Energy, Climate, & Grid Security

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) released the following statement regarding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) final transmission rule, which will increase costs for Americans across the country. “At a time when energy prices are already skyrocketing and more than half the nation is at elevated risk of forced blackouts, FERC’s new rule is reckless and alarming. This rule tramples on states’ authority over their energy infrastructure and will force some states to shoulder the costs for transmission lines with no actual benefits for their own communities, especially in rural areas. Rather than working to implement meaningful infrastructure permitting reforms, which would reduce energy costs for Americans, FERC’s decision—which advanced along partisan lines—only sets us further behind and continues to prevent the United States from reaching its full energy potential."

Washington, D.C. — Today, House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, released the following statements celebrating the enactment of H.R. 1042 , legislation to ban Russian uranium imports into the United States. “It is time for America to end it's over reliance on Russia's uranium supply, which has stunted our domestic nuclear fuel infrastructure and poses a risk to our energy and national security,” said Chair Rodgers. “I commend Senator John Barrasso for his leadership to shepherd this important bill through the Senate, which will ban fuel imports from Russia and help restore American nuclear leadership and fuel security for decades to come." “Today, we officially ended Russia’s chokehold on America’s uranium supply,” said Senator Barrasso. “I want to thank Chair Rodgers for her leadership in getting this critical bill signed into law. Banning imports of Russian uranium will jumpstart America’s nuclear fuel industry, further defund Russia’s war machine, and help revive American uranium production for decades to come. As our nation’s leading uranium producer, Wyoming is ready to do our part to power American reactors with American nuclear fuel. Russia’s dominance of the world’s nuclear fuel supply chain is coming to an end.”  BACKGROUND: Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers introduced H.R. 1042 on February 14, 2023. Senator John Barrasso introduced companion legislation S. 763 on March 9, 2023. The House passed H.R. 1042 by voice vote on December 11, 2023. The Senate passed H.R. 1042 by unanimous consent on April 30, 2024.  H.R. 1042 being signed into law is a necessary prerequisite to unlocking the private capital needed to build a domestic nuclear fuel supply and aligns with the Nuclear Fuel Security Act , legislation to help bolster our domestic uranium and advanced nuclear fuel supplies, which was included in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 and signed into law last December.  CLICK HERE to read the text of the bill. 

On the House Floor: H.R. 6192 to reform the Energy Policy Conservation Act The Biden administration is waging war on American energy, and this war is making its way into Americans’ homes. President Biden and Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Granholm are sacrificing peoples’ ability to purchase affordable and reliable products for their homes in their pursuit of a radical rush-to-green agenda. Housing prices and utility bills are already too high for Americans, but that isn’t stopping the administration from continuing to impose burdensome regulations. Since taking office, the Biden administration has been attacking common and popular household appliances in the name of “energy efficiency.” In fact, last year the Biden administration proposed a ban on gas stoves as part of its war against fossil fuels. More recently, the DOE has announced plans to regulate washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, and more, which is forcing people to spend more for less reliable options. Even worse, these new regulations fail to accomplish their stated goals as they will NOT save a significant amount of energy and are NOT cost-effective. For example, the DOE’s own analysis finds that efficiency mandates on dishwashers could increase the upfront cost by 28% and it could take consumers 12 years to payback the increased costs on a product that may only last 7-12 years.    This comes at a time when Americans are already being crushed by rising costs thanks to Bidenflation. By continuing to double down on policies like these, the Biden administration is showing just how out of touch they are with the financial struggles the vast majority of Americans are feeling. In contrast, House Republicans are leading to protect Americans from federal mandates that result in minimal energy savings while significantly driving up costs. Today, the House will consider H.R. 6192, the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act , led by Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), to preserve the affordability, availability, and quality of the household appliances Americans rely on every day. Here’s why H.R. 6192 is important: Enacted in 1975, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) provides specific criteria the DOE must follow in order to propose a new appliance efficiency standard. The DOE may only propose a new standard if it results in a significant conservation of energy, is technologically feasible, and economically justified. The Biden administration has consistently ignored these critical consumer protections by proposing and finalizing standards that violate the statute. H.R. 6192 would prevent this abuse by: Eliminating unnecessary and duplicative rulemaking requirements  Authorizing the Secretary of Energy to amend or revoke a standard if it increases costs for consumers, does not result in significant energy or water savings, is not technologically feasible, or results in the unavailability of product  Protecting affordability by requiring the DOE to consider the cost to low-income households and the full-life cycle cost of appliances when determining if the new standard is economically justified  Establishing minimum thresholds for energy or water savings that must be achieved before imposing new standards  Prohibiting the Secretary of Energy from banning products based on what type of fuel that product uses (no natural gas bans)  Bottomline:  At a time when the American people are struggling under the crushing weight of Bidenflation, the last thing they need is more government mandates that drive up costs and fail to achieve their stated mission.

