Oversight Hearing | Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee
Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans
2025-05-21
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Source: Congress.gov
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Transcript
The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will now come to order. Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a recess of the Subcommittee at any time. The Subcommittee is meeting today to hear testimony on Unleashing a Golden Era, Examining the Use of Federal Lands to Power American Technology Technological Innovation. Under Committee Rule 4F, any oral opening statements at the hearing are limited to the Chairman and the Ranking Member. I therefore ask unanimous consent that all other members' statements be made part of the hearing record if they are submitted in accordance with Committee Rule 3-0. Without objection, so ordered. I ask unanimous consent that the following members be allowed to sit and participate in today's hearing. The gentleman from California, Mr. Albert Obernorthy. Without objection, so ordered. I now recognize myself for an opening statement. Good afternoon, everybody. Thanks for coming. We've had a really hot streak with this group right here, so I got to tell you, we're going to have more fun today. And I just want to thank those who have took the time to travel out to D.C. As we explore the nexus of energy and technology in today's hearing, I am so happy we've had representatives from industries at both ends of the spectrum who can speak to the needs of this issue. Today's pace of technological advancement is incredible. While almost 60,000 years passed between the invention of the bow and arrow and gunpowder, time between innovations in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain today is measured in months and even weeks. Undoubtedly, these emerging technologies are rapidly changing how they interact with the world. It only takes the form of the generation tools like chat GPT, but also to detect online financial fraud, improve GPS and navigation, and distinguish between valuable polymetallic nodules on the ocean floor and sea creatures.
Likewise, blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are changing the way we do business. These digital assets allow for nearly instant and cheap financial transactions. including for things like retail purchases and payroll and even smart contracts, which are self-executing written agreements translated into code. Yet as these technologies work to update our lives, their appetite for energy is insatiable. Continuous advancements of AI and blockchain means that more people have access to more technologies for more uses. In other words, as emerging technologies improve, demand for them grows, and so does their need for reliable, immense power. Technologies like A1, Blockchain in the cloud required data centers to store and process generated data. Without data centers to house large-scale computer systems, these technologies cannot function. And without staggering and increasing energy inputs, data centers cannot operate. In 2023, the Berkeley Lab found that 4.4% of the United States' total electricity was consumed by data centers. Same report estimated that by 2028, data centers would require as much as 12% of the total energy production. Given the pace of advancement, this energy is only going to need to grow. To meet these needs, the Committee on Natural Resources majority and President Trump have worked tirelessly to implement an all-of-the-above approach to energy development and production. In fact, the White House has issued at least eight executive orders that work to unleash American energy independence and dominance. Likewise, House Republicans have introduced and passed legislation to, among other things, lower energy costs by increasing American energy production conduct offshore lease deals in the Gulf of America's outer continental shelf, provide for oil and gas leases on federal lands in Alaska, promote energy exports, build critical infrastructure, reform the NEPA permitting process, and lastly, increase domestic critical minerals mining. To be clear, the reason for our national energy emergency is not that the U.S. lacks natural resources, rather the reason for our current inability to meet energy demands is foolish.
and unscientific, energy policy championed by environmental extremists. Because of these extremists, more and more than 8 gigawatts of coal power have been retired since 2023. Mines across the country, including my home state of Arizona, have been shuttered and entangled in permitting red tape and frivolous litigation. The United States is immensely rich in reliable energy resources like oil, gas, and critical minerals that currently amount for 80% of America's energy use. We have the natural resources that are ready to power our nation, including those advanced and emerging technologies for generations. According to the Institute of Energy Research, our nation is sitting on about 1.66 trillion barrels of technologically recoverable oil, 4.3 quadrillion cubic feet of technically recoverable natural gas, 470 billion short tons of technologically recoverable coal, and vast reserves of minerals. As recovery technology continues to improve, these numbers will certainly increase as well. As the community majority has repeatedly pointed out, by unlocking our plentiful domestic energy resources, not only can we meet the growing power demands of emerging technologies, but we can also free ourselves from the constant threat of supply chain insecurities created by China under the Biden administration. It is imperative that the United States leads the world in technological innovation. To do this, we must also lead the world in energy development and production. By increasing production of energy on public lands, we invest in America's future. My legislation, H.R. 34, the LASSO Act, would take 10% of this investment off public lands and deposit it into the Social Security Trust Fund, thus creating an incentive for everyday Americans to use our nation's land. I challenge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle here today to think not only about the growing energy needs presented by emerging technologies,
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