Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues in opposition to the Green New Deal.

This disastrous plan, cooked up by out-of-touch Washington elites, simply does not work for Minnesota families.

According to the Energy Information Administration, 68 percent of Minnesota's energy consumption comes from a combination of coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydropower, and gasoline, all of which are to be banned completely by the Green New Deal in 10 years.

Allowed under this radical pipe dream are wind, solar, and biomass, which barely account for 15 percent of Minnesota's energy consumption.

Picture a family in Ely, Minnesota, where wind chill temperatures reached 71 below zero this January, waking up in a warm house heated by natural gas.

They start a hot pot of coffee, powered by our affordable electric grid; take a hot shower, again, heated by natural gas; drive their kids to school in their van, powered by reliable, affordable gasoline; go to work, possibly at a mine or a local hospital; drive home again in that same gasoline-powered car; make dinner for their family, using their gas-powered stove; and then wake up again and do it all over.

The little things that we take for granted every day are powered by conventional energy.

The Green New Deal would have a severe impact on our everyday lives, something that northern Minnesotans do not want or need.

The Green New Deal would force every Minnesota family to turn in their cars for electric vehicles and retrofit their homes to run on renewable sources, like solar or wind.

I understand elites from D.C. and New York City may love this plan, but I know the reality. I encourage my colleagues, especially those who support this plan, to go back to their districts, like I did last week and really listen to their constituents, listen to their concerns, listen to how this plan would devastate the middle class and devastate hardworking Minnesota families.

Retrofitting homes, buying electric cars, and ending the mining, airline, and much of the shipping industries may be fun ideas for the ultra-wealthy, but I know what it really means for middle-class families in northern Minnesota.

We cannot let these unrealistic ideas get in the way of actual progress. We must develop renewable forms of energy, but at the same time, not shut out conventional, affordable energy sources on which millions rely.

Do not let the Green New Deal distract from what northern Minnesotans care about: expanding rural broadband for better internet access, bringing good paying jobs back to our communities, and protecting Social Security and Medicare.

With the projected cost of tens of trillions of dollars, the Green New Deal puts all of this at risk.

I will not risk the future of Medicare and Social Security. I will not risk the future of middle-class families.

However, I will stand up for the farmers, our miners, our small business owners, manufacturers, and workers threatened by this Green New Deal.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to highlight the critical need to replace Enbridge's Line 3, an aging pipeline dangerously corroding and operating at only 51 percent.

Line 3 pipeline replacement project is on its fourth year of review and has met or exceeded every single required environmental standard. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission unanimously voted to issue its Certificate of Need last year.

The project will create more than 4,000 construction jobs and enjoys the support of construction trade unions throughout the state. The project is supported by dozens of elected officials and thousands of Minnesotans. It will also generate an additional 19 million dollars in property tax revenue, providing a significant funding increase to rural schools.

With all this benefit, it was greatly disappointing to hear we would have further delays.

Unfortunately, certain state officials in Minnesota feel beholden to, in the words of our operating engineers, ``environmental extremism.'' These environmental extremists are the same folks that vandalized the current pipeline just last week, ironically creating a dangerous situation for themselves and the environment they claim to protect.

The voters of northeastern Minnesota sent me to Congress to advocate for their jobs and safe use and protection of our natural resources. Therefore, I will continue to champion commonsense projects like the replacement of the Line 3 pipeline.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the critical need to replace Enbridge's Line 3, an aging pipeline dangerously corroding and operating at only 51 percent.

Line 3 pipeline replacement project is on its fourth year of review and has met or exceeded every single required environmental standard. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission unanimously voted to issue its certificate of need last year.

The project will create more than 4,000 construction jobs and enjoys the support of construction trade unions throughout the State of Minnesota. The project is supported by dozens of elected officials and thousands of Minnesotans. It will also generate an additional $19 million in property tax revenue, providing a significant funding increase to rural schools.

With all this benefit, it was greatly disappointing to hear we would have further delays. Unfortunately, certain State officials in Minnesota feel beholden to, in the words of our operating engineers, ``environmental extremism.'' These environmental extremists are the same folks who vandalized the current pipeline just last week, ironically creating a dangerous situation for themselves and the environment.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 57.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the State of Missouri for her leadership. It is a privilege to stand here on this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss the pressing issue of border security. Across our southern border, we have thousands of miles of unprotected terrain where weapons, human trafficking victims, and drugs are easily smuggled into this country every single day.

Believe it or not, the drugs that are crossing our southern border even make their way to the most northern communities in my great State of Minnesota. Just last year, more than two dozen people were arrested for their involvement in a large heroin trafficking network that brought drugs to St. Louis County, where my family, friends, and constituents live. This is unacceptable.

During my 23 years as a law enforcement officer, I worked tirelessly to keep illegal drugs off the streets and out of the hands of our young children. I have given too many death notifications to unsuspecting parents. The pain and anguish of each family will never be forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, it is high time we recognize that our porous borders are intrinsically tied to the drug crisis, the rise in human trafficking, and illegal immigration in this country. I urge the Democratic leadership to put partisan politics aside so we can finally work together and secure our borders. The health and safety of the American people are depending on it, and doing nothing is no longer an option.