Ranking Member Kaptur Statement at the Full Committee Markup of the 2024 Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Funding Bill

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09), Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the Appropriations Committee's markup of the fiscal year 2024 Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies bill:

– As Prepared for Delivery –

We are here tonight to mark up the fiscal year 2024 Energy and Water Development bill. This bill focuses on mother nature – her awesome powers, and looming threats.

Energy and Water undergird our way of life. They are not optional – they are essential to sustaining life. I stand ready to cooperate on a solid bill when the majority produces a budget under regular order. That task is outside the purview of our subcommittee, but without it, unfortunately and regrettably, I must oppose this bill. Despite recently passing a bipartisan debt deal that included a path forward on spending levels, House Republicans have chosen to turn their back on those promises and cater to the most extreme minority of their party.

This bill has no chance to become law as it is written now. Americans don't want this standoff; they want us to work together to do our jobs. The process we are being subjected to is not fair to any Members here.

Now on particulars, the nondefense spending in this bill is $5.4 billion, or 22 percent, lower than last year's effective level. That is a radical reduction. That imperils our nation's imperative to become energy independent here at home in perpetuity. It repeals over $5 billion for critical energy programs from the Inflation Reduction Act that would have helped American families save money on their monthly energy bills, while in many places, like Ohio, natural gas rates are increasing because of Russia's impact on global supplies.

A big driver we have heard for these cuts is to reduce deficits and national debt. However, the Biden Administration and Congressional Democrats have "turned the debt curve" in the right direction by ushering in a growth economy.

Our nation is producing historic job creation – the strongest job growth in American history – with more people working, producing more revenues to pay down the debt. Coming out of the pandemic, America has really boomed back – what a credit to our people and institutions.

With the Biden Administration's significant economic growth, post-pandemic inflation – caused from too much money chasing too few goods due to pandemic-related supply chain issues – has been cut in half since last year. Gas prices average $3.58 currently, which is $1.39 less than a year ago. Our nation has bent the curve on debt, and the debt as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product has dropped the last two years.

You don't pay down legacy debt by cutting in the sinew of the nation by underfunding key Federal stimulus programs and stalling economic growth. You pay debts down by robust economic growth and job creation. Unfortunately, the proposed cuts by my Republican colleagues would take us in the opposite direction. They target energy programs that propel our economy forward.

At a time marked by extreme weather events and an increasing occurrence of natural disasters, this bill endangers efforts to address the climate crisis. It is undeniable that we are witnessing growing weather events stemming from climate change occurring in real time before our very eyes.

California faced more than 13 atmospheric river events, causing widespread flooding. Across the southwest, the severe drought has resulted in the Colorado River crisis. Just last week we saw a tornado strike my hometown of Toledo and earlier this month, we experienced dangerous pollution across the eastern U.S. from Canadian wildfires. Climate change is increasing the size, frequency, and intensity of all these natural disasters.

Those who believe they can ignore the forces of nature and the human species on it are really misguided and are treading on a very dangerous path.

In this era, we must place wisdom above timidity, invention above convention, and adaptation above ignorance.

Energy is critical to sustaining our way of life. We can't always see it, but when energy costs rise, it hits hard and it slams our economy. We feel it in our utility bills, and in the cost of our weekly grocery runs. When oil prices spike, a recession is certain to follow, guaranteed.

The Department of Energy has a proven track record. Fracking technologies developed by DOE has allowed us to be a natural gas exporter, and DOE research has driven down the prices of clean energy technologies by 40 to 95 percent since 2010. I am proud to represent the most significant domestic solar manufacturer in our nation.

However, their bill's extreme budget cuts would impede American progress, resulting in higher energy costs. Shortchanging these programs pushes our nation backwards – failing to modernize our nation's electric grids, failing to advance innovation relative to our global competitors in materials and manufacturing, and failing to build domestic end-to-end supply chains for jobs in America's new energy economy.

The bill's extreme cuts would also increase dependence on foreign adversaries for energy supplies. Energy is our future. We can't jeopardize our nation's vital future energy sources and supplies.

Stable, yearly investments are the bare minimum that the American people deserve from our Committee to keep critical programs like these on track. The Republicans' extreme cuts will be catastrophic and will set our economy back decades. I didn't run for office to pedal backwards.

In other areas of this bill, I continue to be troubled by the unsustainable spending in DOE's weapons program. While I wholeheartedly agree with Chair Fleischmann that NNSA needs to improve its program and project management given that more than half of its projects are over cost or behind schedule, we must also face the realities of future defense caps and begin making important decisions to prioritize within this program.

Further, I'm concerned how this bill cuts nuclear nonproliferation programs that reduce nuclear risks and counter the global challenge of nuclear proliferation.

Finally, the bill includes numerous controversial poison pill policy riders that show Republicans are not interested in bills that can gain bipartisan support and become law.

With that, I'll close my remarks, and I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill. I await the day when level heads prevail to so can return to our legislative process with discipline, openness, and regular order.

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