yield the floor.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.\n  Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I want to thank the Senator from Colorado\nfor your energetic leadership in this area. I am very grateful for your\nvoice on this and for the work you do for the people of the country\nand, also, for everybody around the world. We have got to deal with\nthis problem; so, thank you.\n  I rise today in support of Senator Kaine and Senator Heinrich's\nresolution to terminate Donald Trump's Executive order declaring a\nnational energy emergency.\n  I just want to start by being clear about what is going on here.\nDonald Trump promised to gut our environmental laws if Big Oil CEOs\ngave him a billion dollars for his campaign. He was quite open about\nthis. How could he do that? Well, he has figured it out. He declared an\nemergency that he has focused on that emergency will give him a chance\nto pay those oil executives CEOs back.\n  Now, this order is not a serious attempt at lowering anyone's energy\ncosts. And you know how I know this? Because a true strategy to lower\npeople's costs would include clean energy sources like wind and solar,\nwhich this order deliberately excludes.\n  So what does this Executive order do? It lets big oil and gas\ncompanies off the hook on following our environmental laws and\nregulations. And those are the rules that make sure that you have clean\nair to breathe and clean water to drink.\n  Why would Donald Trump do this? It is simple. He does not care about\nlowering anyone's costs or helping create good jobs. All he cares about\nis his rich as hell--those were his words--his rich as hell donors and\nhelping them make more money.\n  Let's be clear. Energy prices are too high. Americans are feeling\nthose high prices. Energy prices have been on the rise for the past\ndecade. And last year, one-third of Americans had to cut back on\nnecessary spending in order to pay their energy bills.\n  Americans are looking for real solutions. And that is why Democrats\ngot to work and passed the biggest climate package in the history of\nthe world to unleash American innovation and to support a clean energy\nfuture.\n  Now, America is producing more energy than ever before, including\nthrough offshore wind projects off the coast of Massachusetts, and we\nare creating good jobs while we are doing it.\n  Clean energy jobs are now over 40 percent of all the energy jobs in\nthe United States. They are growing twice as fast as other industries,\nbut Donald Trump is now trying to unravel all of that progress. Why? In\norder to please his big oil and gas donors.\n  And this sham will have real consequences for our communities--\nraising energy costs and cutting American jobs.\n  Look no further than Somerset, MA, to see what is happening. At\nBrayton Point in Somerset, there is an old coal-fired powerplant that\nclosed down years and years ago. But a private company called Prysmian\nhad decided that they want to turn part of this plant into a factory to\nbuild undersea cables to support American offshore wind farms. They\nwant to build the cables so we can bring that power in and use it, that\nclean power in and use it here in the United States.\n  That project would be transformative for Somerset. It would create\nabout 250 to 300 good manufacturing jobs and would deliver more than\n$10 million in annual tax revenues. That is a big deal for a small\ntown.\n  So for the last few years, local officials and our Massachusetts\nFederal delegation has been working hard with the Federal Government to\nhelp turn that idea into a reality.\n  But last month, the company suddenly announced they are ending the\nproject. No more jobs, no more tax revenue. And why? Because of Donald\nTrump's attacks on clean energy. Somerset's experience is just one of\nthe experiences felt by many communities all around this country. Yes,\nSomerset will bounce back. But Donald Trump is cutting jobs and raising\nenergy costs on communities all across this country just to please his\noil and gas donors. And it is communities like Somerset that are paying\nthe price for that.\n  Make no mistake: We will fight back, that is why Democrats are here\ntoday. That fight starts with ending this sham of an Executive order.\n  I urge my colleagues to vote yes on Senator Kaine and Senator\nHeinrich's resolution.\n  I yield the floor.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.\n  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, here is the question: Do we pursue the\n20th century energy vision featuring dirty, expensive fossil fuels, or\ndo we pursue the 21st century energy vision featuring inexpensive and\nclean, renewable energy?\n  Trump's energy emergency declaration is about one thing: He is\nchoosing the strategy of dirty, expensive fossil fuels. You know, he\nasked the powerful, big oil companies to contribute a billion dollars\nto his campaign, and now he is paying them back at the expense of the\nAmerican people. Families lose; billionaires win.\n  The plan. The plan features giving fossil fuel companies the power to\nseize public lands. It features giving fossil fuel companies the power\nto skip environmental assessments, environmental assessments that show\nhow their projects will poison the air, pollute the water, kill\nwildlife, and despoil our ecosystems.\n  It is the plan of giving fossil fuel companies the power to bypass\nthe public comment period so the public can't weigh in about the\nterrible ideas the fossil fuel companies are putting forward.\n  The public can't weigh in about the drilling rigs and the leaky\npipelines and the export terminals polluting their communities. This is\nnot government of, by, and for the people; it is government of, by, and\nfor the oil and gas companies. Families lose; billionaires win.\n  This emergency declaration is certainly a sham because renewable\nenergy costs less than fossil fuel energy. The International Renewable\nEnergy Agency found that the cost of new wind or solar is at least 30\npercent cheaper than the cost of running most fossil coal plants. So it\nis no surprise that in 2024, 94 percent of the new energy on the grid\ncame from renewables, from harnessing the power of the sun and the\nwind.\n  Prioritizing expensive fossil fuels over cheap renewables drives up\nthe price of energy that families pay on their bills every month. That\nis Trumpflation.\n  Exporting more fossil fuels mean families pay more at the pump, and\nthey pay more to heat their homes. That is Trumpflation.\n  And burning more fossil fuels intensifies climate chaos and wildfires\nand\n\n[[Page S1385]]\n\nhurricanes. It blows the top off the cost of insurance for people's\nhomes as insurers flee the markets. That is Trumpflation.\n  Meanwhile, fossil fuel companies make even bigger profits. Families\nlose; billionaires win.