Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) voted against H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act.

“I agree that it is time for Congress to work not only to lower energy costs but also to strengthen our energy security, ensure and enable domestic energy production of all kinds, and secure our energy future,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.  “But the bill before the House, H.R. 1, does not do that.  Because it contains unworkable provisions that create unrealistic deadlines, threaten our national security, repeal key environmental and public health protections and programs, including the historic work that we did just in the last Congress on the Inflation Reduction Act, I could not vote for it as presented.  It is time we put policy over politics and focus on crafting smart energy policy, and I am ready to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do so.” 

Prior to the vote, Congresswoman Fletcher spoke during debate on the House flooron H.R. 1.  

Congresswoman Fletcher has identified and supported efforts to address several of the issues contained in H.R. 1, and looks forward to working with her colleagues to reform the permitting process to build new energy infrastructure, ensure continued exports of oil and gas, ensure completion of a five-year leasing plan, increase offshore revenue sharing with coastal states, and address other energy issues.

If enacted, H.R. 1 would: 

• Create unworkable timelines for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) permitting process.  In order to streamline the permitting process, we need to set a realistic length for NEPA reviews, but the timelines proposed in H.R. 1—some as short as 60 days—would hinder agencies and departments from conducting a legitimate review of environmental concerns, right of way issues, and anything raised through community engagement.  

• Eliminate the Methane Emissions Reduction Program, a historic program aimed at tackling one of the most potent contributors to climate change.  This program includes realistic emissions targets, a workable timeline for compliance, and $1.7 billion in grant funding for operators to install technology to help address climate change.  Congresswoman Fletcher worked on key parts of the Methane Emissions Reduction Program, including: 
  • Negotiating a phased-in methane emissions fee, rather than a fee that would take immediate effect.  Understanding that mitigation technology can take time to permit, deploy, and bring online, a phased-in fee makes timelines more realistic and workable. 
  • Providing $1.7 billion in grant funding through the Environmental Protection Agency so that smaller industry operators have access to capital to deploy emission reduction technologies.  This incentivizes methane waste productions not just through penalties, but also through grants and innovation. 

• Repeal key environmental and public health regulations.  
  • H.R. 1 would eliminate the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a first-of-its-kind program created in the Inflation Reduction Act to provide competitive grants to mobilize financing and leverage private capital for clean energy and climate projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially in underserved and disadvantaged communities.  Getting rid of this program would take away a proactive tool for communities to address environmental and public health issues in their own neighborhoods and disincentivize companies to plan and develop new clean energy projects.  
  • By loosening chemical safety standards in the Clean Water Act and the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, H.R. 1 erodes protections to ensure clean drinking water. 
  • And by weakening provisions in the Clean Air Act, H.R. 1 undermines measures to safeguard clean air. 

Additionally, H.R. 1 eliminates the Home Energy Rebate Program—which provides tax credits for families to make energy efficient home upgrades—and changes protections for the preservation of national parks and public lands, threatening these significant conservation and recreation spaces. 

Representing the energy capital of the world, Congresswoman Fletcher has worked to craft smart energy policy.  Earlier this year, she reintroduced the bipartisan Reinvesting in Shoreline Economies and Ecosystems (RISEE) Act, H.R. 913, which strengthens a coastal revenue sharing program while incentivizing new clean energy projects.  Earlier this month, she reintroduced the American Gas for Allies Act, H.R. 1497, to allow U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to receive expedited approval from the Department of Energy to export LNG from the U.S. to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries.  

In 2020, Congresswoman Fletcher led bipartisan legislation, H.R. 6580, to support the energy industry by providing funding to purchase crude oil produced in the U.S. for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.  A member of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, she sits on the Energy, Climate, & Grid Security Subcommittee and Co-Chairs the Natural Gas Caucus.