'Doesn't Make Any Sense': Doug LaMalfa Demands Reversal Of Biden Admin's 'Extreme Energy Mandates'

3/25/2025

During remarks on the House floor, Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) tore into the Biden Administration's energy policies.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the previous administration, the Biden administration,

00:12spent most of its years forcing extreme energy mandates onto everyday appliances, our gas

00:18stoves, our water heaters, dishwashers, air conditioners, you name it. These rules really

00:23aren't about efficiency, as the manufacturers have worked for decades to make them more

00:28efficient and meet already existing standards. No, it's more of a control situation. These

00:35drive-up costs, they limit the choice for consumers and force everything onto an already

00:40overloaded power grid. Gas stoves, I know, are the preference for many people in their

00:47homes. Gas water heaters work well. It's a deal where government wants to take away the

00:52choices. Natural gas is indeed one of the most affordable, reliable energy sources we

00:57have. The previous administration was the enemy of that, did everything it could to

01:01push it out of homes and businesses and the production of it on our open lands that have

01:07so much potential, especially in the western states. We've seen these attempts to regulate

01:12gas stoves out of existence. In earlier months, we in the House voted to overturn one of those

01:17rules. Americans should be able to choose appliances that work best for them, not be

01:21forced into expensive, unreliable electrical alternatives that they may not be able to

01:26afford, that government simply mandates. The push to electrify everything is reckless.

01:31My home state of California, for example, they want to take away lawn mowers, leaf blowers,

01:36even, get this, generators. Now, when the power goes off, that means the power's off,

01:41the electricity's off. So what are you supposed to run a generator on if you need to, especially

01:47for a couple days, keep your freezer going, things like that? It doesn't make any sense.

01:52The electrical grid is already struggling to keep up. These mandates pile even more

01:57demand onto it while shutting down, traditionally, energy sources that actually work. Where's

02:01the electricity going to come from? My home district in northern California, they've torn

02:06out four hydroelectric dams, and they have their sights on many others. In Mendocino

02:11County, they are looking at what's called the Scott Dam, Lake Pillsbury, that generates

02:16some electricity. It's also important for agriculture. It's a constant push to remove

02:22water storage. In California, we lost one nuclear power plant due to an incredible amount

02:27of regulations to keep it going. That's one in San Diego, San Onofre. And we're barely

02:31holding on to the one in San Luis Obispo, which represents 9% of the power grid. San

02:36Diego also represented 9% of the grid at that time. It has to be made up for with solar

02:42panels or windmills, which the solar one that they have in Ivanpah, they're going to decommission

02:48pretty soon because it's not working very well. So you force your way into this electricity

02:54grid need, and you find yourself that you're going to be running out because at the same

03:00time they mandate this, they mandate taking away the generation. So we have rolling blackouts

03:05in California, skyrocketing energy prices, and warnings, get this, not to charge your

03:11state-mandated electric car because the grid can't handle it at certain hours. So our governor

03:16came out saying, well, we need to do this thing, and at the same time they're warning

03:19people better not plug your electric car in. As we know, wind and solar aren't enough to

03:25power the country. They're a tiny percentage of the overall pie. Wind power seems to work

03:30for a few years, and then they have to dispose of it, hauling the blades to some landfill

03:34in Utah because they don't have a way to recycle it well. So we need a reliable, balanced energy

03:40approach, and that includes natural gas, which is so abundant in this country with the miracle

03:45of hydraulic fracturing. We have much that we can develop here and also be a good exporter

03:50to Europe so they don't have to rely on the Russian bear to import through their pipeline.

03:54Isn't that something? Natural gas is affordable, efficient, keeps costs down for families,

03:59businesses, and our economy. Instead of eliminating it, we should be using it to strengthen our

04:03grid and keep energy reliable and cost-effective. The regulations previously are nothing more

04:08than government overreaches disguised as environmental policy. They don't make life better for working

04:14Americans, for our economy, for U.S. strength and readiness. They make it more expensive,

04:19less reliable, less efficient. It's time to roll these regulations back and put the power

04:27back in the hands of the people. It's been shown these mandates do not make things better.

04:32They are less efficient. Let industry, let innovation catch up even more so to make more

04:38efficient systems. Government can't do it. I yield back.

'Doesn't Make Any Sense': Doug LaMalfa Demands Reversal Of Biden Admin's 'Extreme Energy Mandates'

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