\n  You know, this is not a red State or a blue State issue. Since August\n2022, investments from the Inflation Reduction Act have created more\nthan 400,000 clean energy jobs with more than half of those jobs in red\nStates. In fact, 19 of the 20 Congressional districts at the top of\nclean energy investments are represented by my colleagues on the\nRepublican side of the aisle.\n  What are the top three States overall of clean energy job growth?\nIdaho, Texas, and New Mexico--two out of those three States represented\nby Republicans in the Senate. For wind energy, it is Texas, Iowa,\nOklahoma, Kansas, and Illinois--four out of five States represented in\nthis Senate by Republicans. For solar energy it is California, Texas,\nFlorida, North Carolina, and Arizona--three out of five of those States\nrepresented by Republicans.\n  So this is not a blue versus red situation. Nearly 3.5 million\nAmericans now work in the clean energy field, more than a million of\nthose jobs in red States. And it is estimated that these investments\nwill continue to create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the\ncountry.\n  Prioritizing fossil fuels will kill this job growth for working\nAmericans. So this strategy, this energy emergency strategy, this is an\nenergy strategy in which families lose; billionaires win. And there are\nfar fewer good-paying jobs for Americans.\n  And, by the way, prioritizing fossil fuels is helpful to China.\n  If we have a national energy emergency, we shouldn't be fueling our\ncompetitors by selling our energy to China to make their economy run\nbetter. If we have an emergency, we shouldn't cede the future of clean\nenergy and all the jobs it will create and the less expensive energy it\ncreates to China. We would want to make these products here and export\nthem to the world, not have to buy them from China, helping China's\neconomy grow at the expense of our own.\n  This phony national emergency declaration comes down to this: Do we\nwant families to win or do we want billionaires to win?\n  Let's come together, red States and blue States together, and say: We\nwant these jobs. We want this clean energy. We want this less expensive\nenergy for America because we are fighting for the families, not for\nthe billionaires.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.\n  Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, there are just two issues: One is about the\npolicy, the energy policy, that the Trump administration is announcing,\nand we can have a debate about that. I am in full support of the\ncomments that my colleagues have made. But there is another issue that,\nin many ways, is more important, and that issue is whether this U.S.\nSenate will accede to relinquishing its authority as a separate and\nindependent branch of government to a President who tries to seize that\npower by claiming a phony emergency.\n  What justifies this action, as far as President Trump is concerned\nand legally, is the assertion that we have an ``energy emergency.'' And\nby invoking that term, he is saying to Congress: Get lost. This needs\nimmediate attention that only the Executive can give. And getting lost\nmeans that we don't act as an independent branch of government and\nfulfill the constitutional responsibility we have to be separate,\nindependent, and a check and balance on Executive power.\n  That is a separate question from whether Members agree or disagree\nwith the ``drill, baby, drill'' policy, but it is fundamental to the\nwell-being of our democracy. Congress, in the past, has never come\nclose to relinquishing that authority. And whether you are a Democrat\nor Republican, if you are a U.S. Senator, you have to defend the\ninstitution, not because it is good for me or you or any other Member\nof the Senate, but it is good for America. We rely on that system of\nchecks and balances.\n  So the question is, Is it an emergency? And as my colleagues have\nlaid out, no, we have never had more production of power in our\nhistory. We are exporting power. The power situation is not an\nemergency. There is power abundance.\n  Now, second thing, as many of my colleagues are saying, there are\nreal consequences because, essentially, what the President is doing is\ngoing all in on fossil fuels and casting aside the opportunities that\ncome--economic opportunities as well as cleaner climate opportunities--\nwith clean energy. I am not going to repeat all of the information\nprovided by starting with Senator Kaine, but it is true. And, you know,\nselling out, as some of my colleagues say, to the fossil fuel\nindustry--the President was reported to have said ``get me a\nbillion''--what I don't understand is why you would kill jobs in the\nclean energy sector that is producing cheaper power and good jobs.\nThere is no justification for an Executive or Member of Congress doing\nthat.\n  The other final point is that we are having this bizarre debate about\nwhether there is a climate situation caused by carbon emissions.\nReality is, we all know it is happening. We are all victimized by these\nwild weather events.\n  And there are only two explanations that explain the actions of the\nadministration: One is they just favor fossil fuels no matter what.\nThere is a lot of truth to that. The other is, there is a lack of\nconfidence on the administration about the capacity of the American\npeople, the American innovators, the American entrepreneurs to take\nfull advantage of solving the issue of climate change by building out\nclean energy, by doing efficiency.\n  That really, really works. And a confident person, a confident\ncountry doesn't deny problems exist. They acknowledge them, face them\nsquarely, and then solve them. And in the process of doing that, they\nall end up better and have a stronger economy as well.\n  So there is no emergency. We must stand first for the separation of\npowers and the authority of Congress and not allow us to be stripped of\nthat by an Executive; and, second, we have to have a wise policy that\nis going to create jobs, be sustainable for our economy and for our\nfuture.\n  I yield the floor.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.\n\n                           Human Trafficking\n\n  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, there is an issue that I have spoken\nabout so often on this floor, and it is one that should concern each\nand every one of us; and that is the issue of human trafficking and sex\ntrafficking that is happening in this country. And what we have learned\nis that today in the United States a child is either bought or sold for\nsex every 2 minutes. Now, think about that and think about the harm\nthat is happening to children because of this amount of human\ntrafficking and sex trafficking.\n  What we also have learned is that, globally, this has turned into a\n$150 billion-a-year business. This is something that we also have\nlearned affects every town, city, and community in our Nation. It is\npervasive.