Ranking Member Marcy Kaptur Statement at the Subcommittee Markup of the 2024 Energy and Water Development Funding Bill

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

–As Prepared for Delivery–

We are here today to mark up the fiscal year 2024 Energy and Water Development bill. Energy and water undergird our way of life. They are not optional they are essential to sustain life.

Unfortunately, I must oppose this bill. Despite recently passing a bipartisan debt deal that included a path forward on spending levels, the majority party has 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 stand off; they want us to work together to do our jobs.

The nondefense spending in this bill is $5.4 billion, or 22 percent, lower than last year’s effective level. It includes untenable offsets to hide the harmful cuts this allocation would require. It repeals over $5 billion for critical climate programs from the Inflation Reduction Act that would have helped American families save money on their monthly energy bills.

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. And just last week, 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 the universe are treading on a very dangerous path. In this era, we must place wisdom above timidity, invention above convention, and adaptation above ignorance.

America has always been a land of opportunity, not fear. Our generation must meet the challenges of a new day, cognizant of the past but not wed to old systems that worked in a nation of 35 million people. As our nation heads to 350 million persons —10 times more—and the world to 8 billion people—the Earth is telling us there is a reckoning. We must pay attention to her signals and act accordingly.

Energy is critical to sustaining our way of life. We can’t see it, but when energy costs rise, we feel it throughout the economy. We feel it in our utility bills, and in the cost of our weekly grocery runs. When oil prices spike, a recession follows.

The Department of Energy has a proven track record. Fracking technologies developed by DOE 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.

The bill’s extreme budget cuts would impede these important programs, resulting in higher energy costs and increased dependence on foreign adversaries for energy supplies. Energy is our future, and we can’t jeopardize our nation’s vital future energy supplies.

In other areas of this bill, I continue to be troubled by the unsustainable spending in DOE’s weapons program. We must face the realities and begin making important decisions to prioritize within this program. Further, it cuts nuclear nonproliferation programs that reduce nuclear risks and counter the global challenge of nuclear proliferation.

Additionally, 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 urge my colleagues to oppose this bill.