Democrats’ Energy Dependence Agenda Helps Russia and China, Hurts Americans

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding Democrats’ reckless tax and spending spree:

“President Biden spent much of the past week participating in a U.N. summit on the so-called Paris Climate Accords.

“The event was billed as a serious meeting of world leaders committed to taking action on climate policy. More than 1,000 VIPs arrived in a parade of no fewer than 400 private jets, a mode of transportation that some climate activists say is up to 14 times more polluting than commercial aviation.

“The topic of discussion was a bad deal that, after six years, has failed to hold any of its major signatories to their commitments on reducing emissions.

“But that hadn’t stopped President Biden from rejoining it.

“The President went as far as apologizing – apologizing – that the previous Administration had let the U.S. reduce its emissions from outside the deal. He pledged that, now, the United States, ‘will do our part.’

“Exactly what that means is not clear. The United States succeeded in cutting its emissions more from outside the Paris Deal than any major country managed from inside it.

“So President Biden apologized for outperforming the deal. And his counterparts welcomed America’s new commitment – to reduce U.S. emissions 50% by 2030 – without any specifics on achieving it.

“Now while America’s emissions have fallen, the world’s leading carbon emitter apparently has a free pass to keep on increasing its emissions until 2030.

“According to China’s own representatives, their massive and thriving economy is still in a, ‘special development stage.’

“We’re talking about a country that built more than three times as much new coal power capacity as the rest of the world combined in 2020.

“Meanwhile, one outside analysis indicates that getting America even close to net-zero emissions by 2050 would mean cutting our GDP by nearly 12% annually.

“That’s trillions of dollars shipped out of this country every year. Competitors like China are licking their chops.

“And what would this self-flagellation get us 39 years from now?

“According to that same outside analysis, based on the U.N.’s own model, this economic hemorrhage would purchase us a reduction of three tenths of one degree in global temperatures.

“Meanwhile, the same Washington Democrats who think this nightmare sounds like a good deal are pushing a reckless taxing and spending spree that would hammer American families and the affordable energy they need to power and heat their homes and drive their cars.

“After less than a year with Democrats in power, America has already more than doubled imports of Russian oil from December 2020 levels.

“Double the dependency on Russia in less than 12 months.

“America’s energy future, as imagined by our colleagues on the left.”