Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bipartisan bill with Representative Castor, the Ratepayer Protection Act.

America is in a period of incredible growth. Manufacturing jobs are returning to our shores. We are investing in American energy again. We are leading the charge for technological innovation. With that growth, our demand for energy is also skyrocketing, and some people have very understandable reservations and questions about data centers.

The future, however, is binary: Either we build out our power systems to meet that demand, or we become dependent on other countries, like Communist China, for our daily needs, to include digital infrastructure that stores Americans' consumer data, financial data, healthcare data, and personal data.

Hardworking Coloradans in my district do want economic growth, and they do not want the Chinese Communist Party handling their sensitive information. They want responsible development practices, but they see the need for massive investments in our energy systems and wonder who is going to pay for it. This bill answers that question very clearly.

Large-load data centers must cover the full costs of any system upgrades they require, not families or small businesses. We cannot accelerate this growth on the backs of Americans who are working hard to pay their electric bills at the end of the month.

The Ratepayer Protection Act also gives States and local communities a voice to implement these principles and protect community members from rising utility bills.

This bill passed unanimously in the Energy and Commerce Committee. It is common sense. It keeps costs low for Americans and helps us build the energy backbone required to compete and win in the AI race and to keep Americans' digital information here in the United States, not in China.

Madam Speaker, I am grateful it is being considered today. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today in strong support of my bill to help combat the epidemic of fentanyl deaths that have been driven by the proliferation of counterfeit pills.

My bill, the Stop Pills That Kill Act, is commonsense legislation that will help save American lives by cracking down on criminals who traffic poison disguised as prescription drugs.

Under Republican leadership, the United States has thankfully seen a steep decline in monthly synthetic opioid deaths, driven by policies that strengthen border security and target cartels and drug dealers. Unfortunately, my State of Colorado has seen the exact opposite trend, with an average overdose rate of about 800 deaths per month at the end of 2024 increasing to 1,000 deaths now. Because Colorado's trends have not matched the Nation and have, in fact, gone the other direction, my State has, unfortunately, seen more than 1,600 tragic and preventable excess overdose deaths.

I was a cop in the Denver area for over a decade. I know that this figure isn't just a tragic coincidence. It is a direct result of failed policies. While I was working to keep communities in Colorado safe from the poison that is fentanyl, Denver Democrats chose repeatedly to push soft-on-crime policies that lessened criminal sentencing for drug offenses while refusing to take a hard line on fentanyl.

The Stop Pills That Kill Act counteracts these deadly policies by doing three simple things: It closes a sentencing loophole that allows poison peddlers off with a slap on the wrist. It implements serialization requirements for pill presses and their critical components. And it makes it illegal to manufacture, distribute, or import pill presses with the intent to illicitly produce a controlled substance.

I will remind my colleagues that every 15 days under the previous administration we lost the same number of Americans to drug overdose deaths that we lost in the entirety of the September 11 terrorist attacks. I was a cop for 10 years, and I was a soldier for 12. I deployed to a combat zone as part of the global war on terror, and that statistic speaks volumes. We must remember the impacts that fentanyl has had on hundreds of thousands of American families.

During the legislative process, two bills were folded into mine, the Fight Illicit Pill Presses Act, led by Representative Hageman, and the PRESS Act led by Representative McDowell. I thank both of them for their work, but I want to particularly recognize my friend, Mr. McDowell, who tragically lost his own brother to fentanyl nearly 10 years ago. Representative McDowell's dedication to fighting this crisis is a fitting honor to his brother's legacy.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this critically important, commonsense bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bipartisan bill with Representative Castor, the Ratepayer Protection Act.

America is in a period of incredible growth. Manufacturing jobs are returning to our shores. We are investing in American energy again. We are leading the charge for technological innovation. With that growth, our demand for energy is also skyrocketing, and some people have very understandable reservations and questions about data centers.

The future, however, is binary: Either we build out our power systems to meet that demand, or we become dependent on other countries, like Communist China, for our daily needs, to include digital infrastructure that stores Americans' consumer data, financial data, healthcare data, and personal data.

Hardworking Coloradans in my district do want economic growth, and they do not want the Chinese Communist Party handling their sensitive information. They want responsible development practices, but they see the need for massive investments in our energy systems and wonder who is going to pay for it. This bill answers that question very clearly.

