Sheldon Whitehouse And Lee Zeldin Brutally Clash In Senate Energy Hearing

[0:00] White House. Mr. Zeldin, my colleagues around this table are closing in on election in which [0:05] the Trump administration's household cost catastrophe will be central. And you have [0:11] been on a polluter-funded rampage to increase Americans' costs. Stuff should cost less. You [0:18] are making lots of stuff cost lots more. You have raised costs for Americans. You have done so to [0:25] steer their money to your big polluters. Your attack on clean energy raises costs for consumers, [0:33] but it sends billions to your fossil fuel polluters, Trump's big donors. Trump's attack [0:39] on offshore wind stalled nine cent per kilowatt hour power. Contract number, no math, getting to my [0:48] constituents who work in an 18 cent average kilowatt hour grid. Every single day that that nine cent [0:55] power was delayed, steered money from consumers' pockets into the pockets of expensive natural [1:03] gas units, units that the clean offshore wind energy would have displaced. You will at least [1:09] concede that nine cents is less than 18 cents, will you not? Well, nine cents is less than 18 cents. [1:16] However, in this context, your math is accurate. Your rampant climate denial and refusal to address [1:21] climate risk is driving home insurance rates skyward, setting new records in states like Iowa, Florida, [1:29] and Texas. Those costs are cascading from a home insurance crisis into a mortgage crisis, [1:35] into a property values crisis. But the big winners, getting to pollute for free, are your fossil fuel [1:42] polluters, Trump's big donors. Is EPA looking at all at Florida's climate-driven insurance crisis? [1:51] So to be clear, everything about the nine cents, all you want to ask me is whether nine cents is less [1:56] than 18 cents? I have a new question now. One of the next questions. [1:57] No, just so that I'm understanding. Okay, if you don't want to ask my question, I'll move on to the next one. [2:01] If I'm tracking right, all you want to know that nine cents is less than 18 cents. You don't want to [2:06] actually talk about the issue. You already answered that. Now you're just wasting my time. [2:09] Now everything other than nine is less than 18 is wasting your time? [2:12] Up the cost of Americans' gasoline budgets. Your own regulatory impact analysis put the net loss to [2:20] consumers at 180 billion dollars, but with a minimum, minimum 580 billion bonus for big oil at the pump. [2:32] All those billions go to your fossil fuel polluters, Trump's big donors. Those are your numbers, Mr. Zeldin. [2:41] You also made it easier to pollute with soot, soot, which will cost Americans tens of billions in added [2:48] health care costs, all to save about 600 million dollars in compliance costs for your fossil fuel [2:55] polluters, Trump's big donors. You stopped EPA even counting health harms in your cost-benefit analysis, [3:03] didn't you? I'm still stuck on the fact that all you're asking me so far about any of your numbers is [3:09] that nine is less than 18. You attacked the greenhouse gas reduction fund. You want to talk about what an LCOE is? [3:13] I get the time here. I get to ask the questions. You attacked the greenhouse gas reduction fund, [3:19] potentially costing consumers 52 billion dollars in lost energy savings, let alone the health benefits [3:25] of cleaner air. But that 52 billion consumers lose will flow where? To your fossil fuel polluters, [3:32] Trump's big donors. Ditto the solar for all funding that you attacked, trying to strip Americans of [3:38] 350 million dollars per year in expected energy savings, billions over time. Those lost savings go [3:45] where? To your fossil fuel polluters, Trump's big donors. You even set up a special polluter email [3:53] address that gave polluters a drive-up window for exemptions from the Clean Air Act, helping them keep [4:00] 70 polluting coal plants online. One estimate is that just six of those plants have already cost rate payers [4:07] an extra 230 million dollars in costs in less than one year. And indeed, one plant in Michigan has [4:15] already cost Michiganders 600 million dollars in excess health costs. That is money out of consumers' [4:23] pockets and into the pockets of your fossil fuel polluters, Trump's big donors. Can we talk about [4:30] your math yet? Are you even tracking the consumer cost of those coal plants? We're going to get to talk [4:36] about math. Are you even tracking the consumer costs of those coal plants? Oh, this is great. So I don't [4:42] even know where to start with all the messed up math. Answer that question. Are you even tracking [4:46] the consumer costs of those coal plants? Of course. Yeah, and costs are going down across the country. [4:50] When you look at EPA's impacts... Where are you tracking the consumer costs of those coal plants? [4:56] When you look at the real... Are you kidding me? Coal plants even staying open? You think that the math [5:01] is it's better for West Virginia if you close down their coal plants and put these people out of work [5:07] and tell them to learn a code. According to you, in your mind, that's saving West Virginia? Is it saving [5:14] them on energy access? We know it's raising costs. Is it saving them on jobs? You can talk across me all you like. [5:19] You are raising costs. Raising costs. You're raising costs on purpose because the money that you get [5:24] when you raise costs from consumers goes to Trump's big fossil fuel donors. We don't close down coal. [5:29] My time is up. I'm not sure we're going to get anywhere with that.