{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/energy-policy", "ENERGY POLICY", "2021-02-03", "2021", "2021-02", "Republican", "Senate", "MS", "Cindy Hyde-Smith", "H001079", "www.hydesmith.senate.gov", "hydesmith", "https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/newsroom", "scraper", "ENERGY POLICY\n\nCongressional Record Vol. 167, No. 20\n\n(Senate - February 3, 2021) PDF\n\nMrs. HYDE-SMITH. Mr. President, I rise to discuss the importance of\n\nthe American energy sector and my concern about President Biden's\n\nExecutive orders regarding domestic energy policy.\n\nIn the first hours of the Biden administration, the President signed\n\nan Executive order revoking the Presidential permit of the Keystone XL\n\nPipeline, a project projected to add 11,000 American jobs this year and\n\npump $1.6 billion in wages into our economy. The new administration's\n\nactions ceased construction work, nullified contracts issued last\n\nOctober to hire an estimated 7,000 union construction workers, and\n\ndisappointed our Canadian ally.\n\nIt is deeply concerning that our national energy policy should take\n\nsuch a dramatic turn away from pro-jobs and pro-American energy\n\nindependence. Americans' unemployment rate is already in a precarious\n\nsituation due to the ongoing global pandemic, and I fail to see how\n\ndestroying more jobs unifies our Nation.\n\nMississippians and Americans in the energy industry have worked\n\ntirelessly for our Nation, and in 2019 America became energy\n\nindependent for the first time in 60 years. It is thanks to our energy\n\nworkers that we are no longer forced to rely on foreign powers who do\n\nnot wish America well.\n\nTerminating the Keystone XL Pipeline was just the start of what we\n\nnow recognize to be a concerted effort to bring down fossil fuel\n\nresources in our Nation. The administration's subsequent ban on new oil\n\nand gas leases on Federal lands will result in an estimated $33.5\n\nbillion in lost GDP across Western States in President Biden's first\n\nterm and risk over $8.8 billion annually in conservation funding.\n\nOil and natural gas from Federal lands accounted for 6.4 percent and\n\n9.2 percent, respectively, of the Nation's total production. Jobs and\n\neconomic opportunity are being carelessly stripped away.\n\nAnd while my State may not be burned by the Federal leasing ban as\n\nbadly as Wyoming, New Mexico, and other Western States, Mississippi\n\nwill certainly feel the heat from this. Mississippi has a significant\n\nenergy infrastructure which provides thousands of jobs and hundreds of\n\nmillions of dollars in economic output.\n\nThe Gulf of Mexico is one of the Nation's most important regions for\n\nenergy resources and accounts for a large portion of our crude oil and\n\nFederal offshore natural gas production.\n\nMy State is home to the 1,443-megawatt Grand Gulf nuclear power\n\nstation in Port Gibson, MS, which is the largest reactor in terms of\n\ngenerating capacity in the United States. We host a large petroleum\n\nrefinery, a natural gas processing plant, and a liquefied natural gas\n\nterminal located along the State's Gulf of Mexico coastline.\n\nAdditionally, the Red Hills surface coal mine provides lignite coal\n\nto the Red Hills Power Plant, creating jobs and generation capacity in\n\nNorth Mississippi. Along with these great sources, Mississippi has\n\ngrowing investments in natural gas and in solar power.\n\nDestructive policies that make fuel sources more difficult to obtain\n\ncould greatly harm economic growth and raise the cost of energy prices,\n\nwhich will ultimately harm low-income families and many small\n\nbusinesses, not just in Mississippi but across the entire Nation.\n\nMy concerns are not based on any objections to green or renewable\n\nenergy sources. I believe the American people want balanced national\n\nenergy policies that promote growth and price stability. However, the\n\nearly actions of the Biden administration are cause for concern and not\n\na source of unity. They signal a troubling willingness to sacrifice\n\nstrategic industries that are important to our economy and for the jobs\n\nthat they provide.\n\nThis body should take into consideration important legislation such\n\nas the POWER Act and the Conservation Funding Protection Act, which\n\nwould allow Congress to enact responsible energy policies and move away\n\nfrom policies landed in executive edits.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:26:35Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/energy-policy"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9156600572168827, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}