\n  In Tennessee, my home State, there were 1,170 reports of human\ntrafficking through November of last year, and that is according to the\ndata we have from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations. Now, that\nnumber was actually down from the number in 2023, which had been 1,432\nreports, and that was because of the effort that our Governor, Bill\nLee, the Tennessee General Assembly, and the Tennessee Bureau of\nInvestigations made into fighting this human trafficking and trying to\nbring an end to what truly is modern-day slavery.\n  But, unfortunately, what we saw as we looked at the data was that\nlast year's total of 1,170 was still 62 percent higher than the number\nin 2019. So as we have looked at this in recent years, what you have\nseen is an explosion of human trafficking and sex trafficking in this\ncountry. While we know that human trafficking has been a problem over a\nperiod of time, the concern is this heinous crime and how it has\nexploded in the recent past.\n  Now, there are some reasons and some contributing factors to the\nescalation numbers, and one of them is during the Biden administration,\nbasically they surrendered our southern border to cartels and gangs and\ncriminals and traffickers. Many of us have been to the border. We saw\nwhat was happening on the border during the Biden years. And as a\nresult of the inaction that\n\n[[Page S1386]]\n\ntook place there, every town in this country became a border town, and\nevery State became a border State. And because of the drugs, because of\nthe human trafficking, the sex trafficking, the American people\nsuffered the consequences.\n  Just this month, earlier this month, authorities charged eight\nVenezuelan illegal aliens in Middle, TN, for trafficking women across\nour border for the purpose of sexual exploitation. That was eight\nVenezuelan illegal aliens. After entering our country illegally, the\ncriminals conducted their operation out of Nashville motels between\n2022 and 2024. And like so many criminal illegals in our country--no\nsurprise--they are tied to the violent gang Tren de Aragua, which has\nplagued cities across this country with organized crime.\n  All too often these traffickers target not only vulnerable women,\nthey also target children. According to our TBI data, there were 514\nreports of children being sex-trafficked in Tennessee in 2024. That is\n1 year, 514 reports. That was more than twice the number of reports of\nadult sex trafficking.\n  The report also notes that there has been an increase in the number\nof unaccompanied minors who were trafficked into our country and\nexploited. This should come as no surprise. Under Biden, hundreds of\nthousands of unaccompanied children have reached our southern border,\nwhile many more arrived with adults who falsely claimed to be their\nrelatives. Although Biden had a responsibility to place these children\nwith vetted sponsors, his administration, obviously, did not do that.\nWe have learned that they lost track of more than 320,000 migrant\nchildren who face the threat of abuse, trafficking, and sexual\nexploitation.\n  Thankfully, after 4 years of failure under the Biden administration,\nPresident Trump is working to secure our border, to protect our\ncommunities, and to bring human trafficking to an end. And there is so\nmuch more that Congress can do to support this effort.\n  Last week, I introduced the bipartisan GRACIE Act, which would\nrequire the recording of all Child Protective Services interviews with\nchildren and adults. Although 60 percent of child sex trafficking\nvictims in our country have engaged with the foster care system, too\noften CPS staffers miss the signs of abuse. By recording interviews, we\ncan increase the likelihood that child trafficking victims will be\nidentified and rescued.\n  Last month, I also reintroduced a package of bills that will do much\nto combat human trafficking. My SAVE Girls Act would provide States,\nlocal governments, and nonprofits with the resources they need to end\nthe trafficking of young women and girls.\n  My National Human Trafficking Database Act, meanwhile, would\nestablish a national human trafficking database at the Department of\nJustice and incentivize State law enforcement agencies to report their\ndata.\n  To help bring an end to trafficking at the border, I also introduced\nthe End Child Trafficking Now Act, which would require a DNA test to\ndetermine the relationship between illegal aliens at the border and any\naccompanying child. Now, it is so important to note, I have introduced\nthis bill before, and I did it because during the Trump administration,\nthere was DNA testing. It was ended during the Biden administration.\nThey said it took too much time. I inquired about the amount of time.\nIt took 45 minutes.\n  What we know from the time we did DNA testing, 30 percent of the\nchildren that were DNA tested by border agents shared no relation to\nthe illegal aliens who were falsely--falsely--representing themselves\nas family members. I think 45 minutes is worth it to save the life of a\nchild.\n  And my PRINTS Act, which has been reintroduced, would give Customs\nand Border Protection the authority to fingerprint noncitizens under\nthe age of 14 to combat the horrific practice called child recycling.\n  Just this week, I also sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel and\nAttorney General Pam Bondi requesting that they release the complete,\nunredacted flight logs from Jeffery Epstein's private jet.\n  In addition, I also requested Ghislaine Maxwell's little black book\nand all video surveillance footage from Epstein's residence in Palm\nBeach, FL. After years of stonewalling by former Director Wray, we\nstill do not have all the necessary information regarding Jeffrey\nEpstein's crime, who his associates were, and who was involved in his\nglobal human trafficking and sex trafficking ring. That is information\nwe need if we are going to bring an end to this practice of human\ntrafficking and also if we are going to bring justice for the women and\nchildren that were abused and trafficked during these human trafficking\nand sex trafficking rings.\n  It is past time to bring this practice to an end. With these efforts,\nwe can provide this administration with the tools they need in order to\nbring an end to this practice.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.\n\n                              S.J. Res. 10\n\n  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, first of all, I want to thank Senator Kaine\nfor his extraordinary leadership on this.\n  I think America is at a crucial time on energy policy, and Senator\nKaine cuts right to the heart of the debate. Donald Trump wants more\ntax cuts for the ultrawealthy, and he is willing to pay for those tax\ncuts by raising your energy bill.\n  Here is how the flawed idea goes down. Clean energy today is\nplentiful. Clean energy today is cheap. Clean energy today is\ngenerating thousands of good-paying jobs. I was involved deeply in\nwriting the Inflation Reduction Act. I developed this law that created\nthe clean energy tax credit package, and it is making progress in\ncommunities across the country.