Carbon Sequestration Collaboration Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas) for yielding and for all the work done in committee to get this important piece of legislation to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I also thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), the ranking member of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, for her leadership and support on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of misconceptions about what this bill does, and, unfortunately, there are some who are intentionally spreading misinformation about this bill for political gain. Before I continue any further, let's put these rumors to rest by telling the American people what this bill does not do.

This bill does not give Federal agencies any authority to seize private property. I am a farmer and a private landowner, and I would never sponsor or support a bill that would give the Federal Government more power to seize private land.

This bill does not specify any land for carbon capture projects or undermine the property rights of American citizens.

This bill does not directly benefit or impact private companies with an interest in carbon sequestration.

The United States has been using carbon sequestration methods to store excess carbon emissions underground for over 50 years, and President Biden's Department of Energy is currently studying large- scale carbon sequestration at the Federal level. The problem is that our Federal agencies are not communicating properly about this technology, leaving a knowledge gap that wastes taxpayer dollars and could result in important findings falling through the cracks.

H.R. 4824 will force the executive branch to submit a plan to Congress and require Federal agencies to share research, data, and current sequestration technologies. Simply put, this bill puts guardrails on the administration's national energy plan by adding a reporting requirement to Congress and requires Federal agencies to talk to one another and share research in the most efficient way.

Mr. Speaker, I am sponsoring this legislation because I believe every Hoosier and every American, for that matter, should have the best information that is available when making informed decisions about their land and their community.

That is why, Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

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