Today, House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) testified before the House Committee on Rules on the America CONCEDES Act, Democrats' sham bill that suppresses our own domestic energy capacity and increases our reliance on foreign adversaries like China for critical resources and products.

"The fact that Democrats continue to support these types of policies and refuse to support workforce here in America to expand energy production, where it is cleaner and safer, is ridiculous. They would rather export jobs, increase our country’s reliance on nations like China and ensure that foreign adversaries who lack proper environmental safety precautions and use child and slave labor are leaders in the world’s energy production," Ranking Member Westerman said.

Ranking Member Bruce Westerman's remarks as prepared:

"Thank you, Chair McGovern, Ranking Member Cole, and members of the committee.

Coming in at twenty-nine hundred pages and a three hundred and twenty-five billion dollars- yes billion with a "B"-, the COMPETES Act is nothing more than the Biden administration’s and Congressional Democrats’ attempt to capitulate to China, suppress our own domestic capacity and increase our reliance on foreign adversaries for critical resources and products.

While Democrats may say they want the U.S. to be competitive against China, their policies are killing the kinds of American projects that will actually make us more competitive.

Don’t believe me? There are enough examples that we could talk about all day long. But, to give others a chance, I will keep it to just a few examples.

Let’s start with one of the more recent examples that happened just last week.

On Wednesday, the Department of the Interior announced its decision to cancel federal leases held by Twin Metals Minnesota, one of the largest potential sources of copper in the country. The decision is at odds with President Biden as he continues to advocate for a buildout of renewable energy sources. Even worse, it increases our reliance on China to achieve Biden’s goal of electrifying America.

We can also look at the ongoing "Biden Bans." The Biden administration and Democrats continue to support bans on new energy leases on federal land and waters, handicapping energy development on U.S. soil. This has led to our nation to export jobs overseas while also making us more dependent on foreign adversaries like China for our energy and critical mineral needs.

So, what do these two examples have in common? The simple fact that Democrats continue refusing to support our nation’s workforce by expanding energy production here at home where it is cleaner and safer than anywhere else in the world. They would rather export jobs, increase our country’s reliance on nations like China, and ensure that foreign adversaries who lack proper environmental safety precautions and use child and slave labor are leaders in the world’s energy production.

This is why I’m pleased to cosponsor several amendments offered by my colleagues Rep. Waltz and Rep. Stauber to restore our domestic critical minerals production. These amendments would streamline permitting processes for domestic mining projects while maintaining rigorous environmental standards, allowing us to produce these resources here at home, rather than relying on China.

The legislation also makes several amendments to the Lacey Act snuck in without so much as a hearing in the Natural Resources Committee, likely because Democrats knew the provisions would not stand a chance if they were vetted through a regular-order legislative process. The provisions give blanket authority to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to determine what is an “injurious species” without any requirement for public input, advance notice or comment, dramatically expand FWS’ authority to regulate movement of injurious wildlife within the United States and makes wildlife importers guilty until proven innocent by requiring imported species to appear on a FWS “white list” or have it treated as injurious by default.

These provisions will be detrimental to American industries, such as aquaculture, which are already highly regulated businesses.

Democrats’ latest legislation, the AMERICA CONCEDES Act, proves they don’t plan on changing that narrative any time soon. Here’s the proof:

In a bill dealing with a foreign adversary, it mentions "climate change" TWICE as often as “national security.”

It mentions coral (394 times) more often than it mentions China (374 times).

The bill includes much of the Democrats’ radical "Blue New Deal"- heavy-handed, federal government-knows-best legislation that will impose further regulations on those who depend on our nations offshore and onshore waters. The Blue New Deal makes us more dependent on imported products, rather than utilizing and conserving America’s abundance of natural resources.

It authorizes two billion in climate programming every fiscal year with no sunsets.

The bill gives eight billion to a "green climate" slush fund through the United Nations – the same slush fund that has award one hundred million dollars to China already.

If you are not worried about accountability, you should be. Because the UN’s slush fund has no safeguard in place, taxpayer funds could be used to subsidize the Chinese Communist Party or fund solar and battery factories abroad that utilize slave labor.

The AMERICA CONCEDES Act exposes once again the hypocrisy of the Democrat agenda as they continue to kill domestic mining projects, block oil and gas lease sales, and other actions that only increase our reliance on foreign adversaries.

I yield back."

Watch Westerman's remarks here.