Heinrich Delivers Remarks Ahead of Forcing Vote to End Trump’s War on Affordable, American-Made Energy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, led his colleagues in delivering remarks on the Senate floor ahead of forcing a vote to end President Trump’s war on affordable, American-made energy.Earlier this month, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced legislation to terminate President Trump’s national energy emergency and hosted a press conference to call on their colleagues to support this bill.

“If you want to continue to bring down energy costs, protect jobs for hard-working Americans in your states, and help America remain the global leader in energy production, I urge you to vote in support of our resolution,”said Heinrich.

VIDEO: Heinrich Delivers Remarks Ahead of Forcing Vote to End Trump’s War on Affordable, American-Made Energy

Heinrich began his remarks by recounting meeting New Mexican workers at manufacturing facilities, which are generating record quantities of clean, affordable, American-made energy. Heinrich said, “At a groundbreaking ceremony for Array Technologies’ factory in Albuquerque, I met with over a dozen New Mexicans. They told me about the impact of our investments on their lives and ability to support their families. I talked with folks like Ramon Romero, who joined Array Technologies as an entry level machinist and worked his way up to a career as a production manager. I met with Daniel Beltran, who explained how Array’s expansion has created new job opportunities for himself and many others in his home community. He told me that the company’s growth has been “life-changing” for him. And I met with Ray Muddaluri, who spoke about how significant a role Array has played in supporting her growth as a young professional and her ability to serve her community. Here’s what every one of these New Mexicans had in common: They were able to create better lives for themselves and for their families because of the jobs that were available to them.”

Heinrich called out the uncertainty that President Trump’s war on affordable, American-made clean energy is creating. Heinrich said, “If you’re thinking about opening up a new factory, like Array or Arcosa did in my state, you don’t know what your tax structure will be after Republicans take up their Trump tax bill. If you’re trying to site and build a new transmission line, the federal agencies you work with just had their expert staff sacked, making it more difficult to get a permit. And thanks to Trump’s so-called “National Energy Emergency” many of the lowest cost, 100% clean addition to our grid can’t get a federal permit. Make no mistake, Americans’ electric bills are going to go up because Trump and his loyal Republicans are picking winners and losers on the power grid. “

Heinrich reminded his Republican colleagues that the investments Democrats made in clean, affordable energy have created record-breaking job growth across the country, especially in Republican-led states: “I also want to be clear to my colleagues across the aisle that our clean energy boom that has created 400,000 jobs, includes more than 215,000 jobs in Republican-led states alone. This is not about Red States or Blue States. This is about good-paying blue-collar jobs in all of our states.”

Heinrich warned that President Trump and Elon Musk are fueling a real energy emergency in the United States. Heinrich cautioned, “Trump plans to eliminate dozens of advanced energy tax credits that have unleashed more than $165 billion in private sector capital at over a thousand factories across the country. The President has also halted many of the Department of Energy’s loan guarantees, which will further jeopardize the U.S. energy manufacturing boom and will lead to higher electricity bills for millions of Americans. This is also blatant hypocrisy as Trump’s favorite billionaire bro, Elon Musk, took a $465 million federal loan guarantee from the Department of Energy that literally saved Tesla from bankruptcy in 2010. When these massive, multibillion-dollar construction projects stall, it’s not Trump’s billionaire friends who suffer—it’s the everyday Americans who work in these factories. And it’s all the families who will be stuck with higher electricity bills.”

Heinrich finished his remarks by calling for an end to Trump’s war on affordable, American-made energy, “Clearly, we need to put an end to this stunt that will fuel a real energy emergency by killing thousands of American jobs and raising energy costs on millions of American families,” Heinrich concluded. “The most important decision over our energy future—worth hundreds of billions in private sector investment and thousands of high-quality jobs—remains in the hands of my Republican colleagues. If you want to continue to bring down energy costs, protect jobs for hard-working Americans in your states, and to help America remain the global leader in energy production, I urge you to vote in support of our resolution.”