\n  What Donald Trump is talking about doing--and Senator Kaine has\nspelled this out--is defying the reality of the marketplace.\n  For example, we are constantly seeing people in the fossil fuel\nbusiness saying that this isn't time for ``drill, baby, drill.'' They\nhave been very blunt about saying that doesn't make sense from a\nmarketplace standpoint.\n  What we want to do as it relates to clean energy is to build on the\nprogress we have made--making sure clean energy is part of an ``all of\nthe above'' program that is technologically neutral and competing in a\nmarketplace with choices.\n  Under the Kaine legislation, we can have that reality and not the\nflawed idea that we would somehow benefit from having more tax cuts for\nthe ultrawealthy and somehow that will take care of people's energy\nsituation. It won't. If you go with tax breaks for the ultrawealthy and\nthis program that is based on ``drill, baby, drill,'' it is going to\ncreate rising energy costs for working families across the land.\n  I urge my colleagues to support the Kaine proposal.\n  I yield the floor.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.\n\n      Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems\n\n  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I rise today in support of my friend from\nNorth Dakota, Senator Hoeven's Congressional Review Act resolution to\nblock the implementation of the Biden administration's waste emissions\ncharge, otherwise known as the natural gas tax.\n  Since the day this regulation was finalized last November, I pledged\nthat I would work with President Trump and my colleagues in the\nCongress to repeal this misguided, anti-energy tax. Today in the\nSenate, that is exactly what we are working to do.\n  We must recognize that we are in a critical moment for American\nenergy. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation has found\nthat over the next 10 years, due to a rise in energy consumption and\nthe early retirement of our existing fossil fuel generation, our\ncountry could face major electric generation and reliability concerns.\n  We must take action now to ensure that our future demand is met, that\nthe lights remain on, our homes remain warm, and our economy keeps\nmoving for Americans all across this country. We can do this by\ncontinuing to invest in natural gas.\n  Over 60 percent of Americans every day heat their homes, their water,\nor their food with natural gas. Natural gas is responsible for over 40\npercent of the electricity generation and fuels more than half of our\nindustrial sector's process heat.\n  While the natural gas tax fails to recognize this reality, let's look\nat what is\n\n[[Page S1387]]\n\ntrue. Fracking and shale gas have both revolutionized and transformed\nAmerican energy, leading to lower prices, job growth, and increased\nAmerican energy security. According to the Energy Information\nAdministration, the rapid expansion of natural gas-fired powerplants in\nthis country has decreased the power sector's carbon dioxide emissions\nby 35 percent over the last 25 years. Natural gas has the potential to\nfurther reduce American greenhouse gas emissions if we continue to\nincrease production.\n  Natural gas is an affordable, reliable, and clean source of energy\nvital to our country and our economy. We should be expanding natural\ngas production, not restricting it. Instead, the natural gas tax will\nconstrain American natural gas production, leading to increased energy\nprices and providing a boost to the production of natural gas in\nRussia.\n  Simply put, repealing the natural gas tax is a win for our economy, a\nwin for our national security, and a win for our environment.\n  As part of establishing this tax, the Democrats' so-called Inflation\nReduction Act ordered the EPA to revise its subpart W requirements in\norder to facilitate the reporting and calculation of the tax. The EPA's\nsubpart W revisions blatantly disregard and overstep even the partisan\nmandates of the IRA and would excessively increase the tax burden on\nAmerican energy under this natural gas tax.\n\n  The revised emission factors within subpart W reporting requirements\nmake broad assumptions about oil and gas operations and technologies\nthat will lead to inaccurate reporting for many owners and operators.\nThe rule would not only radically expand the scope of emissions\nrequired to be reported by each facility under the Greenhouse Gas\nReporting Program, but it also excessively expands the number of\nfacilities that are covered by subpart W and consequently responsible\nto pay the natural gas tax.\n  Due to this uninformed and artificial overestimate of U.S. methane\nemissions, some smaller operators who were once below the waste\nemissions threshold are now at risk of seeing their reported methane\nemissions inflated and owing large sums under the natural gas tax.\n  If not repealed, this rule will arbitrarily increase the costs and\nburden of reporting under subpart W, motivated by the Democrats'\ninterest in growing the revenues generated by their natural gas tax.\nThis will make it even more difficult and expensive to produce,\ntransport, and consume American natural gas and in turn will hurt both\nAmerican families who rely on the energy and the environment of the\ncommunities we live in.\n  It is important that we note that our effort today works in tandem\nwith this Chamber's recently passed budget resolution.\n  As chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, I have\nlong intended to stop the natural gas tax, and we will continue to\npursue this through the reconciliation process.\n  Today's vote on the CRA provides all Senators the opportunity to put\nour vote on record after witnessing the Biden's EPA bait and switch on\nthe implementation of this misguided policy. I encourage my colleagues\nto support the CRA that is central to our mission of American energy\ndominance and reject this tax that will bolster our adversaries,\nincrease energy costs on American families, and put our energy future\nat risk.\n  I would like to yield, but before I do that, I would like to thank my\ncolleague from Iowa for letting me step in front of her to make my\nspeech. I appreciate that. I know she will be supporting this.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.\n\n                              S.J. Res. 10\n\n  Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, for over a decade, I have led the charge to\nexpose government abuses, curb reckless regulations, and protect hard-\nworking taxpayers from Washington's overreach.\n  As my colleagues have so rightly discussed, the actions by the Biden\nadministration made it necessary for President Trump to declare a\nnational energy emergency on day one.\n  The Biden administration's green energy programs artificially\nincentivized electric vehicles using billions of taxpayer dollars, with\nonly 60 charging stations to show for it. Folks, that is just one of\nthe many energy-related billion-dollar boondoggles by the former\nadministration.