{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=7AA76F8B-BFA2-4C5F-A987-AC4452E1A8D2", "Thune: Biden Must Embrace an All-of-the-Above Energy Policy", "2023-09-28", "2023", "2023-09", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "Click here to watch the video.\n\nWASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke on the Senate floor about President Biden\u2019s out-of-touch energy agenda that continues to undermine the nation\u2019s energy security. Thune noted that it\u2019s time for the president to take a more realistic approach to American energy and embrace an all-of-the-above energy policy that prioritizes both conventional and renewable sources.\n\nThune\u2019s remarks below (as prepared for delivery):\n\n\u201cMr. President, the Biden administration\u2019s war on affordable and reliable energy continues.\n\n\u201cThree weeks ago, the administration announced the cancellation of seven oil and gas leases in the small portion of ANWR \u2013 the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge \u2013 that is available for energy exploration and development.\n\n\u201cIt was just the latest move by the Biden administration to stifle conventional energy production.\n\n\u201cMr. President, in his State of the Union address this year, the president acknowledged, and I quote, \u2018\u201cWe\u2019re going to need oil for at least another decade\u201d \u2026 and beyond that.\u2019\n\n\u201cLet me just repeat that \u2013 and again, these are President Biden\u2019s own words:\n\n\u201c\u2018\u201cWe\u2019re going to need oil for at least another decade\u201d \u2026 and beyond that.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe president is right.\n\n\u201cWhile alternative energy is powering an increasing share of American energy production, we are nowhere near being able to rely exclusively on alternative energy technologies.\n\n\u201cWe are going to need conventional energy for quite a while yet.\n\n\u201cAnd, Mr. President, the best way to get that conventional energy is by developing the United States\u2019 abundant domestic resources in an environmentally responsible way.\n\n\u201cBut the president\u2019s anti-development strategy seems designed to force us to remain at the mercy of producers like OPEC and rely on expensive imports from sometimes dangerous or unstable countries and regions.\n\n\u201cMr. President, there are multiple problems with relying on foreign sources of oil \u2013 not the least of which is the potential for our oil dollars to fund oppressive regimes.\n\n\u201cBut even leaving that aside, depending on foreign oil sources threatens the stability and affordability of our oil supply.\n\n\u201cYou only need to look at the energy challenges and soaring costs countries like Germany have faced in the wake of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine to recognize how perilous it can be to rely on another country for energy.\n\n\u201cAnd anyone who is concerned about the environment should recognize that oil and gas production here in the U.S. is likely to be substantially more environmentally friendly than a lot of foreign production.\n\n\u201cMr. President, the president\u2019s war on domestic production isn\u2019t the only dangerous element of his energy strategy.\n\n\u201cAlso of deep concern is the president\u2019s apparent determination to force Americans to adopt electric vehicles on a broad scale within the next decade.\n\n\u201cAnd why is this so concerning?\n\n\u201cBecause our electric grid is nowhere near capable of supporting that kind of a widespread transition to electric vehicles.\n\n\u201cRising electricity demand is already stretching our grid, which has been weakened by the move away from conventional energy sources.\n\n\u201cIn an apparent response to the impact of overreaching Green New Deal-style policies, NERC, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, for the first time identified energy policy as a risk to grid reliability in its recent biennial report.\n\n\u201cDiscussing the move away from conventional sources of electricity, NERC found, and I quote, \u2018Collectively, the new resource mix can be more susceptible to long-term, widespread Extreme Events, such as extreme temperatures or sustained loss of wind/solar, that can impact the ability to provide sufficient energy as the fuel supply is less certain.\u2019\n\n\u201cIn February the PJM Interconnection \u2013 which manages a substantial part of eastern America\u2019s electric grid \u2013 released a report warning that fossil fuel plants are being forced to retire at a faster rate than new renewables can be brought on line, at a rate of roughly two to one.\n\n\u201cIn other words, Mr. President, we\u2019re rapidly approaching a situation in which we simply don\u2019t have the ability to keep up with current electricity demand.\n\n\u201cAdd charging for tens of thousands \u2013 or hundreds of thousands \u2013 of electric vehicles on top of that, and we could be looking at a future of widespread blackouts and brownouts \u2013 to say nothing of soaring electricity prices.\n\n\u201cI should also mention that the Biden administration\u2019s proposed distribution transformer rule, which would require a move to amorphous steel cores for new distribution transformers, would do the grid no favors.\n\n\u201cIn fact, it would be almost guaranteed to worsen supply chain issues and seriously slow grid maintenance and upgrades.\n\n\u201cAnd the supply chain backlog is a top concern for utilities and electric cooperatives, which are already facing headwinds from overreaching EPA regulations.\n\n\u201cMr. President, I don\u2019t need to tell anyone that utility bills for electricity and natural gas have risen dramatically since President Biden took office, as have gas prices.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a predictable outcome of the economic and energy policies he\u2019s pursued.\n\n\u201cAnd if his war on conventional energy continues, today\u2019s high prices could look cheap next to the energy prices of the future.\n\n\u201cMr. President, I\u2019m a strong \u2013 and longtime \u2013 supporter of renewable energy, and am proud to be from a state that is a top producer of ethanol and that derives a substantial portion of its electricity generation from renewable resources like wind and hydroelectric.\n\n\u201cBut the fact of the matter is, energy technology has simply not advanced to the point where we can rely solely or even mostly on renewables.\n\n\u201cAnd while the president may sometimes pay lip service to our continuing need for conventional energy, his actual policies seem to ignore this fact \u2013 and are setting us up for a future of higher prices, grid instability, and insufficient supply.\n\n\u201cThe president\u2019s policies have already resulted in a two-year-plus inflation crisis.\n\n\u201cIf he keeps going the way he\u2019s been going, his legacy may include an energy crisis as well.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:35:26Z"]], "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.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=7AA76F8B-BFA2-4C5F-A987-AC4452E1A8D2"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9135110303759575, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", 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