{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=9C67F98E-0665-41F5-8BBB-C5E4B5470745", "Thune: Energy Security is National Security", "2023-11-14", "2023", "2023-11", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed how President Biden\u2019s misguided energy policies have put the United States on a dangerous trajectory that jeopardizes national security. Thune noted that the president should pursue an all-of-the-above energy policy that would reduce the United States\u2019 reliance on foreign sources of energy and strengthen America\u2019s defense against global threats.\n\nThune\u2019s remarks below (as prepared for delivery):\n\n\u201cMr. President, recent events \u2013 notably Putin\u2019s war of aggression in Ukraine and Hamas\u2019 deadly October 7 attack on Israel \u2013 have thrown the importance of national security into sharp relief.\n\n\u201cAt its most basic level, of course, national security means having a strong military \u2013 a fighting force that can meet and defeat any threat it\u2019s called upon to face.\n\n\u201cBut there are other key components of national security as well.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s border security.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s economic security.\n\n\u201cAnd there\u2019s energy security.\n\n\u201cWhat do I mean by energy security, Mr. President?\n\n\u201cI mean a strong and stable energy supply that does not depend on imports from hostile countries or unstable regions of the world.\n\n\u201cYou only have to look at the soaring costs and supply challenges countries like Germany have faced in the wake of Russia\u2019s attack on Ukraine to realize that relying on energy from other countries \u2013 particularly hostile countries \u2013 can leave a country in a deeply vulnerable position.\n\n\u201cMr. President, the United States had been doing a good job of maintaining our energy security.\n\n\u201cWe developed domestic resources, both renewable and conventional, which meant that we were able to minimize our reliance on other countries.\n\n\u201cBut President Biden upended that trajectory with his singular focus on Green New Deal policies.\n\n\u201cAnd now we\u2019re at an inflection point, Mr. President.\n\n\u201cPresident Biden\u2019s energy policies have put us on a dangerous trajectory \u2013 one that could easily result in significant disruptions to our domestic supply.\n\n\u201cFor starters, there\u2019s the president\u2019s notable hostility to conventional energy production.\n\n\u201cSince the day he took office, President Biden has pursued an agenda that is hostile to conventional sources of energy \u2013 namely, oil and natural gas.\n\n\u201cHe set the tone on his first day in office when he canceled the Keystone XL pipeline \u2013 a pipeline project that was already underway and that was to be paired with $1.7 billion in private investment in renewable energy to fully offset its operating emissions.\n\n\u201cHe also almost immediately froze new oil and gas leases on federal lands \u2013 sending a clear signal to oil and gas producers that his administration would be reluctant to work with them to increase American energy production.\n\n\u201cAnd he\u2019s continued along the same lines ever since \u2013 with a recent notable example being his 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\u201cThe problem with the president\u2019s actions, of course, is that our nation is nowhere near being able to end our reliance on conventional energy.\n\n\u201cI am a big \u2013 and longtime \u2013 supporter of renewable energy, but we are simply not in a position yet where we can rely predominantly on alternative energy technologies.\n\n\u201cThe president himself admitted as much in his most recent State of the Union address, but that hasn\u2019t stopped him from pursuing policies that seem designed to eventually force our nation to rely on other countries for oil and gas \u2013 with all the attendant security and economic risks that brings.\n\n\u201cAnd the president\u2019s energy agenda isn\u2019t limited to canceling oil and gas leases, or discouraging investment in conventional energy production.\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 February the PJM Interconnection \u2013 which manages a substantial part of eastern America\u2019s electric grid \u2013 warned 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\u201cAnd it goes without saying that a nation that can\u2019t reliably keep its lights on or its homes heated is a nation that is less than secure.\n\n\u201cTo make matters worse, the Biden administration has proposed a rule that would severely constrain the supply chain for distribution transformers \u2013 a critical component of America\u2019s electric grid.\n\n\u201cStakeholders are already facing significant backlogs for these critical components, whether they are trying to recover from a storm, improve the grid, or tie in new development.\n\n\u201cAnd the Biden administration\u2019s proposed rule would guarantee that these problems would get worse.\n\n\u201cMr. President, recent events remind us that we can\u2019t take our nation\u2019s security for granted.\n\n\u201cWe have to work constantly to maintain our nation\u2019s strength \u2013 both to ensure that we are always prepared to meet any threat, and because being strong is the best way to discourage any threat.\n\n\u201cAnd energy security is an essential part of maintaining that strength.\n\n\u201cAnd if we want to maintain our energy security \u2013 if we want to maintain the kind of energy supply that can not only deal with all domestic energy demands but will leave us free from overreliance on other countries \u2013 we can\u2019t keep heading down the path the Biden administration has put us on.\n\n\u201cI hope the president and his allies will realize this before it\u2019s too late.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:49:58Z"]], "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=9C67F98E-0665-41F5-8BBB-C5E4B5470745"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 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