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee Chair Jeff Duncan (R-SC) sent letters to Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol regarding IEA's shift away from its core energy security mission towards radical climate policy advocacy.  BACKGROUND: The IEA’s new climate agenda and flawed projections fail to provide participating governments with accurate and impartial data to make decisions and directly influenced the administration’s decision to restrict U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.  This agenda will have a significant impact on American LNG production, domestic energy prices, and threatens our allies.  U.S. LNG exports have spurred European countries to construct LNG import facilities in order to further wean themselves off of Russian natural gas.  Despite this, Europe continues to import a record amount of LNG from Russia, importing 40 percent more today than it did before the invasion of Ukraine.  Turning away from America’s tremendous energy potential risks U.S. energy security and the security of our allies.  KEY EXCERPTS FROM IEA LETTER: “The IEA was established in 1974 to ensure the security of oil supplies following the disruptions created by the Arab oil embargo. Congress has authorized U.S. government agencies to participate in the IEA to provide authoritative data and impartial analysis of world energy markets, to help coordinate responses to energy supply disruptions, and to strengthen the energy security of the U.S. and its allies. We are concerned that the IEA has lost focus of its energy security mission and has instead shifted attention and resources to climate policy advocacy—to the detriment of its core mission.” CLICK HERE to read the full letter to IEA Executive Director Dr. Birol.   CLICK HERE to read the full letter to Energy Secretary Granholm. 

Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee Chair Jeff Duncan (R-SC) sent a letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm regarding the Department’s recent announcements to push for the adoption of expensive new energy codes. Rather than improve people’s lives and the environment, this latest rush-to-green policy is being implemented by the Biden administration to appease its radical environmental allies and will only increase housing prices and utility bills for millions of American. BACKGROUND: On September 19, 2023, DOE announced a $400 million program to implement new building energy codes.  On December 18, 2023, DOE announced another new $530 million program to implement new building energy codes.  The Biden administration has repeatedly advanced efforts to impose burdensome energy efficiency standards that would raise costs for Americans.  “Zero energy” building codes, which the grants may support, would force buildings to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in favor of more expensive, but less reliable electric options. KEY EXCERPTS: “In the U.S., building codes are predominately and appropriately regulated by State and local jurisdictions – not the Federal government. In recent years, activist environmental groups have begun pressuring international organizations, Federal agencies, States, and local jurisdictions to develop and enforce 'model' building energy codes that mandate expensive, one-sized-fits-all construction requirements and restrict fuel choices, even when it is not technologically feasible or cost-effective for the homeowner or tenant.  “State and local governments should not be forced to adopt international energy codes that set efficiency requirements, ban the use of natural gas, or require expensive electrification retrofits for appliances and electric vehicle charging. We are concerned that the DOE’s building codes grant programs will exacerbate the current housing affordability crisis and limit energy choices for the American people by encouraging the adoption of such one-sized-fits-all building codes that are not appropriate or cost-effective for all income levels and regions of the country.” CLICK HERE to read the full letter. 

Washington, D.C. — The House Energy and Commerce Committee is continuing its oversight of the deadly Maui fires that happened in August 2023. In a new letter to Hawaiian Electric CEO Shelee Kimura, Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), and Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Chair Jeff Duncan (R-SC) have asked for clarification on testimony and documents provided to the Committee. KEY LETTER EXCERPT : “We appreciate your testimony before the Committee on Energy and Commerce at our September 28, 2023, hearing titled, 'Investigating the Role of Electric Infrastructure in the Catastrophic Maui Wildfires' and for your cooperation in supplying additional information in response to our October 13, 2023, additional questions for the hearing record (QFRs). We continue to keep the people of Maui in our thoughts as recovery efforts continue.   “As we continue our investigation, questions persist both about the events on the days the wildfires occurred (August 7 and 8, 2023) and about Hawaiian Electric Company and its subsidiaries’ (collectively, HECO) 'Wildfire Mitigation Plan' (WMP). For example, in HECO’s October 27, 2023, response to the Committee’s QFRs, you described the weather updates that HECO received on the dates of the wildfires. However, you also stated that HECO 'did not learn until after the windstorm had passed that the winds had been higher than forecast.'  “Additionally, we continue to have questions about the WMP and the timeline of its creation and development. HECO stated that it began developing the WMP in 2019 and finalized it in 2023. However, the Hawaii Public Utility Commission revealed it had not seen the document prior to the fires and only learned of its existence when HECO referenced it in HECO’s September 19, 2023, response to the Committee’s August 30, 2023, letter requesting more information about HECO’s wildfire mitigation measures.  “As fires involving electrical equipment continue to threaten lives, property, and energy reliability, the Committee has a responsibility to understand how these disasters unfold and how they can be prevented, so we can utilize this knowledge and findings in developing and overseeing the implementation of our national energy infrastructure policies.”  The Chairs have requested a response to their additional questions by April 3, 2024.  CLICK HERE to read the full letter.  TIMELINE OF INVESTIGATION:   August 30, 2023 : E&C Republican Leaders Open Investigation into Hawaiian Electric Following Deadly Maui Fires  September 14, 2023 : Chair Rodgers and Griffith Announce Oversight Hearing on Maui Fires, Invite Utilities and State Energy Officials to Appear  September 28, 2023 : Energy and Commerce Committee Oversight Subcommittee Hosts Hearing on Maui Fires  October 18, 2023 : Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Griffith Presses Maui Officials for Additional Information Following Oversight Hearing on Catastrophic Fires