\n  As chair and founder of the Senate DOGE Caucus, I committed to\npreventing unchecked bureaucrats from issuing regulations that impose\nsignificant new costs and stifle growth. Every day, DOGE is uncovering\njust how far the Biden administration went to conceal its reckless\nspending through the Federal Agencies, especially regarding their\nclimate pet projects.\n  Instead of transparency and objective analysis, Biden's bureaucrats\nrelied on manipulation, inflated so-called ``net benefits,'' and\ncompletely disregarded economic reality in their rulemakings. And they\nwere prolific, churning out nearly 110,000 pages of regulations just\nlast year. That is 1 year and 110,000 pages--the highest number ever.\n  Between November 2023 and January 2025 alone, Agencies issued 50\nfinal rules using shady accounting gimmicks, slapping over half a\ntrillion dollars in regulatory burdens onto hard-working Americans.\nThis included a relentless push to regulate truckers out of business,\nbased on the audacious claim that its extreme emissions rules would\nsomehow create $99 billion in benefits for society.\n  But here is the reality, folks: These policies make everything more\nexpensive for families, they kill jobs, and they hurt our small\nbusinesses.\n  It doesn't stop there. The Department of Energy cited billions in so-\ncalled ``climate net benefits'' and the ``social cost of greenhouse\ngases'' to justify heavyhanded mandates, ignoring the very real costs\npassed on to farmers and manufacturers.\n  For too long, unelected bureaucrats have ignored the voices of job\ncreators and working families, pushing costly regulations while hiding\nthe true impact. This is why my RED TAPE Act is critical. My bill\nensures that Agencies can no longer manipulate a cost-benefit analysis\nto push their own agenda. It requires Agencies to prioritize data-\ndriven, measurable economic benefits, not vague ideological\njustifications.\n  While some Federal employees complain about the new directives from\nthe Trump administration, they should take a moment to understand that\nhard-working Americans who have had to show up to work and take risks\nto open businesses will no longer tolerate having to foot the bill for\nregulatory overreach.\n  I am voting no on this effort to end President Trump's national\nenergy emergency. I support the President's efforts to make energy more\navailable and affordable to power economic growth.\n  I yield the floor.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Moreno). The Democratic leader.\n  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I want to thank Senators Kaine and\nHeinrich for introducing this resolution and for taking the floor to\nhighlight Donald Trump's energy emergency gimmick.\n  We Democrats are using every tool available to expose Republican\nhypocrisy, revealing the so-called energy emergency for what it is. It\nis a shameless power grab by Republicans to pay obeisance to Big Oil,\nplain and simple--nothing more, but nothing less.\n  Republicans are raising prices by excluding clean energy from their\nemergency, meaning families could see electricity bills go up by $500 a\nyear. Republicans are killing jobs by gutting domestic energy\ninvestments that we made, that have created so many new good-paying\njobs. Republicans are rewarding China by weakening our economic\ncompetitiveness and ceding American energy leadership to our\nadversaries.\n  The hypocrisy is simple. On the one hand, they say we need more\nenergy for AI and for everything else, but then, on the other hand,\nthey greatly curtail the cheapest form of electricity we could make,\nwhich is solar and then wind, because, really, what they are doing is\njust hugging Big Oil because Big Oil hates clean energy because they\nknow clean energy eventually means the great reduction of polluting oil\nand gas and what they put into our atmosphere.\n  Senators Kaine, Heinrich, and all Democrats will continue to shine a\nspotlight on Republican attacks on domestic energy in the weeks and\nmonths ahead.\n  I yield the floor.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.\n\n[[Page S1388]]\n\n  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I rise to conclude the debate. I believe\nthe vote will follow these remarks.\n  I want to thank my colleagues. Seventeen Democrats appeared on the\nfloor to speak on behalf of S.J. Res. 10. I needn't repeat the comments\nI made at the beginning. I will be very brief.\n  No. 1, there is no energy emergency. We have established the United\nStates is producing more energy--more oil, more gas, more renewable\nenergy--than at any time in the history of this country and that we are\nnow a dramatic net-energy-surplus nation, as we are producing more and\nmore energy than we consume every year. That surplus is great because\nwe can export to develop both reducing the trade deficit and helping\nother nations wean themselves off their reliance on petrodictators.\n  Second, President Trump's energy emergency declaration is a sham. He\nignores the facts of America's energy dominance in order to benefit Big\nOil because he told them he would do that. Last summer, he said: If you\nsupport me for President and invest in me, I will give you rollbacks in\nenvironmental laws on day one of my administration.\n  And that is precisely what he did.\n  We can tell that that is what he is doing by reading the exact terms\nof the energy emergency, in which he sidelines critical environmental\nlaws so long as you are producing oil and gas but not if you are\nproducing wind and solar. If the President really wanted to accelerate\nenergy, he would not leave out wind and solar. Instead, he is doing the\nbidding of Big Oil by trying to kneecap wind and solar in his energy\nemergency declaration.\n  But it is more than the words on a page in the declaration; it is\nalso in his actions. I have many projects in Virginia that have\nannounced with great fanfare--including announced by our Republican\nGovernor--that have relied upon tax credits provided in the Inflation\nReduction Act or other incentives in the bipartisan infrastructure law.\nThese are projects all over Virginia--rural areas, urban areas--\ncreating big jobs to create clean energy that will bring prices down.\n  President Trump has undertaken a series of actions to put in jeopardy\nall of these projects in Virginia, to jeopardize the jobs and to\njeopardize the energy that would be produced that would lower costs,\nand he has done the same thing in every State in this country. So we\nneed to reject this energy emergency so that we can have a true energy\ninnovation economy and bring prices down for everyday consumers.\n  I have listened to the comments of my Republican colleagues as they\nhave argued against my S.J. Res. 10, and they have basically made two\narguments.