Rep. Garret Graves has served Louisiana in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2015. He serves on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, as well as the House Natural Resources Committee.
Your district and surrounding areas are home to many energy workers who supply the entire country with the oil and gas needed for modern life. What are concerns this workforce has been sharing with you and your colleagues in Washington, DC?
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I’m very proud to represent our energy workers. These are the folks that are powering America’s economy. Many of these workers have the same concerns as every other American – they’re concerned about our mounting debt, rising inflation and the record high gas prices that hurt their paychecks. The most frequent frustration we hear is that America is putting additional American energy off limits while asking countries like Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and others to produce more oil. It is hard to hear that — especially from their own president.
Louisiana is a leading energy producer that powers the nation. We fulfill a large share of America’s energy demand, and we do so in a way that is cleaner and more efficient than any other nation. Energy workers are baffled that this Administration would rather shift the blame and beg the foreign OPEC alliance rather than support good-paying jobs or produce cleaner energy right here at home.
As Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, what are the major goals of this committee?
Over the last 15 years, the United States has led the world in reducing emissions – reducing more than the next seven countries combined. But not only did we reduce emissions during that time, we lowered energy costs for Americans. Cheaper energy and reduced emissions did not happen because of more federal regulations, mandates, and taxes – they came through American resources and innovation embraced by the free market. That should be the model going forward, and this is what I’ve advocated for as Ranking Member of the House Select Climate Committee.
Policies that create American jobs, enhance American competitiveness, and provide maximum national security and energy security while protecting our environment. We can either follow the successful strategies that have worked, or we can continue to go down the wrong road of mandates and attempting to force consumer markets — resulting in higher emissions, constrained energy supplies and higher prices for American families.
Energy Workforce companies are actively involved in the "energy transition," which you have previously alluded to as an opportunity for the oil and gas industry in Louisiana and the U.S. What is the public misunderstanding about the role of oil and gas in reducing carbon emissions? Where do you see Louisiana being a leader in the energy transition?
Reducing emissions shouldn’t mean reducing energy choices. America’s strategy should be based on our strengths and our resources. Some have focused on demonizing fossil fuels when it is the emissions that we should be targeting.
Eliminating America’s supply of fossil fuels does not dampen global demand, it only ensures that demand will be met with higher emitting sources from OPEC and Russia. If we truly want to reduce global emissions, eliminating U.S. fossil fuels is counterproductive. U.S. energy resources are the most reliable, efficient and abundant, and play an important role in the United States economy, and to promoting energy security globally.
Innovation that allows us to utilize our American resources with lower emissions should be a focus of policymakers. It has been noted that fossil fuels will continue to play a significant role in providing energy to the world. In fact, according to the Energy Information Administration, overall energy demand is expected to increase and global natural gas demand is expected to increase 31-58% by 2050. That demand should be met with U.S. resources that often have the lowest lifecycle carbon emissions in the world and investment in U.S. technologies to further reduce emissions.
Louisiana has some of the best geology and geography for carbon sequestration to complement the growing global demand for conventional fuels and opportunities to expand wind, wave, hydropower and solar energy.
Rep. Garrett Graves, LA=06
Washington seems increasingly polarized on major issues affecting Americans and their everyday lives. Do you think there are areas where the country and its Congress can come together to get things done?
There is no doubt that things have become more divisive; however, one way to break through the fighting is simply incorporate more science and data into decision making. There have been many opportunities to learn from energy and climate policy successes and failures right here in some of our states and around the globe. The path to affordable, clean, exportable energy solutions is pretty clear.
There are several areas where bipartisanship should exist from innovation and natural solutions to resilience. Efforts to make our communities more resilient to disasters should be bipartisan. Natural solutions have a lot of room for bipartisan cooperation as well – whether it is the ‘Trillion Trees’ initiative or precision farming.
Infrastructure important to our energy sector, including upgrading our grid, has the support of both parties. Innovation that advances clean energy technologies should be bipartisan. Republicans support effective solutions that utilize American resources and American innovation that support U.S. competitiveness. Those solutions can and should be unifying. We should not be adding burdensome regulations – and the federal government should not be dictating winners and losers. Whether you’re talking about bipartisanship or energy production, the solution should not be all or nothing, the solution should be all of the above.
A number of our Member Companies are working on CCUS technology. What is the goal of H.R. 1761, the CCUS Innovation Act?
Carbon capture is key to any global effort to address emissions and vital to allow America’s energy resources to address our energy needs. This technology has the potential to make a gallon of gasoline, a cubic foot of natural gas or a kilowatt of electricity from solar panels indistinguishable from an environmental standpoint. I'm proud to support the bill with Rep. David McKinley.
This legislation will help to ensure we will continue to be a global leader in reducing emissions using American resources combined with American ingenuity and innovation. We must continue to lead on innovation to ensure cost effective climate solutions that support the U.S. economy and jobs while providing affordable and reliable energy here at home and for our allies abroad.
What pieces of legislation or work on behalf of the Louisiana 6th district are you most proud of?
I’m very proud that our legislative team was recognized as one of the top five performers last Congress, and we have already accomplished much this Congress. We recently reauthorized the Sport Fish Restoration & Boating Trust fund that will continue to provide funds to restore coastal wetlands and further conservation for fish and wildlife.
We also passed a bill in the House to improve the ecology and water quality in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, which is one of our state’s best assets. Perhaps our most important win this Congress was securing recovery funding and resilience investments for those most impacted by Hurricane Ida.
In terms of energy-related legislation, I am looking forward to advance a bill to reform the way we study and deliver infrastructure and ecological projects. This focuses on modernizing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Our legislation, “Building U.S. Infrastructure through Limited Delays & Efficient Reviews” (BUILDER Act), will make project reviews more efficient, reduce project cost, spur economic activity and help rebuild our nation with our own resources. The bill has broad support from industry, Republican leadership, every ranking member of U.S. House committees and most people that have ever been through the NEPA process.
