Ranking Member Kaptur Floor Remarks on the 2026 Energy and Water Development Funding BillPress Release***WATCH HERE***TradeJobs and the EconomyHealth CareEnergy

***WATCH HERE***

Washington, DC - Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks on the House Floor in opposition to the fiscal year 2026 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies funding bill:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

And I want to also compliment the Chair of the full Committee, of our Subcommittee, Mr. Fleischmann of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for his very gentlemanly behavior on both sides of the aisle so that we can actually move bills, which is our public responsibility. And I want to thank our diligent staff for all their hard work on this bill.

I have to say, I'm very proud that ours is one of the first three bills to come to the floor. They're long delayed, not because we didn't do our work, but we are ready and we want to pass funding for the new fiscal year, which begins October 1st. I'd like to also thank the Minority Staff Scott McKee, Anisha Singh, Adam Wilson, and on my personal staff, Kaitlin Ulin, TJ Lowdermilk, and Margaret McInnis. Thank you to them all, and thank you to them for putting up with me.

Engineered energy and water systems undergird America's way of life. Energy and Water are not optional, but essential to sustaining life. Of late, we've been piercingly reminded about our Subcommittee's purpose. July brought nearly double the usual flood warnings, the second highest in 40 years. On July 4th, sadly, Kerr County, Texas saw one of the deadliest flash floods in US history, 117 lives lost.

These tragedies inform us of the power of water and wild energy in our atmosphere. Let me be clear. No matter how much Members on the other side of the aisle want to pretend that climate change is not happening. For the record, the last ten years are the ten hottest in recorded history.

Think about that. Our Great Lakes, the region I represent, comprise the largest body of freshwater on Earth, specifically Lake Erie, the southernmost of the lakes no longer freezes over. Some of our favorite sports ice boating, ice fishing, are now becoming a memory of the past, and hockey is now played indoors. America's electric grid is old, and under deep strain.

The Energy Information Agency documented that the US just set new records twice in July for peak electricity demand. The old grid system is being tested by hotter weather and higher usage. When the grid strains, costs rise, and the most vulnerable families suffer first. How would you like to be in Tucson at 120° week after week after week after week?

Unchecked growth in data centers alone could raise average US electricity generation costs by roughly 8% by 2030. This is not hypothetical, it's happening as we meet today. in Ohio, rapid demand growth from big tech data centers pushed electricity prices dramatically higher every month. And starting this July, households in Ohio saw their monthly energy bills increase a minimum of 10%.

Some more than doubled. Families notice a massive increase in monthly bills. We got one constituent who called, who told us that her family bill moved from $230 a month to $494 in July. This cost in energy increase is not sustainable for working families and sadly, this Republican Energy and Water bill does not meet our nation's energy and water imperative for the future, nor for the present.

We must invest faster in modern infrastructure to become energy independent in perpetuity, and that is our awesome, underlying awesome responsibility. We must reduce energy costs by investing in modern grid resilience, and an all of the above energy portfolio. This bill fails to address the cost of living crisis currently underway.

Overall, household electric bills nationally are up 10%, but in different regions - and that's just since January. But in places like northern Ohio, I'm hearing from many people the total of energy and water bills total, have doubled. Every family in this country knows that even higher energy bills lie ahead for families and businesses. China is investing record levels in energy, making its products more competitive, and sadly, this bill retreats from US global energy leadership.

What do I mean? Well, the bill cuts $1.6 Billion, or 47%, from the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs. This undermines our nation's imperative to deliver clean, affordable, and secure energy to the American people. Our nation should lead, not lag, in the global race toward energy independence in perpetuity. We must build an abundant clean energy future.

This bill eliminates funding for the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. Worse, it revokes - That means the future. Building the future. It revokes $5.1 Billion of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law resources from the Department of Energy that will cede the US global lead in hydrogen, direct air capture, battery recycling, and the consequent energy savings possible in every public and private structure.

Already, US businesses have delayed or canceled, and this is a shocking number. More than $33 Billion in investments in energy projects this year. That's lost economic growth. Over 64,000 jobs have already been lost or stalled in the clean energy sector.

That's uncalled for. In May, this Administration revoked $3.7 Billion in federal energy investment for 24 energy projects already signed, sealed, and delivered across America, including manufacturing companies, to become more energy efficient, including over $100 Million for Libbey Glass, Owens-illinois Glass, and Kraft Heinz, just across our region of Ohio alone. President Trump promised he was going to help American manufacturing. That revocation actually is completely in the opposite direction.

Thus, I must strongly oppose these additional Republican cuts to vital energy production and conservation, and America's future through the US Department of Energy. Shortchanging these advances pushes our nation backward, and raises already high energy prices even more for consumers.

In other areas, this bill dangerously short changes our national security. The bill slashes, are you ready? $412 Million from the defense nuclear nonproliferation account. This effectively guts our efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, detect covert nuclear threats, and uphold arms control agreements that keep us safe. All those cuts are a big gift for Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea.

Additionally, this bill turns its back on communities still living with toxic legacy of America's atomic past by throwing out the Army Corps program to clean up radioactive waste at every nuclear site. This is deadly, my friends. It slashes $779 Million from the Department of Energy's nuclear cleanup efforts. That's three quarters of $1 Billion. This will delay the cleanup that these communities have been promised for decades.

And I'll note that one of these American atomic waste sites is in the village of Luckey, Ohio, not so far from my district. Finally, this bill includes numerous controversial poison pill riders that are so extreme they cannot gain bipartisan support and become law. In closing, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill. America can and must meet the new age frontiers of Energy and Water.

Nature is signaling, times are changing. We must not turn back the clock, but seize the baton for future generations to come. Now is the moment to keep America on a steady path forward for an all of the above Energy and Water, and nuclear security portfolio. I reserve the balance of my time.

# # #