Offshore Wind for Territories Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6665) to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to apply to territories of the United States, to establish offshore wind lease sale requirements, to provide dedicated funding for coral reef conservation, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to read this part.

From the whooshing in the western Pacific to the windswept waters of the Atlantic, a wonderful wealth of offshore wind exists. While this wonderful resource weapon withstood the tests of time in Europe, we have waffled in our worldview on wind power.

But worry not. With this worthy bill, we will warrant our Nation's territories--from Guam to Puerto Rico--will no longer be wasting their overwater reward and will be powered with the waterproof windmills.

Now I have to stop because I did that for the staffer who wrote it. Obviously, I don't do this kind of stuff, and I lost the bet.

However, despite the alliteration that went there, this is still a good bill which will move us forward in energy production, especially in our territories of the United States.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I obviously urge my colleagues to support it and move us forward, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman could at least put some kind of rhyme in there.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Puerto Rico (Miss Gonzalez-Colon) to speak on this particular bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves).

Will the gentleman yield?

Yes.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate those who have spoken on this particular piece of legislation.

Mr. Graves, I didn't want to be too flippant, although I was, does raise a major point of concern that, on Federal lands and on Federal waters, how we deal with the resources that are there is significant, and they play a role in the entire Nation.

But we also have to recognize the role that those States and territories play where we find those particular resources, whether it be offshore on Federal waters or onshore on Federal lands. For us to review that policy is a wise thing we should do.

I also am appreciative of the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico for explaining the significance this has for all those areas that have not yet been considered as we deal with a new kind of alternative energy, in this case, wind power. That is significant, and it plays a significant role in the future development of those territories that are using and in which the energy and the cost of energy is more significant than you find on the mainland, and yet we need to find a way to build their economies by having an affordable and renewable and reliable energy source coming in the future.

Because of that, I find this to be a significant piece of legislation. I urge adoption, Mr. Speaker, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to come speak in support of this legislation.

I think this is important legislation to ensure that our territories can share in the revenues from offshore energy production. I believe the States and I believe the territories should share in that revenue production.

Mr. Speaker, I think there is an important discussion for us to be having here. Yes, as the gentleman from Arizona noted, this will be contributing to our Nation's energy production, which is a good thing. It is generating a revenue stream based on market forces, which is a good thing, and it does, Mr. Speaker, return a portion of the revenues back to the territories or the adjacent host's entity of this energy production, and it invests dollars in conservation.

Now, to contrast, Mr. Speaker, the majority of the energy in the United States is derived from oil and gas. That is how the majority of this Nation's economy is powered.

There are a handful of States that provide that energy. For example, as this bill pertains only to offshore in Federal waters, in the offshore you have the State of Alaska represented by our dean. You have the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana--my home State--Texas, and, Mr. Speaker, the State of California. Those are all States that produce offshore energy.

You have a lot of States that are producing onshore energy with the shale revolution in Texas, in the Dakotas, in Pennsylvania, in Ohio, in Louisiana and other areas. We are producing onshore production as well. Once again, this is fueling our Nation's economy, and all 50 States are benefiting from this.

But, Mr. Speaker, going back to the offshore, we provided about $200 billion from energy production in the offshore to the United States Treasury. With this bill, on the first dollar of energy produced in the Federal offshore from wind energy in the territories, a portion of it is going to be shared with the territory and going to be shared for conservation activities. Yet the disparity, or the opposite, happens for onshore.

For onshore energy, what they do is they take the initial dollars and they put it toward conservation, land conservation in other States--not where this energy is produced, but in other States.

The gentleman from Arizona even noted that there are impacts from offshore energy production. I agree with him; there are impacts. Most of them have been historic impacts.

But for us to take this revenue stream and put it toward other States and not where this energy is produced, when you are talking about $200 billion, Mr. Speaker, that is wrong. That is why we have introduced

I yield to the gentleman.

I couldn't have said it better myself, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, with that, I will again say I support this legislation. I think the policy concept of revenue sharing from energy production is a solid one, but we have got to make sure that we don't have conflicting policies when we talk about fossil fuels versus alternative energy streams.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the honorable Delegate from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) for taking this initiative to present H.R. 6665, and Chairman Bishop and Ranking Member Grijalva for having moved this legislation to continue to extend equal treatment to the American community of citizens in the territories.

It has been a privilege to join in on bipartisan proposals for applying, uniformly, the Federal laws for the benefit of the people of our territories. Equal treatment for all American communities is a goal that should be shared by all in this Congress, and we will continue to seek it.

America's continued prosperity requires a modernized energy system that makes the best use of all the domestic resources available, including expanding use of wind in our domestic waters.

Puerto Rico has directly experienced the need to have better energy infrastructure in place. Today, only 2 percent of our energy in Puerto Rico comes just from renewable sources. Our plans for long-term recovery of our electric grid include a much higher reliance on renewable energy to reduce environmental impact and increase efficiency.

Since, today, many of the territories rely on expensive diesel- or fuel oil-generation systems, an integration of greater diversity of generating sources will provide them greater flexibility in their development plans.

At the same time, however, this upgrade on our generation's sources should be conducted in each jurisdiction based on its technical, economic, and environmental viability and rely more on private investment participation instead of taxpayer funding.

This legislation will direct the Department of the Interior to study what is the viability of Continental Shelf wind resources off the shore of the territories. If the result is positive, then the Department of the Interior will initiate the process of auctioning the leasing rights for such projects on the same basis as for the waters outside the States. If such development proceeds, 2.5 percent of the revenues collected will be reserved for coral reef protection and 37.5 percent for the respective territory for environmental remediation uses.

This way is the better way to develop energy resources and provide, also, funding for the territories to take their own measures for securing better environmental conditions. I expect the House will support this effort to bring uniform treatment to all jurisdictions under the American flag in an important area of policy, which is energy, and open up investment and development opportunities to all of us.

Once again, I want to thank my colleague from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) and the chairman of the committee for having this bill, and, of course, for their support and legacy on behalf of equal treatment for Puerto Rico and the territories.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this bill provides a number of benefits for the territories of the United States: Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It adds them to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, allowing them to begin developing offshore wind in their waters, a potentially crucial source of new clean energy for their residents. It sets up a system by which the territories receive a share of the revenue generated by any new offshore wind development.

Currently, our territories rely primarily on imported diesel for generating electricity, putting them at high risk of supply disruptions and forcing

residents there to pay some of the highest electricity rates anywhere in the country, particularly when oil prices spike.

As hurricanes and extreme weather events continue to challenge the energy security of these territories, developing offshore wind will make for more resilient communities, decrease dependency on fossil fuels, and potentially bring electricity prices down significantly.

However, because the territories are currently not covered by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, there is no legal mechanism for putting wind turbines in the waters off their coastlines. This bill fixes this longstanding unfairness, offers them a share of any revenues generated by offshore wind, and also protects their coastlines by leaving them off of the offshore oil and gas leasing process.

Additionally, some of the revenues generated by this bill are allocated to the Coral Reef Conservation Program, preserving, sustaining, and restoring the condition of coral reef ecosystems that, in many cases, are crucial for the environment and tourism economy of these same territories.

H.R. 6665 is a commonsense bill for the growth and success of U.S. territories and the environment, while also providing new sources of clean, carbon-free energy.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.