John Thune

01/14/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/14/2025 13:39

Thune Vows to Prioritize American Energy Security

Thune Vows to Prioritize American Energy Security

"One of the best things that we can do for our national security is to ensure that we have a stable, reliable, and affordable domestic energy supply."

January 14, 2025

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:

Thune's remarks below (as delivered):

"Mr. President, two months after Americans soundly rejected his presidency and its policies, President Biden is doubling down.

"Last week he unveiled a new front in his war on American energy - a sweeping ban on new offshore oil and gas development covering the entire East Coast and large portions of the West Coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and parts of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska.

"All told, he is closing off more than 625 million acres to new oil and gas development - on top of the bans that were already in place.

"Mr. President, the president's decision last week was particularly notable for its size - and for the clear snub to American voters.

"But this is just the latest in a long series of actions by the president hostile to conventional energy development.

"A pause on approvals of liquefied natural gas exports.

"A sharp decline in leases issued for oil and natural gas on public lands and waters.

"Restrictions on drilling in large areas of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

"The cancellation of leases in the Arctic.

"The administration's so-called Good Neighbor rule, designed to effectively force fossil-fuel-powered power plants to close.

"And, Mr. President, the list goes on.

"In short, President Biden has done everything he can to set us up for a future of diminished conventional energy production.

"And that's a problem.

"Because we are nowhere near being able to rely primarily on alternative energy.

"And if we don't have sufficient conventional energy, we are going to find ourselves in serious difficulties.

"For starters, Mr. President, insufficient conventional energy production could mean big increases in energy bills for American families.

"A lack of domestic supply - or the need to rely on expensive energy imports - would be likely to make things like gas and electricity far more expensive.

"Now, needless to say, that's the last thing that Americans are looking for after the steep increases in gas and electricity bills under the Biden administration.

"And apart from price, there is the even more concerning prospect of major supply shortages.

"I'm fairly sure Americans don't want to wait in long lines for gas - or face rationing - or wonder whether the lights are actually going to turn on when they hit the light switch.

"And then there are the national security implications.

"If we're not producing enough conventional energy here at home, we're going to have to make up the supply from abroad - most likely from hostile nations or volatile areas of the world.

"And as European countries learned the hard way after Russia invaded Ukraine, relying on hostile nations for your energy supply is not a winning proposition.

"Plus, foreign production can be far less environmentally friendly than producing oil and gas here at home.

"One of the best things that we can do for our national security is to ensure that we have a stable, reliable, and affordable domestic energy supply.

"Mr. President, fortunately the Biden administration is being supplanted by the Trump administration.

"And I know that President Trump is committed to reversing President Biden's anti-conventional-energy policies and unleashing American energy production.

"Hopefully it will be possible to undo much of the damage that President Biden has done and set us up for a secure energy future.

"But it's worth reflecting on what might have been - and could be again - if we don't have a Congress and a president committed to conventional as well as renewable energy development.

"And I hope that future administrations, Democrat as well as Republican, will make American energy security a priority."