Hoyer: Americans Deserve to Have Their Government and Representatives Work to Bring Energy Costs Down, Not Up

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) delivered opening remarks at the House Appropriations Full Committee Markup of the FY 2027 Energy and Water Development bill. Below are a video and transcript of his remarks:

Click here to watch a video of his remarks.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank Ms. Kaptur for her work on this bill and her knowledge of the subject. I also want to thank Mr. Fleischmann. I want to thank Mr. Fleischmann in particular because I know, going forward, you are prepared to work with us so that we can have a bill supported by both sides of the aisle, which is good for the country, and I think good for the bill.

"The gentlelady from Ohio, Ms. Kaptur, has spoken extensively about America's energy independence. She is absolutely right: this bill is about our energy independence. However, if we were to adopt this bill as currently drafted, it would deepen - not relieve - our dependence on foreign energy because it not only fails to make the investments we need in diversifying our energy sources, but it also makes cuts to programs that support an all-of-the-above energy strategy, including a more resilient energy grid, which, as we all know, is failing. Because of President Trump's war of choice against Iran, Americans are paying more for energy, even as they were already struggling with higher prices on many goods resulting from the tariffs. As a matter of fact, I'm urging the construction of signs at every gas station in America [that say] 'Pay Trump's War Tax Here.' They're doing it big time. This bill matters because Americans deserve to have their government and their representatives work to bring energy costs down, not up, [and] not ignore the problem and tell them - you've heard me say this before - to the American consumer and the American people, American families: you're on your own.

"As the Ranking Member of this committee has pointed out, there's a 40% cut. The bill cuts $1.3 billion from the Department of Energy's Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation program. It cuts efforts to secure rare earth and other minerals essential to our manufacturing competitiveness. In the 117th Congress, when I was Majority Leader, we enacted the CHIPS and Science Act. I'm very proud of that achievement, and we ought all be proud of that achievement. It was led by Democrats, but it was a bipartisan effort. That bill made a generational investment in America's advanced manufacturing sector - critically important to our competitiveness and national security. But building microchips, semiconductors and advanced batteries, and other high demand products domestically, as we all know, requires secure supply chains for critical materials. We shouldn't be slashing funding for that effort by over $1 billion, period. I hope that in the final analysis, that will not happen because this bill would do just that. In addition, it cuts ARPA-E by 14% at a time when - given competition from China and other nations - we ought to be putting more resources into advanced research initiatives. We need to invest more, not less. We need to be more ready, not less ready.

"The majority's bill would also endanger our national security by cutting funding for nuclear nonproliferation efforts. The Ranking Member of the full committee and the Chair - the Ranking Member of this subcommittee have both mentioned that very critical issue. President Trump said he was attacking Iran in order to stop its regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon. That's an important goal. But it is hypocritical for Republicans to support President Trump's $30 billion, give or take, effort in the war, while simultaneously cutting funding that helps prevent regimes like Iran's from obtaining nuclear weapons. What don't I get here about this relationship? There are other problems with this bill, of course, which I'm certain will be discussed during today's markup, not limited to its cuts to environmental cleanup. I hope we can address these shortcomings through the very thoughtful amendments being put forward on the Democratic side. There is no reason, no reason why we cannot work together to get this bill right, and I yield back eleven seconds."