\n  The first is the argument that they don't believe renewable energy is\nreliable. So, for that reason, they justify the President's leaving out\nrenewable energy sources in his energy emergency order. To the\ncontrary, 94 percent of the power that was added to the American\nelectricity grid in 2024 was wind, solar, and battery.\n\n  Colleagues may stand on the floor and mouth the words that renewable\nenergy is not reliable, but let's look at what the market is doing. The\nmarket is investing in these energies because they are reliable, they\nare American, they are clean, and they are cheap. And I would venture\nto say that those investing in these sources are more expert about what\nis reliable and what is not than Members of this body, with all\nrespect.\n  The second argument that is being made by my colleagues is that they\nsupport ``all of the above'' energy, and they use that to argue against\nS.J. Res. 10. My S.J. Res. 10 is about ``all of the above'' energy, and\nit is against the notion of leaving out wind, solar, and battery\ntechnologies that are driving our green energy economy.\n  The question is, If you are not opposing, really, because of\nreliability concerns and you are not really advocating for all of the\nabove, what is the real source of the opposition?\n  The real source of the opposition is this: People do not want to\nstand up against Donald Trump. They don't want to stand up against a\nPresident who declares a fake emergency. They don't want to stand up\nagainst a President who is unplugging jobs in their States. They don't\nwant to stand up against a President whose actions will lead to\nincreased energy costs for consumers. They don't want to stand up to a\nPresident who is targeting and reversing investments that they even\nvoted for when they voted for the bipartisan infrastructure law.\n  At some point, the question to my colleagues is, When will you stand\nup?\n  How much do prices have to go up on everyday Americans before you\nwill stand up? How many jobs do you have to lose in your State before\nyou are going to stand up? How many end runs of congressional statutes\nwill you allow a President to take and be voiceless before you stand\nup?\n  That is what this is about.\n  I urge my colleagues to stand up for an American innovation energy\neconomy. Don't let President Trump use a fake energy emergency to\nkneecap it.\n  With that, Mr. President, I yield to my colleague from Massachusetts.\n  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I thank my great friend from the State of\nVirginia. I thank him for his leadership on this. I thank him for\nbringing out this very important subject because the American people\nare being robbed by the fossil fuel industry in broad daylight, and the\nTrump administration is driving the getaway car.\n  As the Senator from Virginia just said, in the United States, in\n2024, 94 percent of all new electrical generating capacity installed is\nwind and solar and battery technologies--94 percent. What I am hearing\non FOX News and what I hear from the--not ``all of the above'' but--\n``oil above all'' crowd is: Oh, my God, it is terrible what is\nhappening in our country. Look at the war that is being declared upon\noil and gas and coal.\n  Saying that wind and solar and batteries are a war against oil and\ngas and coal is like saying that the cell phone was a war against the\nblack rotary dial phone. It is not a war. It is the entrepreneurial,\ninnovative spirit in our country that is coming up with new\ntechnologies and new ways to solve the problem.\n\n  Just like, by the way, the black rotary dial industry, they didn't\nlike it. They didn't like it at all. They had a monopoly, but there is\na way to get around it. There was a way to have, out in the\nmarketplace, new ways of generating communications technologies, and\nnow there are new ways of generating electricity--new ways. They hate\nit. The incumbents hate it. They hate it because they had a bottleneck.\nIt could only be they. It could only be oil, gas, coal. Then, all of a\nsudden, a new generation of young people arrived, and they say: No.\nClimate change is threatening this planet, and there are new,\ninnovative ways that we can move.\n  So what is at the bottom of all of this? The oil, gas, and coal\nindustries are scared--they are petrified--in the same way as the black\nrotary dial phone industry, in the same way that the horse-and-buggy\nmanufacturer was scared.\n  There is an automobile now. Oh, no, what am I going to do?\n  How about getting in the transportation business rather than the\nhorse-and-buggy industry? How about becoming, maybe, an auto dealer in\nOhio? How about moving on, rather than being a horse-and-buggy company?\n  No. No. We are stopping that. We are stopping that. There are not\ngoing to be any roads. We are not going to build any roads for\nautomobiles. That would be terrible.\n  So that is what we have. Right now, we have a war against innovation,\na war against nonpolluting sources of electricity; a war against a\ngeneration of young Americans who are saying the planet is dangerously\nwarming, and there are no emergency rooms for planets--$300 billion\nworth of damage in two storms, Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene;\n$250 billion worth of damage in the fires of LA. That is $550 billion\nworth of damage in just three incidents, and that is just the tip of\nthe iceberg of what is coming.\n  So what the young generation is saying is, Can we please install wind\nand solar and batteries and all-electric vehicles? Can we be smart? Can\nwe think ahead? Can we have a generational response?\n  And what is happening is the oil, gas, and coal industries are just\ncalling in their chips. They are just saying that they want to kill\neverything--kill innovation.\n  By the way, I was the chairman of the Telecommunications Committee in\n\n[[Page S1389]]\n\nthe 1990s, when we were still in that old era. Believe me. Those old\ncompanies love their monopolies. There are three wires that go into\npeople's homes: the cable wire, the telephone wire, and the electricity\nwire. So now we are on the third wire, the electricity wire. Are we\ngoing to make that competitive, too, or not? And they are petrified.\n  Just today--this is unbelievable--the Trump administration announced\nthat he wants to lay off 65 percent of the Environmental Protection\nAgency's staff. Those are our frontline fighters who ensure our water\nis safe, that our air is clean, and that our land is not polluted with\ntoxins and chemicals. They want to turn the EPA into every polluter's\nally. That is their goal. That is what they want to have. That is not\nwhat the younger generation wants in our country.\n  The EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin also told the White House that he\nwants to get rid of the EPA's authority to regulate dangerous\ngreenhouse gases based on the threat they pose to public health or\nwelfare. It is known as the endangerment finding. Do greenhouse gas\nemissions cause warming that endangers the coastlines? that endanger\ncities like LA? that lead to $300 billion storms just ravaging through\nStates?