“They are lying to you” - Casten Calls out Fossil Fuel Companies and Conservative Politicians Claiming Drilling Will Lower Gas Prices
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Contact: Emilia.Rowland@mail.house.gov (330) 212-2065
"They are lying to you" - Casten Calls out Fossil Fuel Companies and Conservative Politicians Claiming Drilling Will Lower Gas Prices
Washington, D.C. — On Thursday, March 17th, U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) delivered remarks on the House floor debunking the false narrative spread by fossil fuel companies and conservative politicians that increased US oil drilling will decrease the high gas prices burdening Americans. . In his remarks, Casten, a climate scientist and former clean energy executive, called on Congress to double own on the United States' transition to cleaner, cheaper, American-made energy.
Casten said, "When the fossil fuel industry and the conservative politicians they bankroll go on TV claiming the solution to the pain you feel at the pump is to drill more in the US, they are lying to you. You deserve the truth. Every day we fail to reach an agreement on the baseline climate investments passed by the House is a day Americans pay the price at the pumps and oil-rich autocrats profit."
Earlier this week, Casten led nearly 90 of his House colleagues across diverse ideological factions calling on President Biden to lead a restart of bicameral reconciliation negotiations recognizing climate provisions as a key starting point where common ground can be pursued. Read the press release here and please find full text of the letter here.
You can watch his remarks by clicking here.
Full remarks below:
"Vladimir Putin's horrific war against the Ukrainian people has all of us talking about how to prevent him—and other oil-rich autocrats like him—from being able to afford to commit these heinous acts going forward.
"It's also, all of a sudden, made everyone in this town an energy expert. So, I'm here to set the record straight about a few things.
"One - Russia is a petrostate. Fossil fuels are funding Putin's war crimes against the Ukrainian people. Fossil fuels are funding Putin's assault on democracy. Fossil fuels are funding the demise of post WWII stability in Europe. Putin's power comes from fossil fuels, and our world's dependence on them.
"Two - you cannot end dependence on a global commodity by increasing the supply. No amount of increased fossil fuel extraction in the United States - which I should note would take years - could take away Russia's influence on the global energy market.
"Since fossil fuel is a global commodity, as long as we depend on it, Americans will continue to be subject to wild price fluctuations based on the whims of petro-dictators..
"Three - When the fossil fuel industry and the conservative politicians they bankroll go on TV claiming the solution to the pain you feel at the pump is to drill more in the US, they are lying to you. They are lying to you in a cynical attempt to take advantage of a tragic situation to line their own pocketbooks. You deserve the truth.
"The truth is that there is only one long-term solution to stop funding oil-rich autocrats and insulate Americians against energy price inflation: doubling down on our transition to clean, cheap American made energy.
"What we're seeing in Ukraine makes clear that clean energy isn't just necessary to protect against climate devastation. Preventing wars and protecting our national security demands investments in clean energy. American energy independence demands investments in clean energy. Lowering costs demands investments in clean energy.
"Every day we fail to reach an agreement on the baseline climate investments passed by the House is a day Americans pay the price at the pumps and oil-rich autocrats profit.
"That's why I'm leading nearly 90 of my colleagues in calling on President Biden to lead a climate restart to reconciliation negotiations centering the cost-saving clean energy investments as the path forward to deliver tangible results to the American people. We're living through a code-red moment. This can't wait any longer."
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