Large-load data centers must cover the full costs of any system upgrades they require, not families or small businesses. We cannot accelerate this growth on the backs of Americans who are working hard to pay their electric bills at the end of the month.

The Ratepayer Protection Act also gives States and local communities a voice to implement these principles and protect community members from rising utility bills.

This bill passed unanimously in the Energy and Commerce Committee. It is common sense. It keeps costs low for Americans and helps us build the energy backbone required to compete and win in the AI race and to keep Americans' digital information here in the United States, not in China.

Madam Speaker, I am grateful it is being considered today. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Deondra Dixon INCLUDE Project Act of 2025. I was incredibly proud to support this bill as it made it's way through the legislative process in the Energy and Commerce Committee, and I am looking forward to it passing with bipartisan support on the House floor.

This legislation provides statutory authority to a project that the NIH has already been carrying out for nearly a decade to investigate the co-occuring conditions that impact Americans with Down Syndrome and their quality-of-life needs. For far too long, federal investment into Down Syndrome has paced behind need. Individuals with Down Syndrome are among our most precious vulnerable citizens--they deserve this nation's support.

I also want to recognize the efforts of a fellow Coloradan who was instrumental in advancing this bill: Michelle Sie Whitten. As President and CEO of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, Michelle has been a titan of advocacy in the Down Syndrome world. As the mother of a child with Down Syndrome, she has harnessed her love for the folks in this community and channeled it into action--raising millions of dollars for research and serving as a voice for those with Down Syndrome. It is safe to say that we would not be here voting on this bill if not for her tireless work and effort. I want to personally thank Michelle for her leadership and once again reiterate my support for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of the SAFEGUARDS Act of which I am a proud original cosponsor.

As my colleagues mentioned, this bill ensures that all revenue collected through the 9/11 Passenger Security Fee are invested back into aviation and airport security consistent with the fee's original intent.

Just last year, this $5.60 fee on your plane ticket brought in over $4.5 billion from U.S. passengers. The upcoming 25th anniversary of September 11 reminds us how important it is to use those resources to strengthen our national security systems today to prevent future tragedies tomorrow.

My district also borders Denver International Airport. Thousands of airport, airline, and TSA employees in that airport are my constituents--the third busiest in the Nation. To keep them and all U.S. passengers safe, it is critical that TSA receives every dollar possible to properly update security screening equipment and stop emerging threats.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan bill.

Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time. I also thank my bipartisan partner on this, Representative Goldman, for his efforts on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support the bipartisan bill, the ELO Realignment and Strategic Engagement Reform Act.

This bill consolidates the functions of two existing Department of Homeland Security offices tasked with public safety coordination into one centralized point of contact. DHS' Office of Intelligence and Analysis, also known as I&A, is the only entity in the U.S. intelligence community responsible for delivering intelligence directly to State and local law enforcement agencies.

As a former cop for over a decade in the Denver metro area, I know there is nothing more critical to law enforcement operations than open communication between local, State, and Federal agencies. Information sharing between the men and women on the front lines and Federal intelligence counterparts ensures that bad actors, often tied to international criminal organizations like cartels and terrorist groups, are removed from our streets as quickly as possible.

From my own experience, I know that State and local law enforcement often face national and international threats: terrorists, cartels, cyberattacks, and foreign enemy regimes. This bill supports State and local law enforcement when they encounter those national or those international threats.

Unfortunately, in my home State of Colorado, Denver Democrats are often more concerned about finding ways to weaken law enforcement operations and attacking our brave officers rather than prioritizing public safety. Defund-the-police antics create public safety conflicts and confusion for law enforcement officers who are trying to serve and protect their communities.

This bill ensures that State and local agencies can easily and frequently access the resources they require from their Federal partners when they are facing threats that require Federal backing.

By reorganizing the ELO Office and realigning its essential functions within I&A's partner engagement directorate, this bill streamlines coordination between law enforcement agencies, enhances information- sharing mechanisms, and reduces duplicative actions.

This ensures responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars, and it makes sure that State and local law enforcement agencies have the information that they need when they are facing those national or international threats.

Time and again, we wait for tragedies to remind us that we have to incentivize interagency collaboration. This bill takes the fight to the streets, and it makes sure that we are preventively getting these resources to our State and local law enforcement agencies, because no single law enforcement agency can effectively address the full spectrum of threats without that combined resource.

