Pallone Blasts Republicans for Third Vote on LNG Bill that Would Enrich China and Force Americans to Pay the Price with Higher Energy Bills

Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) delivered the following remarks on the House floor today in opposition to H.R. 7176, Republicans' so-called "Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act:"

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 7176. This bill is nothing more than a handout to Big Oil and Gas that will enrich our adversaries, including China, and force American families to pay the price with higher energy bills.

It removes a requirement that the Department of Energy (DOE) first determine Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) exports to be in the public interest before approving export applications. This defies logic. The Republican bill assumes that all LNG exports are automatically in the public interest. This is utterly absurd considering there is widespread consensus among researchers and economists that increasing LNG exports directly leads to higher natural gas prices here at home.

Americans know this reality all too well because they have felt it firsthand. Our LNG exports quadrupled over the last five years, and during that same time, in 2022, natural gas prices more than tripled.

Make no mistake: if this bill ever became law, Americans would pay more for the gas that heats their homes and keeps their lights on. It's an affront to middle-class families who cannot afford to deal with more fossil fuel price volatility. They are tired of our energy prices being manipulated by our adversaries simply because Republicans are in a mad rush to send it all abroad.

Republicans also claim to be tough on China, I hear this every day in the Energy and Commerce Committee. But this bill is a gift to China. In 2021, China was the second-largest recipient of American LNG, and Chinese LNG purchasers have continued to snap up any long-term deal they can from American exporters. By removing the requirement that our exports be in Americans’ best interests, this bill would allow China and other adversaries to purchase even more of our energy to use against us.

Thankfully, the Biden Administration is taking a different approach, one that prioritizes the needs of the American people rather than Big Oil and Gas. Last month, the Administration announced a temporary pause on new LNG export authorizations while the Department of Energy confirms they are in Americans’ interests. This is just common sense. Before we send our energy resources abroad, it's only right that we first confirm doing so will benefit Americans.

Anyone who says this pause is a “ban” on LNG exports is peddling in blatant disinformation. The temporary pause does not affect current exports and does not affect exports from facilities that are under construction. It doesn’t even affect exports from facilities that haven’t begun construction but are fully permitted.

If the Department of Energy never approved another permit, our LNG exports are still on track to triple from now until the end of the decade – more than enough to ensure Europe gets all the gas it needs.

And I want to note how ridiculous it is to have the same Republicans who refuse to support aid for Ukraine lecture us on being good allies. House Democrats are demanding that the House vote on legislation that has now passed the Senate that would provide funding to ensure Ukraine can continue to protect its democracy from Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression.  In stark contrast, House Speaker Johnson is shamefully blocking this urgent national security funding, siding with Pro-Putin extreme Republicans. If House Republicans want to be good allies, they should join us in demanding a vote on that critical national security funding.

Mr. Speaker, ensuring that LNG exports are in the American people’s best interest is something we should all want. Instead, we are here considering a bill that does the opposite for a third time because Republicans are fresh out of ideas and resorting to bringing up old, tired bills that stand no chance of ever becoming law.

Time and again, they have proven completely dysfunctional and incapable of governing, and the fact they’re making us vote on this same bill for a third time is a testament to that. With nothing else to bring to the floor, they want to distract from the reality that they’ve achieved nothing to improve the lives of the American people.

This is just another Republican bill that puts polluters over people, and therefore I urge my colleagues to oppose it. And with that I reserve the balance of my time.

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