\n  Do you know that the Supreme Court decided 5 to 4? In April of 2007,\nthe Supreme Court said: You must determine whether or not there is an\nendangerment, EPA; and, EPA, if you make that determination that it is\nan endangerment, you then have to do something about it.\n  That is what is ticking them off. No one will tell you.\n  In a footnote, in his dissent, Justice Scalia said: I am voting no.\n  Justice Scalia said: What is next--the regulation of flatulence from\ncows? Where are they going with all this craziness?\n  Do you know where we are going? Do you know where we went? We went to\n94 percent of all new electrical generation capacity in the United\nStates, in 2024. It is wind, solar, and battery technologies. That is\nwhere we went because there was an endangerment because you knew what\nwas happening.\n  By the way, even the IRA that was passed just in 2022 has already\nunleashed $400 billion of public and private investment. It has created\n400,000 new jobs--400,000 new jobs--in the clean energy sector. Oil and\ngas and coal are petrified. They are the black rotary dial phone of\n2025. They can see what is happening. It is change. It is a brandnew\nera. It is almost as though, somehow or other, they have found enough\nallies here to lock us into the past--to lock us into the 19th century,\nto lock us into the 20th century.\n  Kids don't want to go backward. They don't want to look at the world\nin the rearview mirror. They want to look ahead to a brighter, better,\nsafer, cleaner future, and that is what is going on. It is threatening\nthe business model of all of these people.\n  So I directly questioned Lee Zeldin on this exact issue in his\nhearing before the Environment and Public Works Committee because I\nknew he wouldn't have the courage or the ability to stand up to the\ndemands of Trump's Big Oil and Big Gas and Big Coal donors because, if\nthese donors tell Zeldin to wipe any policy meant to protect public\nhealth and the planet off the books, it seems he is ready to take out\nan eraser and to hop to it, regardless of the science, regardless of\nthe law, regardless of the well-being of the American people in the\nlong run, especially young people. The Green New Deal generation, they\nwant change. They want action. They want to move the same way we moved\nfrom a black rotary dial phone to this. It only took 20 years. It would\nhave seemed impossible to a black rotary dial phone manufacturer, but\nit happened because you trusted young people to do the work.\n\n  What else is Trump doing for his fossil fuel friends? He is taking\ntheir money while he costs you your money.\n  Trump's billionaire oil and gas donors promised him $1 billion last\nApril in a meeting if Trump would take all of the clean energy\nincentives off of the books--$1 billion. This is all pay-to-play. They\nraised the money for him, and he delivered a sham energy emergency\nExecutive order that is already forcing working families to pay more in\norder to line the pockets of those big oil, big gas, big coal donors.\n  This emergency is a lie. The United States is already the world's\nlargest oil and gas producer. It is the largest exporter of LNG in the\nworld. It is a lie. It is a lie. It is a lie.\n  Everything Donald Trump says about an energy emergency is a lie to\nthe American people because he has to lie to cover up the fact that oil\nand gas production is up. But they are so greedy, they want this body\nand the EPA to kill wind and solar, battery storage technologies, all-\nelectric vehicles. That is how greedy they are. It is not enough that\nthey have their largest production capacity in history, because this is\nreally an excuse for Trump and Musk to rig the rules for Big Oil so\nthey can produce the dirty energy while they easily seize Americans'\nlands and pollute the air and water.\n  They want to go on public land now to drill for oil and gas, even\nthough we don't need it. We don't need it.\n  There is a revolution that if we just let it unfold, it would be 94\npercent next year, 94 percent the next year. What they are afraid of is\n10 years from now, when everyone says, oh, I love this new world we are\nliving in, the nonpolluting, nongreenhouse gas world of renewable\nenergy.\n  The real emergency, the real crisis is the climate crisis itself,\nwhich continues to turbocharge extreme weather. It is costing lives,\nbillions in damages, sky-high energy bills, insurance rates out of\ncontrol in all these States that are having these superstorms and\nfires. Yet Trump is dismantling programs that reduce energy prices,\nlower heating bills, keep our air and water clean, and create jobs\nwhile trying to ram through the dirty energy projects that will do just\nthe opposite.\n  And what does he want to do? He wants to take out a chain saw. That\nis what he wants to do. He is taking out his chain saw.\n  He wants to call this waste, fraud, and corruption, a revolution that\ncreates this incredible economic--\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time for the proponent is expired.\n  Mr. MARKEY.--to chop all of those programs down at the knees. We are\ngoing to fight it every single step of the way.\n  I thank Senator Kaine, and I thank Senator Heinrich for giving us\nthis time on the floor to be able to explain to the American people\nwhat is going on.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.\n\n      Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems\n\n  Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I am pleased to come to the floor again\ntoday to discuss my resolution to block the Democrats' natural gas tax,\nwhich I will call up right after we vote to affirm President Trump's\nnational energy emergency declaration.\n  The Biden administration's tax and regulatory onslaught over the past\n4 years have driven up the cost of energy and led to a national energy\nemergency for our Nation.\n  One of the most egregious examples is a new tax on natural gas, and\nthat is why I am leading S.J. Res. 12, a Congressional Review Act\nresolution to block this tax from taking effect.\n  My resolution will rescind the rule implementing the Democrats'\nnatural gas tax that the Biden administration finalized late last year.\n  Congressional Democrats and President Biden mandated this new tax\nunder the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which was, of course, the\nInflation Acceleration Act, taking inflation all the way up to 9\npercent. The Environmental Protection Agency issued its final\nimplementing rule on November 18 of last year.\n  The EPA's natural gas tax rule imposes stringent methane emissions\ncharges on qualified petroleum and natural gas infrastructure, starting\nat $900 a ton for emissions in 2024; it then goes up to $1,200; and\nthen, ultimately, up to $1,500 per ton in 2026 and subsequent years.\n  Unless overturned, this would be the first time the Federal\nGovernment has ever imposed a direct tax on emissions. This new charge\ncan equate to an effective tax increase on natural gas on top of other\ntaxes of more than 5 percent.