Washington, D.C. — Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Chair Jeff Duncan (R-SC) delivered the following opening remarks at Tuesday’s Energy, Climate, & Grid Security Subcommittee markup of three bills to bolster energy reliability and security.
Excerpts and highlights below:
| AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IN NUCLEAR
“Thank you all for being here today. We are holding another markup to advance and unleash American energy.
“The bills we are taking up today will secure our nuclear supply chain, protect the freedom of Americans to choose their home appliances, and strengthen our grid against cyber threats.”
PROHIBITING RUSSIAN URANIUM IMPORTS ACT
“The United States has become increasingly dependent on Russian fuel necessary for our commercial nuclear fleet.
“Currently, Russian imports account for 20 percent of the U.S. market.
“The war in Ukraine has made it abundantly clear we cannot be at the whims of Russia for our fuel supply.
“It should be a bipartisan, national security objective to wean the United States industry off Russian uranium imports.
“This requires a ‘Made in America’ system for nuclear fuel. This includes mining, conversion, enrichment, and fabrication.
“The first step in this process is putting the marker down that we are banning Russian imports.
“I am proud to cosponsor H.R. 1042, the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, introduced by Chair Rodgers and my colleague, Mr. Latta.
“This bill will prohibit the importation of unirradiated—that is fresh, unused—low-enriched uranium produced in the Russian Federation.
“This will give the domestic industry the market certainty they need to invest and build out the necessary infrastructure.
“U.S. companies are already taking steps to this end, but without certainty about the role of Russian fuel in our market, investors won’t put money into expanded capacity.
“This bill would establish a date certain after which no Russian fuel will be available for the long term.
“That will allow this mature market to enter the long-term contracts needed to fund secure non-Russian supplies.
“The United States must lead in nuclear. This is important for energy reliability, national security, and emission reduction goals.
“I urge all my colleagues on this Committee to support this bill.”
ENERGY EMERGENCY LEADERSHIP ACT
“Another bipartisan, national security priority should be hardening our critical energy infrastructure to protect against cyber threats.
“H.R. 3277, the Energy Emergency Leadership Act, introduced by Representatives Walberg and Blunt-Rochester, would amend the Department of Energy Organization Act to elevate the leadership of DOE’s emergency response and cybersecurity functions to the Senate-confirmed assistant secretary level.
“The DOE is the critical agency to coordinate, prepare for, and respond to all threats and hazards to our energy supply.
“Establishing assistant-secretary leadership at the department will reflect the importance of managing this threat.
“This bill successfully moved through the House last Congress, and I am optimistic it will have continued support.”
SAVE OUR GAS STOVES
“Lastly, we will be taking up H.R. 1640, the Save Our Gas Stoves Act.
“I am proud to cosponsor this bill introduced by my colleague, Congresswoman Lesko.
“It is no secret this administration has waged war on American energy, doing everything in their power to phase out oil and gas.
“They are now taking it a step further, dictating what appliances Americans purchase for their homes based on the fuel source.
“Households that use natural gas for heating, cooking and clothes drying save an average of $1,068 per year compared to homes using electricity for those applications.
“Low-income Americans will be most harmed by the rush to green and mass electrification efforts pursued by the Biden administration.
“The Save Our Gas Stoves Act would prevent this by prohibiting the Secretary of Energy from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing the current proposed energy conservation standard for consumer conventional cooking products and prohibit the enactment of any substantially similar rule and clarifying the Energy Policy and Conservation Act prohibits an implementation of an energy conservation standard that would result in a product being unavailable based upon the type of product the fuel consumes.
“Americans should be free to choose what cooking product they use in their homes and this bill ensures that.
“Unfortunately, the gas stove rulemaking is part of a larger effort against consumer appliances to federally mandate that Americans purchase ‘climate friendlier’ appliances.
“I commend Congresswoman Lesko’s leadership on this issue.
“I urge my colleagues to support the legislation in front of us today which prioritizes American energy security and puts the American people first.” |