The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Senate section on pages S3163-S3164 on June 3, 2019.
The Department oversees energy policies and is involved in how the US handles nuclear programs. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department's misguided energy regulations have caused large losses to consumers for decades.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS
The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:
POM-73. A resolution adopted by the House of Delegates of the State of West Virginia memorializing its support of ongoing and continued development of West Virginia's energy resources, pipeline, and energy infrastructure; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
House Resolution No. 6
Whereas, West Virginia's natural gas and energy reserves and production have increased significantly in recent years due to the exploration occurring in the Utica and Marcellus Shale formations; and
Whereas, West Virginia is now the ninth-largest natural gas producing state in the nation, providing five percent of our country's total energy; and
Whereas, The natural gas and oil industry supported over 70,000 jobs both directly and indirectly and added $8 billion to the West Virginian economy; and
Whereas, Pipelines and transmission lines serve a critical role in delivering natural gas, petroleum, and electricity in order to meet our growing energy needs; and
Whereas, Denying the expansion and construction of existing and new pipeline projects would stop the significant revitalization of communities and manufacturing industries in West Virginia; and
Whereas, The U.S. Department of Energy has identified the benefits that West Virginia can accrue with the establishment of an ethane storage and distribution hub to promote diversity of supply and geography, alleviating the strategic risk our country faces as a result of a lack of redundancy and flexibility; and
Whereas, West Virginia is business friendly and welcomes investments in the state and local economy; and
Whereas, West Virginia's neighbors, including Ohio and Pennsylvania, have benefitted from using natural gas to attract industry; and
Whereas, The natural gas intensive industry sector in Ohio has an output of $160 billion and Pennsylvania has an output of $156 billion in comparison to West Virginia's output of
$18 billion; and
Whereas, Ohio and Pennsylvania have over 300,000 jobs in natural gas intensive industry sector while West Virginia has over 30,000 jobs in the natural gas intensive industry sector; therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Delegates, That we, the members of the House of Delegates of the 84th Legislature of the State of West Virginia, support the ongoing and continued development of West Virginia's energy resources, pipeline, and energy infrastructure in the State of West Virginia; and be it further
Resolved, That we, the members of the House of Delegates of the 84th Legislature of the State of West Virginia, support ongoing economic development efforts to attract end-users of electricity and natural gas to expand our state's economy and create family sustaining jobs; and be it further
Resolved, That the Clerk transmit duly authenticated copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, the President Pro Tern pore and Secretary of the United States Senate, the members of the West Virginia Congressional delegation, and the news media of West Virginia.
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POM-74. A resolution adopted by the House of Delegates of the State of West Virginia memorializing its support of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
House Resolution No. 11
Whereas, The Atlantic Coast Pipeline and others are critical to the economic and energy future of the State of West Virginia, providing our state's natural gas production with unprecedented access to new markets; and
Whereas, Studies indicate construction and operation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline alone will generate massive economic benefits for West Virginia, including almost $478 million in additional economic activity during the construction period and more than $15 million in additional economic activity each year after the facility begins operating; and
Whereas, The Atlantic Coast Pipeline and others will create thousands of new job opportunities for the working men and women of West Virginia and significant new tax revenues for many West Virginia counties; and
Whereas, The Atlantic Coast Pipeline and others will help promote our nation's energy independence, helping make the burgeoning natural gas production in West Virginia and adjacent states more available to millions of consumers and reducing the need for energy imports; and
Whereas, The Atlantic Coast Pipeline's environmental impact has been repeatedly and thoroughly analyzed by state and federal agencies, including the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the U.S. Forest Service, among others, with all of the agencies finding that the project can be built and operated in a manner that protects the natural resources of West Virginia and the other states in its path; and
Whereas, Despite the enormous energy and economic benefits, as well as the positive findings from a broad range of environmental regulatory agencies, some groups have launched an all-out assault on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project, with the ultimate aim of forcing its cancelation; and
Whereas, These attacks are not based on the facts regarding the Atlantic Coast Pipeline but are part of what the U.S. Chamber of Commerce describes as a nationwide ``keep it in the ground'' strategy by some groups to end all uses of fossil fuels in power generation; and
Whereas, These unwarranted attacks have resulted in regulatory and legal proceedings that have repeatedly delayed both the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the related Supply Header Project; and
Whereas, In response to court orders stemming from these attacks, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header Project have been forced to lay off or delay hiring thousands of skilled construction workers in West Virginia and also in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and North Carolina, posing significant hardships for working families and depriving them of paychecks and steady work; and
Whereas, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce report estimates that these delays, through August 2018, have already resulted in the loss of $2.3 billion in the U.S. Gross Domestic Product as well as $500 million in lost tax revenue for U.S. states and localities; and
Whereas, The Chamber's study also found that the delays have already deprived U.S. consumers of $377 million in energy cost savings; and
Whereas, The General President of the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) recently said obstructions to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and other vital energy infrastructure ``from activist groups is costing our members jobs and the entire country opportunities''; and
Whereas, The LIUNA General President also emphasized that the economic damage caused by this opposition to new energy projects is ``being shouldered by the hard working men and women who build our nation's energy infrastructure''; and
Whereas, These assaults and delaying tactics are also a direct threat to West Virginia's energy production industry, which directly employs more than 22,000 men and women and pays more than $6 billion in wages annually; and
Whereas, Although the current employment and payroll figures are impressive, further growth will be severely hampered unless new infrastructure such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and other pipelines are built to transport West Virginia's energy production to market; and
Whereas, In addition to this economic damage, the attacks on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and other interstate natural gas projects have great potential to harm the environment, since other forms of electric generation powered by fossil fuels, such as natural gas, are needed to back up the expansion of the intermittent generation from renewable resources such as solar and wind energy: Therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Delegates: That we, the members of the House of Delegates of the 84th Legislature of the State of West Virginia, categorically condemn these counterproductive and economically damaging assaults on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and other urgently needed energy infrastructure projects; and, be it further
Resolved, That we note that these attacks are denying steady employment and income to thousands of West Virginia workers and their families who would otherwise be employed in the construction and operation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the related Supply Header Project; and, be it further
Resolved, That we find that the attacks are also damaging West Virginia's energy production industry, the source of more than $6 billion annually in wages to our state's working men and women; and, be it further
Resolved, That we find that the assaults on these projects have great potential to damage the environment by hindering the deployment of electric generation powered by solar power, wind and other renewable resources, all of which must be backed up with fossil fuel powered generation, such as natural gas; and, be it further
Resolved, That we strongly urge the groups spearheading these assaults to stop their attacks and delaying actions and in the process help pave the way for a cleaner and stronger energy future for West Virginia and for the entire nation; and, be it further
Resolved, That the Clerk transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, the President Pro Tempore and Secretary of the United States Senate, the members of the West Virginia Congressional delegation, and the news media of West Virginia.
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