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.
“Environmentalism and Climate (Executive Calendar)” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the in the Senate section section on pages S6731-S6732 on Sept. 28.
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:
Environmentalism and Climate
Mr. President, what I want to address now is environmentalism and climate, which President Biden and the left tells us are existential issues.
There is nothing mattering more, they say, than climate change; that if we don't fight climate change, Nebraska is going to be underwater, they tell us. They say we need to follow the example of our European allies in agreements like the Paris accords, but the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will grind any European energy transition to a halt by making the Europeans even more dependent on Russian gas.
Now, some proponents have argued that the natural gas delivered by Nord Stream 2 could be kind of a transition technology, but the German Institute for Economic Research's senior energy expert described Nord Stream 2 on these issues as ``unnecessary and inefficient.''
More analysis, published again just last week, projected that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would emit over 100 million metric tons of CO2 per year, plus fugitive methane.
The gas that Nord Stream 2 would deliver compares very badly to the alternative, and that is LNG, liquid natural gas.
In 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Lab published a study showing that ``U.S. LNG shipped to European markets has 41 percent less lifecycle emissions than if those same countries were to receive natural gas from another predominant producer like Russia.''
Listen to that again because our Democratic colleagues love to pound the table how carbon is the greatest threat on the planet.
Well, Joe Biden is saddling Europe with an energy option that produces much more CO2 than American LNG. American LNG, 41 percent less carbon dioxide.
If they believe their rhetoric, you would see Democrats standing up to Joe Biden. If Joe Biden believed his rhetoric, I guess you would see Joe Biden standing up to himself.
If John Kerry believed his rhetoric, in between his flights on a private jet, where John Kerry has the carbon footprint of a small town, in between his pontificating and lecturing American workers they just need to learn to code, if John Kerry believed climate was this existential disaster, he would be standing up, saying: President Biden, why are you defying Congress, defying the European Union, and giving Putin a multibillion-dollar gift that produces more CO2?
There is no argument from the left or the right under which Nord Stream 2 is a good idea, but especially on the basis of what the left tells us are their most important issues: Russia, Russia, Russia. It is a disaster on Russia, Russia, Russia.
CO2? It is a disaster on CO2.
You know, Twitter today has lit up with a certain European teenager who is fond of lecturing the world about insufficient fealty to climate. And she responded to American leaders who, to use her words, say ``blah, blah, blah'' when it comes to climate.
I got to say, our Democratic colleagues, this Democratic administration, when it comes to Nord Stream 2, their only answer is: Blah, blah, blah.
They don't have an answer that they are resulting in--what was the figure again? Let's actually get that figure right--100 million metric tons of CO2 per year.
Congratulations. The next time you give a speech saying that you want to double Americans' electricity bills, you want to bankrupt working families because of CO2, remember, you didn't seem worried about it when it was the Russians producing the CO2 in a way that hurts Europe, hurts our allies, and hurts America.
Look, I get party politics. People want to stand and support their party. I get it. When there is a Republican President, Republicans support them, generally. When there is a Democratic President, Democrats support them, generally. That is the way it works. That is not terribly shocking.
But is it asking too much for even one of the Democrats to believe what they have said for the last 5 years?
Throughout the course of these remarks, you know who I have quoted more than anyone else?
Senate Democrats. I have quoted their own remarks.
Senate Democrats understand Nord Stream 2 is a disaster. They understand it is harmful. They understand it is bad for America. Where they just can't screw up the courage is when it comes to standing up to a Democratic President.
By the way, they are perfectly happy to yell at Donald Trump. I get that. And to be clear, when we had a Republican President in Donald Trump, I pressed the Trump administration hard on Nord Stream 2, even though we are the same party. I was not remotely shy about pressing the Trump administration.
There are 50 Democrats in this Chamber. Is there one who believed Russia, Russia, Russia? Or was that all empty politics? Is there one who believes their hyperbolic rhetoric on CO2 and climate? Or is that all just blah, blah, blah?
It is real simple. The Biden administration has a chance to fix this. Just this weekend, the German people voted out the Merkel government. The entire reason Joe Biden went down this foolhardy disastrous path was to kiss up to Angela Merkel. Well, you know what. She is gone. Her party is gone. They are out of power. And so Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been given a present--a present of the chance to pull victory out of the jaws of defeat.
We had victory from 2019 to 2020, where we shut down the pipeline. Republicans and Democrats together in Congress had come together and shut down the pipeline. Putin had lost; America had won.
Joe Biden comes into office, and now Putin wins, America loses. That ain't good. That ain't good in Michigan. It ain't good in Arizona. It ain't good in any State in this country. And Joe Biden can fix it if he simply accepts the gifts the German voters have given him, reverse his course, and follow his U.S. law.
Let's stop the Biden-Putin pipeline. Let's give an opportunity for President Biden to pull his name off the pipeline.
By the way, if he were to do so, I will come to this floor and I will sing Joe Biden's praises for doing the right thing, for following the law, for standing up for America, for standing up to Russia, for defending our European allies.
But, sadly, I am not holding my breath. I think the hubris of office, stubbornness, is likely to keep the Biden administration digging in.
In the Senate, I am going to use every tool I have to try to press them to change their minds. And I would call on--is there even one Democrat with the courage to take on Russia?
Time will tell.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
