Washington, D.C. - House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) spoke on the House floor in opposition to H.R. 3684, the Senate Infrastructure Bill.
Excerpts and highlights from her prepared remarks:
LIFTING THE REGULATORY AND PERMITTING BURDENS
“I rise in opposition to this bill.
“We all agree on the need to modernize and invest in our nation’s hard infrastructure.
“In fact, Energy and Commerce Republicans have led on dozens of bills to close the digital divide, increase our energy security and clean energy deployment, and make investments in safe drinking water and make our roadways safer.
“Our solutions target federal investments that are paired with comprehensive permitting, regulatory, and licensing reforms to reduce barriers to deployment and spur private investment."
PROBLEMS WITH H.R. 3684
“Unfortunately, this bill does not lift barriers that make projects expensive and, in many cases, impossible.
“On energy, this bill’s rush-to-green will compromise our reliability and affordability.
“On broadband, this bill fails to target funds to unserved areas based on accurate FCC maps.
“It also ignores the most important policy for safer roads, a national framework for autonomous vehicles.
“Overall, it prioritizes spending and investment in urban centers at the expense of our more rural areas of the country. This is the wrong approach."
THE GATEWAY TO THE $4.3 TRILLION TAX AND SPENDING SPREE
“Finally, this bill paves the way for the radical, multi-trillion-dollar tax and spending spree that Speaker Pelosi is rewriting behind closed doors at this very moment.
“The programs and funding levels agreed to by the Senate will be massively expanded by her bill. We’ve already seen this with the provisions marked up by E&C.
“This tax and spending spree will radically expand the federal government’s command and control over Americans’ lives.
“It will raise costs on families and leave us less safe, less prosperous, and more dependent on foreign adversaries like China.
“Again, it’s the misguided policies in this Senate Infrastructure bill that will start us down this dangerous road.
“To win the future, I urge my colleagues to reject this bill and yield back."
