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.
“S. 2657” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Senate section on pages S1273-S1274 on March 3, 2020.
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:
S. 2657
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, this week, the Senate has a good opportunity to update the laws governing the way we harness and deploy America's tremendous domestic energy resources. It has been well over a decade since the last time comprehensive energy legislation was signed into Federal law.
Following our overwhelming vote yesterday to proceed to consideration of the American Energy Innovation Act, the Senate is on track to change that very soon. The American Energy Innovation Act put forward by Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Manchin is thoroughly bipartisan. It contains provisions sponsored or cosponsored by more than 60 of our colleagues. It has come to include 50 individual pieces of legislation that the Energy and Natural Resources Committee considered last year.
Over the past 3 years, the Trump administration and this Congress have worked together to secure historic advances for both the producers and consumers of affordable domestic energy. We have opened access to new energy reserves, streamlined the regulation of liquid natural gas exports, and halted or reversed the most egregious Obama-era regulatory burdens. The growing record is clear. We have helped to usher in a prosperous new era of U.S. energy independence.
The legislation we are considering this week is designed to build on those successes. It takes proactive steps to ensure the security, efficiency, and affordability of American energy for years to come.
First, it puts a strong tailwind behind programs, grants, and research efforts that are focused on energy innovation. That means significant investments in improving energy efficiency and grid storage technologies; new resources for the development of renewable geothermal, nuclear, and other energy sources to help sustain domestic energy independence; reauthorization for the Department of Energy's cutting-edge research at the Advanced Research Projects Agency; and a renewed commitment to carbon capture, utilization, and storage at coal production facilities.
In addition to energy innovation, the legislation also focuses on energy security. Since the last comprehensive update to the Federal energy laws in 2007, our Nation's critical infrastructure, including the electric grid, has changed significantly, and so have the threats it faces. Our colleagues' legislation tackles this head-on. It introduces incentives for electrical grid modernization and cyber security projects. It encourages utility providers to take proactive measures to protect ratepayers from the devastating effects of potential cyber attacks. It makes new technical cyber security assistance available to municipalities and rural utilities and authorizes grant funding for on-the-job workforce retraining.
Perhaps most importantly, the legislation before us is not only designed for continued advances in areas where the U.S. energy sector has seen success, it is also meant to take a sober assessment of where we are falling short.
As my colleague Chairman Murkowski noted yesterday, the United States currently relies on foreign imports to meet our demand for dozens of mineral commodities. We are talking about rare substances with critical applications in manufacturing, energy production, and national security. These are critical products, but at present, domestic production does not satisfy domestic demand. That is why this legislation provides for new survey and cataloging efforts to identify new domestic supplies of important materials. It invests in extraction technologies that would harness existing mining infrastructure in places like Appalachian coal country to help meet the demand.
As the senior Senator from Kentucky, I know the importance of these investments firsthand. The working families and job creators in my State know that clean coal technologies and longstanding mining operations can continue to add tremendous value to the security and prosperity of our Nation.
There is a reason why this legislation has earned widespread praise from the researchers and energy industry leaders who would be affected the most. It is a product of serious, good-faith, bipartisan work. That is why organizations from the National Mining Association to the Environmental Defense Fund have found common ground in endorsing it.
I will have more to say about this legislation in the coming days, but right now, I am grateful for our colleagues on the Energy Committee for their work in bringing it to the floor. I look forward to considering their important legislation in the days ahead, and I would encourage all Members to join me in supporting this excellent work.
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