Madam Speaker, I strongly urge support for this bipartisan piece of legislation and support for the millions of State and local law enforcement officers across our country.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in opposition to the bill before us. Let me be clear: If this was just year-round E15, I would be a ``yes,'' but it is not just year-round E15. It makes significant changes to definitions under the Renewable Fuel Standard that impact 80 percent of small refineries.

My district is home to the last two oil refineries in Colorado. Both of them are small refineries. Under this bill, their definition would change. They would no longer be small refineries, which means they would no longer be able to obtain relief from the RFS compliance costs. My two refineries alone would face an impact of over $100 million a year.

To be clear, this is a disproportionate impact on small refineries and is something that the GAO has found in a 2022 study. After years of attacks and overregulation from ruling Democrats in Denver, we can't afford to lose essential energy infrastructure, like the two refineries in my district.

Beyond just energy security, this is a matter of affordability for Coloradans. In fact, the last time my two refineries had to temporarily shut down, gas prices spiked by $1.40 a gallon for my constituents in Colorado.

If my refineries have to eat a $100-plus million annual increase in their compliance costs and/or they potentially shut down, that $1.40 a gallon becomes permanent for my constituents in Colorado. That is something that they cannot afford in perpetuity.

While I would support a clean year-round E15 authorization, that is not what this does. It has other definitions in it. I urge my colleagues to join me in ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate our Nation's brave men and women and to recognize the High Plains Honor Flight Network, which conducts trips for veterans to Washington, D.C., to tour the monuments built to honor their bravery and service. The High Plains Honor Flight gave some of our fellow brave men and women the chance to visit our Nation's capital. As a fellow veteran myself, I am pleased to honor the High Plains Honor Flight and to recognize the Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War, and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans of Colorado who took part in it.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the veterans who participated in this flight:

Veterans of the Korean War: Alan Latta, and Richard Miller.

Veterans of the Vietnam War: Lloyd Adams, William

Alexander, Ronald Alper, David Appel, Duane Baggs, Raymond

Begin, Randall Black, Neil Borchert, Clarence Bowen. David

Boyle, Robert Boyle, Jack Branson, William Brewster, Sr.,

Samuel Brito, Gary Camp, Donald Carroll, Robert Casey,

Stephen Conway, Steven Cornelius, Robert Derick, Dennis

Dicampli, Jerold Douthit, Earl Draayer, Lane Edstrom, Paul

Erickson, James Farmer, Harold Felderman, Robert Forsythe,

David Furusho, James Futterer, Terry Gaber, Gilbert Garcia,

James Garcia, Gary Gillett, Roger Goodman, Gregory Hall,

Donald Hamilton, Jack Hampton, Sherrie Hansen, Gordon Harden,

Howard Hawk, Dan Helmboldt, Douglas Henning, Lu Herin,

Michael Herin, Charles Hlebain, Donald Hockhalter, Albert

Hromada, Jr., Reese Hull, Kevin Hunt, Max Johnson, Jerry

Keenan, Ferdinand Krawczuk, Dennis Kugler, Gregory Kuhn,

Roger Lair, Lonnie Leininger, Larry LeSueur, Charles Mack,

Richard Madsen, William Maurice, Kenneth McNaught, Rives

Meerscheidt, Joseph Miceli, Robert Miller, Jack Miller, II,

Edwin Miner, Donald Moore, Harley Morgan, Rodney Murrish,

Richard Nelson, Ronald Nereson, Frederick Nickel, Roy

Nitschke, David Ocker, Bruce Ohmstede, Larry Paul, Alex

Peralta, Danny Pickett, Richard Pingel, Frederick Pollmann,

Samuel Potts, Donald Purcell, Richard Quimby, Robert

Reichardt, Charles Reid, Randall Richardson, Donald

Ritterbusch, Jr, Samuel Rodriguez, Joseph Rogers, III, Joe

Sandoval, Eugene Schiferl, Alton Sheek, Larry Simons, Howard

Smith, Roy Smith, Gary Soderquist, Dennis Spencer, Roger

Spencer, Lyle Stempke, Jimmy Sudduth, Richard Thiem, Gerald

Toczek, Robert Torson, Kirt Trujillo, Jeffery Uscier, Lee

Walz, David Wangler, Mark Wangler, and David Wilson.

Veterans of the Cold War: Donald Cope, Donnie Kennedy,

Irvin Nelson, Richard Rector, John Scarlett, Wayne Scott, and

Paul Thomas.

Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom: Hugo Sanchezolmos.

It is my honor and privilege as a veteran and the United States Representative of the 8th District of Colorado to recognize the sacrifice and service of these men and women and all other members of our Nation's military. I thank them for their bravery and service to our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I personally thank the chairman for his leadership and partnership on this legislation and Congress' broader efforts to modernize the Clean Air Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my bill, the bipartisan Fire Improvement and Reforming Exceptional Events Act, or FIRE Act for short. This commonsense bill ensures that States like Colorado are not punished for smoke and emissions that they cannot control while still maintaining strong environmental protections and incentivizing good forest management practices to prevent wildfires.

The Front Range of Colorado has consistently struggled to meet ozone attainment levels set by the Federal Clean Air Act, despite the fact that data and science show that more than 70 percent of emissions originate from sources outside of Colorado.

My mission when I came to Congress was to find a streamlined, nonpartisan solution to this problem, to cut red tape, and to help lower costs and protect the economy for my constituents.

My proposal simply clarifies how emissions from wildfires, prescribed burns, and other exceptional events are treated in Federal air quality reviews. It maintains environmental protections that benefit Americans while allowing States the flexibility that they need to comply with the Clean Air Act without needlessly enacting punitive regulations on the economy, job creators, and consumers.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle argue that this bill is unnecessary because there is already enough flexibility under the Clean Air Act for exceptional events and prescribed burns. Allow me to address that.

Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago this week, four Western State Governors, two Republicans and two Democrats, including my Governor, Jared Polis, and the Democratic Governor from Arizona, sent a letter to President Biden highlighting challenges that Western States face in complying with the Clean Air Act and asking for greater flexibility.

I have the letter. Their number one request was for the Biden EPA to ``identify how the exceptional events framework can more appropriately be implemented given increased wildfire activity and provide more consideration for the emissions benefits of wildfire mitigation strategies in reducing air pollution in the West and nationally.''

Mr. Speaker, two Republican and two Democratic Governors agree that good wildfire mitigation reduces air pollution.

The FIRE Act does exactly this, and I am proud that it has been endorsed by the Western Governors' Association, whose members range from Greg Abbott to Gavin Newsom.

Additionally, 3 years ago, 25 Democratic Members from California, including both current Senators, wrote to the EPA under President Biden, claiming that the Clean Air Act, as written, jeopardizes their State's ability to deploy prescribed burns and comply with the Clean Air Act.

Part of the letter reads: ``While we appreciate the possibility that our concerns could be addressed through the use of EPA's exceptional events rule, the reality is that this process is unworkable for the scale of prescribed fire that will be necessary to protect our communities from increasingly catastrophic wildfires. The exceptional events rule is specifically designed for `unusual or naturally occurring events that can affect air quality but are not reasonably controllable.' This simply does not describe prescribed fires.''

Mr. Speaker, legislation like the FIRE Act has been asked for time and again by Members of both parties, and it is why I am so proud to lead this bill alongside my good colleague, Adam Gray, a California Democrat.

Mr. Speaker, while I have heard that some claim that the bill is unnecessary and accomplishes nothing, I have heard others say that the bill would do too much and fill our air with pollution. This also could not be further from the truth. As the father of a son who struggles with asthma, no one wants clean air more than I do. I want a healthy environment for all Coloradans and all Americans.

That is why this bill is narrowly tailored to maintain strong environmental protections. It actually reduces negative health outcomes that result from catastrophic wildfire smoke by encouraging more mitigation practices that reduce emissions through better wildfire prevention.

I will illustrate this point. A 2024 report compiled by fire experts and Tribal leaders asserts that the severe health and economic harms of wildfire smoke are ``largely neglected, if not inadvertently caused by Clean Air Act regulations themselves.''

I would also add that, under current law, working families are penalized for emissions that they are not responsible for, which leads to unemployment and higher costs--in a word, poverty. Poverty also worsens health outcomes.

The FIRE Act is a commonsense, bipartisan solution to existing air quality regulations, and it is sorely needed. That is why the bill has been endorsed by more than 25 different national, State, and local organizations that transcend industries, interests, and partisan divides. It protects the environment and promotes clean air by cutting red tape and allowing us to do a better job of reducing fuel loads and reducing damaging emissions from wildfire smoke.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Representative Gray, for his support and leadership, as well as the chairmen of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations for all of their work advancing this bill. I encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of the FIRE Act.

