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The Honorable Mike Ezell
The Subcommittee on Energy and Minerals Resources will come to order. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare recess of the subcommittee at any time. Under Committee Rule 4F, any oral opening statement at hearings are limited to the chairman and the ranking minority member. I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from California, Mr. Carbajal, be allowed to participate in today's hearing. Without objection, so ordered.
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The Honorable Mike Ezell
The United States is blessed with abundant natural resources from oil and gas on the outer continental shelf to critical minerals in Minnesota's vast Duluth complex. We also benefit from the best environmental and labor standards in the world, allowing resource development vital to our national and economic security to work in harmony with conservation, recreation, and other multiple uses. A prime example of this is seen in the Gulf of America, where offshore oil and gas infrastructure has supported fisheries habitat growth for decades. Within months of an offshore rig's construction, marine life begins to gather on and around it. By the time a platform completes production, it has become a central part of the local marine ecosystem, hosting coral, various fish species and marine mammals and more. In 1984, Congress passed the National Fishing Enhancement Act, which allows operators working with state and federal agencies to transform decommissioned rigs into artificial reefs. Notably, these existing structures would otherwise cost millions of dollars to build from scratch. Commonly known as rigs to reef initiative, this program provides wide benefits to Gulf Coast states and fishermen by creating thriving marine populations while also providing critical funding for state conservation efforts. Although strong leadership from state governments has allowed hundreds of platforms to be successfully reefed in the Gulf of America, unnecessary red tape at the federal level is preventing the Rigs to Reefs program from reaching its full potential. In fact, since 2000, most inactive oil rigs in the Gulf waters have been fully removed, disrupting habitats that support billions of dollars in annual recreation fishing activity across the Gulf Coast states. H.R. 5745, the Marine Fisheries Habitat Protection Act, introduced by my colleague Representative Ezell, streamlines and clarifies the reefing process for oil and gas infrastructure in federal waters.
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The Honorable Mike Ezell
The bill would codify the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE, as the lead agency for the Rigs to Reefs program. Given BSEE's expertise in decommissioning offshore energy infrastructure and administering the Rigs to Reef initiative, it is ideally situated to ensure these projects are carried out safely. HR 5745 would allow BSEE, in consultation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Coast Guard, to oversee reefing of eligible oil and gas structures in federal waters within three years. When completing these conversations, operators would be required to remove hydrocarbons, plug in abandoned wells, and comply with navigation safety requirements set out under existing law and regulations. This standardized process eliminates rather the need for lengthy, duplicative reviews across multiple federal agencies. The bill also makes it easier for states and operators to reef the structures in place, avoiding towing reefs to planning areas which could disrupt the marine ecosystem. Lastly, the bill codifies the longstanding practice of allowing state reefing programs to assume liability for converting rigs once reefing activities are completed. I would like to commend my colleague Mr. Ezell for his strong bipartisanship work on this legislation by allowing us to make the most out of our offshore infrastructure from production to fisheries enhancement. This bill will deliver a strong win for Gulf states and marine ecosystems. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on this important bill and will now yield to the ranking member for her opening statement.
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The Honorable Mike Ezell
Unfortunately, this bill falls into a pattern that we've seen before from the majority, pushing legislation that they claim will have some benefit for the economy or our society. But no surprise, it's really yet another way to subsidize big oil and leave the taxpayer holding the bag. The United States is already the largest producer of oil and gas in the world, and yet American families are still struggling with utility bills and the cost of groceries.
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The Honorable Mike Ezell
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The Honorable Mike Ezell
The president of the United States just illegally invaded Venezuela and captured the president, albeit, of course, a brutal and illegitimate dictator, and seized the country's oil resources for profit. The president is now promising that the revenue from the stolen Venezuelan oil is going to benefit the Venezuelan and the American people. I'm sorry, promises are simply not enough. This is absolutely ripe for corruption. No guardrails, no guarantees for the people of Venezuela or America. The only guarantee is that big oil corporations will have their way. It's been reported that the president hinted to the oil and gas industry that they should get ready for big changes in the country. President Trump has even floated, having taxpayers reimburse the oil companies for their ventures in the country. This is exactly in line with how this administration is treating America's resources, practically giving away our public resources to extractive industry, then making the American taxpayer pay their costs of doing business.
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