WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014\u00a0A major fight over America\u2019s energy future is heating up on Capitol Hill.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Congressman Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.) believes the government should not mandate how Americans heat their home. His legislation, the Energy Choice Act, aims to make that the law of the land.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made this legislation my absolute top priority because I know firsthand what\u2019s at stake if we cut off access to natural gas,\u201d said Langworthy, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tuesday\u00a0evening on Capitol Hill, Langworthy was joined by several NY House GOP colleagues including Reps. Claudia Tenney, Mike Lawler, and Elise Stefanik, who is running to be the next governor of New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Several New York state Republican lawmakers were also there to show their support for the measure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Yorkers want energy\u00a0choice. They want affordable and reliable energy.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0why we need the energy choice Act,\u201d said New York State Assemblyman Phil\u00a0Palmesano. \u201cGovernor Hochul likes to say all the right things about\u00a0an all\u00a0of the above approach, affordable and reliable energy. The problem is her actions and policies do not match her words.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Langworthy said the federal effort comes in response to statewide efforts in New York to prohibit natural gas from new\u00a0building\u00a0and home construction. New York\u2019s proposed ban has been put on pause, for now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bill would prohibit any future bans on connections, installations, or expansions of energy services. Langworthy\u00a0argues\u00a0the legislation is about affordability, safety and protecting consumers\u2019 options.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe looming natural gas ban has made this a cataclysmic issue that is affecting our entire state\u2019s economy,\u201d Langworthy said. \u201cGas stoves and gas fireplaces\u00a0literally saved\u00a0lives in communities like ours. This push to full electrification is not just misguided and dangerous.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0going to have a devastating effect on people\u2019s household budgets and housing supply.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bill is gaining support from more than 120 House members and a broad coalition across the energy, construction, and real estate sectors. Senator Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) is leading the companion bill in the Senate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s gained support from 123 members of the House of Representatives from dozens of states, everyone from Democrats to constitutional conservatives, because they know the horrible impact that this bad policy will have if it takes root not just in New York, but across the country,\u201d Langworthy said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Langworthy added that a committee markup on the bill could occur as early as Wednesday. It would be a major step toward a full House vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014\u00a0A major fight over America\u2019s energy future is heating up on Capitol Hill.\u00a0 Congressman Nick Langworthy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38160,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[2288,136,138,137,2287,2286,2289],"class_list":["post-38159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-bureau","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news","tag-u-s-capitol","tag-washington-d-c","tag-washington-d-c-bureau"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}