Madam Speaker, I want to briefly respond.

One exceptional event waiver has been approved, clearly not workable. As was just discussed, bipartisan Governors--two Democrats from Colorado and Arizona, and two Republicans from Utah and Wyoming--wrote a letter in 2024 saying that this exceptional event process, as it is currently written under the Clean Air Act, is not workable.

Madam Speaker, while I greatly appreciate references to a 2016 letter, this is a problem that was still impacting folks in 2024, prompting a bipartisan outcry from Western Governors on both sides of the aisle to modernize the exceptional events waiver--the same thing from members of the delegation from California.

In a letter in June 2023, 25 Members signed a letter saying that the exceptional events waiver is not workable, asking for these updates and for modernization. That is borne out by the data and by the science, which say that we have only had one exceptional events waiver approved.

The science is clear. The data is clear. The environment is crying out for reducing emissions through better forest management and wildfire prevention, which, as we have heard, reduces emissions anywhere on a scale from 1 to 6 to 1 to 10. If you do the controlled burns and the mitigation now, you have fewer emissions from damaging wildfires in the future.

Madam Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote.

Madam Speaker, today I rise in strong support of my bipartisan bill, the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act. This legislation, which I am proud to lead with my colleague from Minnesota, will help streamline broadband permitting to help deliver fast, reliable internet to the communities that need it most by creating a new system for prioritizing broadband deployment requests on or across Federal land.

It is a commonsense piece of legislation that, as we have heard, directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to establish a strike force to support Federal land management agencies' review of requests to deploy broadband across and through Federal land.

My home State of Colorado is the heart of the Rocky Mountain West with more than 24 million acres of Federal land, which is about the size of Indiana. Roughly 36 percent of the total acreage of Colorado is Federal land, and it serves countless roles, from conservation and recreation to other activities. These diverse uses also mean that multiple agencies have jurisdiction over these 24 million acres from the National Park Service to the United States Forest Service to the Bureau of Land Management. These agencies often have duplicative or redundant permitting processes which can delay what should be a simple permit.

In all parts of Colorado, from the Front Range to the Western Slope, rural communities are often surrounded by Federal lands which means they face greater difficulty building out infrastructure, including broadband. These are the communities that are often left behind when it comes to critical service such as internet access and easy communication.

It is 2026. Reliable, high-speed internet should not be considered a luxury. It is a necessity. Families, students, and small businesses need to be able to easily access this important service.

As a cop for 10 years, I also know that law enforcement and public safety rely on broadband access to promptly identify and interdict threats in our communities and respond to natural disasters. Without these reliable services, public safety operations are going to be less coordinated, which causes first responders to face delays and disorganization.

By law, Federal agencies are required to grant or deny broadband applications within 270 days, but these deadlines are often missed. The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently reported that roughly half of the communications use applications submitted to BLM and the United States Forest Service from 2018 to 2022 either exceeded the 270- day deadline or didn't have enough information to reveal whether the deadline had even been met.

As a result, broadband developers report that deploying fiber in rural areas can take an average of 5 to 10 years to complete. This is completely unacceptable, and it is a complete slap in the face to rural communities that are already underserved.

I am proud to serve as a leading voice for permitting reform in this Congress, not just for broadband but for many other types of permits, such as energy generation and distribution, that rely on broadband.

Madam Speaker, this legislation is key to fixing our broken permitting process. I am proud that it is bipartisan. I am proud that it is common sense. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I am a proud cosponsor of this resolution to support full funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Not many policy debates in this Chamber are simple, but this one is. The Department of Homeland Security needs funding now.

In just 6 months, Mr. Speaker, Democrats have shut down our government twice, and now they claim that shutting down DHS makes us safer.

As someone who spent 12 years in the Army and another 10 years as a police officer, I know this is the furthest from the truth you can be. In fact, I left law enforcement and serve now in Congress because for years Democrats pushed to defund the police. They championed defunding the police knowing the consequences that it has on public safety. Today, Mr. Speaker, that same pattern continues this time by defunding the Department of Homeland Security.

Mr. Speaker, when someone shows you who they are, believe them. House Republicans have passed Homeland Security appropriations funding twice: H.R. 7147 and H.R. 7747. Twice this funding was rejected by House Democrats and repeatedly blocked by Senate Democrats. Facts matter.