\n  This will have a disproportionate impact on small oil and gas\nproducers in my home State of North Dakota and across the country, many\nof which already operate on thin margins and cannot afford the high\ncosts to comply with this onerous rule.\n\n[[Page S1390]]\n\n  Simply put, this is a punitive tax that will be passed along to\nconsumers and will force energy developers to shut in production. That\nmeans higher prices to heat your homes. That means higher prices to\ncook your food. That means higher cost of natural gas for all\nconsumers. Also, less supply of domestic energy means higher gas bills\nfor consumers and an increased reliance on energy imports.\n  Instead of new taxes and regulations designed to stifle production,\nwe should be supporting innovation to maximize the use of our abundant\nand affordable oil and gas reserves.\n  Our energy producers utilize the latest and the greatest technology,\nenabling more energy production with the best environmental\nstewardship.\n\n  Today, the United States is the world's largest oil and gas producer,\nand at the same time, we have also led the world in emissions\nreductions\n  Since 1990, U.S. natural gas production has doubled--this is an\ninteresting stat. Since 1990, U.S. natural gas production has doubled;\nyet at the same time, we have reduced total emissions by 20 percent--\ndouble the output--double the output and a 20-percent reduction in\nemissions. We have been able to increase crude oil production by 60\npercent over the same time period.\n  When I was Governor of North Dakota in 2000, our State was producing\nless than 100,000 barrels a day. We took that up to 1.5 million barrels\nof oil a day. This doesn't just happen overnight. It is because we work\nto provide the regulatory certainty to empower innovation and\nentrepreneurial spirit to unlock the potential for energy development\nin our State and in our country.\n  As North Dakota became an energy powerhouse, our State producers have\nworked hard to meet the challenges of managing growing volumes of\nnatural gas associated with oil production.\n  North Dakota producers have endeavored to dramatically increase the\ntargeted gas capture rate from 74 percent to 95 percent over the past\n10 years, again, through innovation, through technology--the latest and\ngreatest methods that we have implemented.\n  Producers want to improve on that rate--and we continue to--but the\nBiden administration and its Green New Deal allies tried to make it--\nand, in fact, did make it--harder to permit the very gathering systems\nthat we needed to capture that natural gas. So they impeded our ability\nto reduce emissions.\n  Instead of supporting more gathering lines and interstate pipelines,\nthe Biden administration's natural gas tax will hinder domestic\nproduction.\n  Further, because our Nation generates over 40 percent of our\nelectricity from natural gas, burdensome taxes on natural gas producers\nwill result in more expensive and less reliable electricity, more\ninflation for consumers across the country as a result.\n  Also, less production at home makes other nations and our allies\nabroad more dependent on adversarial nations that have no regard for\nenvironmental standards. Think Russia. Think Venezuela. Think OPEC.\n  At the end of the day, energy security directly impacts our economic\nand national security. This is about taking the handcuffs off and\nempowering our energy producers to increase supply and bring down\nprices for American families and businesses. That is why we are working\nto roll back the Biden administration's disastrous policies on energy,\nlike this natural gas tax.\n  I want to thank EPW, Chairwoman Capito, and the 25 other cosponsors\nof my resolution.\n  I urge all of my colleagues to support this Congressional Review Act\nresolution.\n  I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues and the Trump\nadministration to repeal this misguided tax on natural gas, while\nincreasing energy production across the board in this country with good\nenvironmental stewardship that will truly make America energy dominant\nonce again.\n  I yield back all remaining time.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is yielded back.\n  The clerk will read the title of the resolution for the third time.\n  The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading\nand was read the third time.\n\n                          vote on S.J. Res. 10\n\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The joint resolution having been read the\nthird time, the question is, Shall the joint resolution pass?\n  Mr. WYDEN. I ask for the yeas and nays.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?\n  There appears to be a sufficient second.\n  The clerk will call the roll.\n  The assistant bill clerk called the roll.\n  Mr. BARRASSO. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the\nSenator from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer).\n  The result was announced--yeas 47, nays 52, as follows:\n\n                      [Rollcall Vote No. 95 Leg.]\n\n                                YEAS--47\n\n     Alsobrooks\n     Baldwin\n     Bennet\n     Blumenthal\n     Blunt Rochester\n     Booker\n     Cantwell\n     Coons\n     Cortez Masto\n     Duckworth\n     Durbin\n     Fetterman\n     Gallego\n     Gillibrand\n     Hassan\n     Heinrich\n     Hickenlooper\n     Hirono\n     Kaine\n     Kelly\n     Kim\n     King\n     Klobuchar\n     Lujan\n     Markey\n     Merkley\n     Murphy\n     Murray\n     Ossoff\n     Padilla\n     Peters\n     Reed\n     Rosen\n     Sanders\n     Schatz\n     Schiff\n     Schumer\n     Shaheen\n     Slotkin\n     Smith\n     Van Hollen\n     Warner\n     Warnock\n     Warren\n     Welch\n     Whitehouse\n     Wyden\n\n                                NAYS--52\n\n     Banks\n     Barrasso\n     Blackburn\n     Boozman\n     Britt\n     Budd\n     Capito\n     Cassidy\n     Collins\n     Cornyn\n     Cotton\n     Crapo\n     Cruz\n     Curtis\n     Daines\n     Ernst\n     Fischer\n     Graham\n     Grassley\n     Hagerty\n     Hawley\n     Hoeven\n     Husted\n     Hyde-Smith\n     Johnson\n     Justice\n     Kennedy\n     Lankford\n     Lee\n     Lummis\n     Marshall\n     McConnell\n     McCormick\n     Moody\n     Moran\n     Moreno\n     Mullin\n     Murkowski\n     Paul\n     Ricketts\n     Risch\n     Rounds\n     Schmitt\n     Scott (FL)\n     Scott (SC)\n     Sheehy\n     Sullivan\n     Thune\n     Tillis\n     Tuberville\n     Wicker\n     Young\n\n                             NOT VOTING--1\n\n     Cramer\n\n  The joint resolution (S.J. Res. 10) was rejected.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Justice). The Senator from North Dakota.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2025-02-26-pt1-PgS1383-2"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1828411370515823, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}