Washington, D.C.— Thursday, Representative Peltola released the following statement accompanying her vote against the House Republicans’ energy package legislation, H.R. 1:

“Our country desperately needs a real plan for ensuring that energy is affordable. In just the last year, we’ve made real progress expanding and diversifying energy production, and secured historic investments in energy grid development and renewable projects. With the Inflation Reduction Act and the Willow Project, we made major investments in a just transition to a renewable-focused economy, while also securing a reliable source of American-produced gap oil that will help provide a bridge to that economy.
 
But in the near term, high energy costs are still crushing working families, particularly in rural areas. We must act quickly to create a plan that ensures energy is affordable to everyone.
 
Unfortunately, H.R. 1 does not do that. It fails to resolve the permitting issues that deter local energy production, rolls back key advancements secured by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act – and also increases the deficit along the way. We need a roadmap to the future that lowers costs for Americans, not another partisan bill that adds to the national debt.
 
Just like Alaska’s Congressional delegation advocated for the Willow Project and was vital in passing the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, I am ready to work with my Republican and Democratic colleagues to write a bill that actually lowers costs by expanding and diversifying domestic energy production. Permitting for energy projects, including renewable energy, should be an area where we can all agree, and not undermine the bipartisan progress we’ve already made. Let’s get to work.”

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  congress, energy, house, hr 1 vote, peltola