November 12th, 2021

Out of Touch Joe & Co. are dominating the lead up to Thanksgiving and so this issue is dedicated to *some* of the nonsense coming from them…

Treasury Nominee Apparently Wants to Bankrupt Small Biz: President Joe Biden’s nominee for a top Treasury post, Saule Omarova, gave the following remarks in March advocating for small businesses going bankrupt in order to tackle climate change.

“Here, what I’m thinking about is primarily [the] coal industry and oil and gas industry. A lot of the smaller players in that industry are going to probably go bankrupt in short order. At least we want them to go bankrupt if we want to tackle climate change.” (emphasis added) Omarova goes on to acknowledge the significant job loss this would cause. More recently, in May, Omarova attacked Senator Joe Manchin for not pushing for more government spending.

And, Kerry Wants To Put More Coal Workers Out of a Job: In another poke in the eye to Senator Joe Manchin from Administration officials, John Kerry, the U.S. special envoy for climate said in an interview with Bloomberg, “By 2030 in the United States, we won’t have coal. We will not have coal plants.” There are upwards of 400,000 Americans employed directly and indirectly in jobs dependent on coal. Add to that the loss of reliability to the energy grid, this is a recipe for disaster.

Energy Sec Thinks $4 Gas is Funny: Perhaps the most glaringly out of touch is Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. In an interview with Dana Bash on CNN, she was asked, “Could the average gas price in America be $4 a gallon in the United States soon?” Granholm responded, “Well, we certainly hope not.”

As Energy Secretary, she has a few more tools at her disposal beyond “hope.”

Bash then asked if Americans are going to have higher heating bills this year and Granholm replied, “Yes, this is going to happen. It will be — it will be more expensive this year than last year.”

In another example of how out of touch Secretary Granholm is, the Energy Secretary laughed in response to being asked what her plan is to increase oil production. Choosing to ignore the energy independence this country recently enjoyed as a net exporter, she blamed OPEC. The Secretary should be providing better advice to the President about what her Department can do to lower prices for hard working Americans.

Bottom Line: If the Administration is trying to bring down prices by asking OPEC to increase supply, why even consider shutting down the supply from the Line 5 pipeline in Michigan? Limiting the supply of critical resources, canceling leases and shutting down pipelines, could each contribute to the increased prices Americans are already paying and will see even more of this winter.

The list of nonsense continues to grow from Out of Touch Joe & Co…

With a small side of Common Sense from some Midwest lawmakers…

Speaking of Line 5, about a dozen GOP lawmakers wrote a letter to President Biden last week explaining the importance of the pipeline to the Midwest and requesting its continued operation. Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI) led the effort and posted the letter on his website.

“As we enter the winter months and temperatures drop across the Midwest, the termination of Line 5 will undoubtedly further exacerbate shortages and price increases in home heating fuels like natural gas and propane at a time when Americans are already facing rapidly rising energy prices, steep home heating costs, global supply shortages, and skyrocketing gas prices,” Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH)

Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI)—who represents the area where Line 5 is located—continued, “As energy prices skyrocket across the nation due to Biden’s dangerous energy policies, shutting down Line 5 would saddle constituents with unaffordable heating costs and propane shortages as we head into the winter months.”

Hopefully this message sinks in.

Infrastructure and Build Back Better Action: On Monday, November 15, President Biden plans to sign the bipartisan infrastructure bill into law. Meanwhile, the House plans to take action on the Build Back Better spending bill sometime next week.

FERC Conferences and Meetings: On Monday, November 15, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold a technical conference on electric regional transmission planning. On Thursday, November 18, they will hold a virtual open commission meeting. And, on Friday, November 19, they will hold another technical conference on methods natural gas companies may use to mitigate emissions.

Senate Hearing on Energy Prices: On Tuesday, November 16, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing “to examine the causes, outlook, and implications of domestic and international energy price trends.”

House Hearings on Renewable Energy: On Tuesday, November 16, House subcommittees will hold multiples hearings on renewable energy including: “Plugging in Public Lands: Transmission Infrastructure for Renewable Energy,” “A Look at the Renewable Economy in Rural America,” and “Securing America’s Future: Supply Chain Solutions for a Clean Energy Economy.”

Hearing on Fusion Energy: On Wednesday, November 17, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Energy will hold a hearing on “Fostering a New Era of Fusion Energy Research and Technology Development.”

Biden Summit with Canada: On Thursday, November 18, President Biden will host the leaders of Canada and Mexico for a summit. Stay tuned to see if anything comes from discussions with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau on the ongoing battle over Line 5 in Michigan.