Scalise to Biden: Stop Begging Dictators for Oil and Start Producing in America
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Congressman August Pfluger (R-Texas), and Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) at today’s leadership press conference to discuss President Biden’s raids on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and his failed energy policies. Leader Scalise slammed President Biden for issuing a veto threat on the Strategic Production Response Act, which protects our country’s reserves in case of an emergency. Leader Scalise highlighted how President Biden’s policies have put our national security at risk and made the United States dependent on foreign nations for energy sources. Additionally, Leader Scalise called out the Biden Administration for shutting down U.S. energy production under the guise of climate activism when America produces the cleanest energy in the world.
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On House Republicans opening up the legislative process:
“We're also here, ready to go to work. And I think one of the most exciting parts of this new majority is that number one, we wanted to jettison the approach that Speaker Pelosi took where she shut down the ability for even committee chairs to be involved in addressing problems. Bills were written out of her office. She wouldn't even let chairmen amend major pieces of legislation in committees, not allowing rank-and-file members the ability to have an input in how the process works.”
On President Biden raiding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve:
“So this week, you're going to see another example of us opening things up and open rules, something we haven't seen in seven years here in Congress, on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve bill that says if the President's going to raid SPR, not during emergencies, but just in normal times, he at least has to show a plan for how he would replenish it. If you're going to take something away, you should show people how you're going to refill it.”
On President Biden threatening to veto House Republicans’ legislation:
“And what was interesting is that the President issued a veto threat on this bill yesterday, and it's important that you read the veto threat to understand just how misguided President Biden's approach to energy is. And in the veto threat, he actually said that his policies of raiding SPR have led to lower gas prices. Now, I don't know if the calculator is broken at the White House, but since [President] Biden has been in office, we've seen a 40 percent increase in gas prices. That's not lowering. It's actually increasing so dramatically that it's hurting hardworking families.”
On the need to reject Democrats’ far-left climate agenda:
“It's one of the reasons that you pay more for everything when you go to the grocery store when you go to the shopping mall – anything you buy now costs more money because of [President] Biden's policies. And he's trying to claim that that's actually lowered costs when in fact, it's increased costs. And families know that. They know if you have bad energy policy, it makes our country less safe.
“It's not like we're using less energy. We're actually using more energy. It's just now we become more reliant on foreign countries. There's no reason for that. We have the most abundant supply of energy here in America. And by the way, if you're concerned about carbon emissions, and from the sound of all those private jets going to Davos last week, it seems like those faux conservationists seem to like talking in foreign countries about it, but they don't practice it here in America.”
On how the Strategic Production Response Act bolsters U.S. energy production:
“Nobody makes energy in the world cleaner than the United States of America. So stop flying Air Force One to Saudi Arabia and other countries, begging Russia to produce energy, when we can make it here cleaner, better, lower in the cost, and creating really good jobs in America.
“But in the meantime, we've got a Strategic Petroleum Reserve for a reason. It’s there for emergencies. It's not there to mask the President's bad energy policies. It's there in times of need, and this President's raided more than 40 percent of that reserve. This bill just says if you're going to raid the reserve, show a plan on how you're going to replenish it. And why the White House would issue a veto threat on that boggles, I think, the mind of most common sense people. But unfortunately, that's what we've seen commonplace from this administration.
“Obviously, there are a lot of other issues like the debt ceiling that the Whip talked about that we are deeply interested in solving.”