The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
2468 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC, 20515

I stand with Pipeliners Local 798 in congratulating you on your election to the position of Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives and in encouraging your leadership on the pro-American energy policy agenda outlined in your acceptance remarks on January 7. 

Regulatory burdens placed on the energy industry - and pushed forward by several of your colleagues - in recent years have proven to be principal barriers to the approval of critical infrastructure projects that represent significant economic investment, access to reliable energy and good jobs for skilled craftsmen. Many of these jobs would belong to members of Pipeliners Local 798, a trades union based in Oklahoma that represents thousands of America's most skilled and seasoned workers who live and work across the country.

We agree with your view that our nation's leaders can help turn this tide in the right direction by working swiftly and collaboratively to support policies that leverage our nation's abundant energy supply and American ingenuity to advance our energy independence, lower our energy costs and create good-paying jobs for our workers.

Overall, I am proud to support policy that prioritizes a strong domestic energy industry due to the following key benefits:

• Generates significant economic activity, supporting a robust and growing economy;
• Encourages investment in and utilization of advanced technology to improve safety and efficiency of infrastructure networks;
• Improves grid reliability and makes energy more affordable for everyday Americans;
• Grows opportunities for skilled craftsmen who depend on jobs on infrastructure projects to provide for their families, many of these workers belonging to Pipeliners Local 798;
• Coupling Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects, in particular, with natural gas systems will further reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining the strength and affordability of the existing grid. The development of a major new nationwide network of CO₂ pipelines and CO₂ sequestration wells is necessary to help meet growing demand for cleaner energy.

Investing in energy infrastructure projects, from natural gas to CCS system, will add countless well-paying American jobs in construction, manufacturing and other services, helping to secure and grow the prosperity of families and communities across the nation.

It is also important to point out that ambiguous and excessive regulatory provisions and endless litigation that continue to rattle our industry give opponents the tools to slow or stop projects during the permitting process, and sometimes stop development projects already under construction. It is therefore essential that you and your colleagues in Washington go above partisan politics to focus on strengthening the American energy industry.

Signed,

[Names below]