Now, because the department is unfunded, FEMA's local pre-disaster planning is halted right as Colorado enters wildfire season. CISA, which protects Americans from cyberattacks, is impaired. The Coast Guard, essential in combating drug trafficking that killed 400,000 Americans under the open-border policies of my colleagues across the aisle, is weakened.

The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, which provides the training to our Federal agents, is impaired. If that is not bad enough, twice Democrats have voted against funding the Department of Homeland Security and preventing our TSA officers from receiving a paycheck.

Mr. Speaker, Democrats need to stop their reckless practice of holding paychecks hostage for their political agenda. We need to fund the department.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank the Thornton Fire Department, the Thornton Police Department, and every assisting first responder who rushed to the scene last week to extinguish a suburban wildfire in my district.

As a former cop and Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopter pilot who fought wildfires, I am proud of these first responders and their continued dedication to protecting our communities. What could have been a devastating disaster resulted in no loss of life or homes thanks to these brave heroes.

However, as the Marshall fire, the worst wildfire in Colorado history, reminds us, suburban wildfires can become catastrophic, and emergency management funding is critical in disaster-prone regions like Colorado.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my Democrat colleagues to vote in favor of the Department of Homeland Security's appropriation bill and restore FEMA funding, emergency management funding, for my constituents and for constituents around the country.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support of the Affordable HOMES Act. Housing affordability is top of mind for my constituents, and this bill helps deliver.

It cuts red tape by streamlining duplicative regulations for manufactured homes, which improves housing affordability for millions of Americans.

This commonsense approach is the exact opposite of what Colorado Democrats have done. Last year, Colorado adopted the Model Low Energy and Carbon Code, which forces homebuilders into electricity-only for residential energy, along with demand response controls.

What is demand response control? Literally, the government requiring utilities have the power to lock you out of your thermostat, freeze your water heater, and turn off your lights in response to energy efficiency mandates.

Mr. Speaker, that is government overreach my constituents cannot afford. Bills like the Affordable HOMES Act help fix the problem by cutting red tape, lowering costs, and increasing the inventory of affordable homes.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes.''

Mr. Chair, I am proud to support the bipartisan SPEED Act today, of which I am a cosponsor, because, in part, my home State of Colorado is the sixth most heavily regulated State in the country. From affordable housing to affordable energy, it has become virtually impossible to build anything.

The overburdensome Federal permitting process, layered with State regulations, passes on extraordinary costs to Coloradans by adding years of unnecessary delays and millions of dollars to new projects that communities need. In fact, many of the projects require more money to navigate the bureaucratic permitting process than they do for actual construction.

Today, the House will change that and take a significant step toward comprehensive permitting reform by passing this bill. Americans who are worried about the high cost of living should pay attention.

If my colleagues are serious about lowering costs for their constituents, they should support the SPEED Act.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in strong support of the Power Plant Reliability Act.

Last week, my State Planning for Reliability and Affordability Act passed the House with bipartisan support, and today's bill is yet another critical component in the fight to restore sanity when it comes to energy policy in States like Colorado.

In recent years, ruling Democrats have been pushing to shut down all coal-fired power plants in Colorado by 2030, including two by the end of this year, to meet arbitrary climate goals and without regard for reliability or affordability. This has spiked costs in Colorado 24 percent under Biden and our own Democrat Governor.

I will remind our friends that higher costs increase poverty, which also increases negative health outcomes.

This is especially troubling when we consider that these two closures in Colorado represent more than 10 percent of the baseload, dispatchable power being retired nationwide, even though Colorado only accounts for 1.3 percent of total U.S. energy production.

Now, the Democrat-appointed director of the Colorado Energy Office, Will Toor, is backtracking his own coal plant closure plans because he knows closing them is going to spike rates and result in more blackouts.

This is a threat my district is aware of now more than ever because just last night, thousands of my constituents received a notice from their utility that beginning today they may have weather-related blackouts lasting anywhere from a couple hours to several days.

This bill today helps us combat misguided energy policies by allowing States and grid operators to contest the closure of power plants in neighboring States if there is an impact to reliability. This is a commonsense enhancement that is critical to ensuring Americans in States with reasonable energy policies don't suffer because of States like Colorado.

House Republicans are committed to lowering energy costs for working families by championing policies that ensure energy dominance. I am proud to support this bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes.''