The Commonwealth of Kentucky relies heavily on fossil fuels, and our coal resources provide our state thousands of jobs and deliver over 83 percent of our electricity. This allows Kentuckians to enjoy some of the lowest average electricity rates in the nation. It is imperative that our country work towards energy dominance and strong economic growth and security by rolling back onerous regulations and allowing for the innovation and development of fossil fuel technology. Throughout my time in Congress I have supported legislation to do just that. My efforts to promote American energy independence and economic growth through energy dominance include:
- Adamantly and actively opposing to the Green New Deal and the elimination of carbon-based fuels from our energy grid, which would jeopardize our national and economic security.
- Just before the 2021 Earth Day Summit at the White House, I led a letter with GOP House Members to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry raising concerns about recent reports that he was pressuring the CEOs of U.S. banks to join the Net Zero Banking Alliance. Such pressure from a senior Administration official is inappropriate, and I believe that the Administration should not weaponize the financial system to accomplish its climate change goals.
- To that end, I also led the GOP pushback to the Federal Reserve’s announcement that they would be imposing climate stress tests on banks. I sent a letter to the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in December of 2020 opposing including climate change scenarios in bank supervision stress tests. We cannot allow our banking system to become politicized.
- To develop our natural resources and protect national security, I introduced the National Security Through America’s Resources and Permitting Reform Act of 2021. This legislation would add projects related to the extraction, recovery, or processing of critical minerals, rare earth elements, microfine carbon, or carbon from coal, coal waste, coal processing waste, pre-or post-combustion coal byproducts, or acid mine drainage from coal mines to the list of “covered projects” under FAST-41, enabling the United States to decrease our dangerous dependence on China for critical minerals used to support our defense.
- Actively opposed President Joe Biden’s decision to rejoin the Paris Climate Accords. When former President Donald Trump's withdrew the U.S. from the unfair and unattainable Paris Climate Accords, I supported that decision whole heartedly.
- Cosponsored and voted for H.J. Res 38 which nullified the Stream Protection Rule, an onerous and job-killing regulation that would have compromised the productivity of mining operations threshold energy affordability. H.J. Res 38 was signed into law by President Trump on February 16, 2017.
- Served as Co-Chairman of the Energy Subgroup on the House of Representatives China Task Force.
- Member of the Congressional Coal Caucus.
More on Energy
September 2014
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 9/17/14 | Barr Stands up for Main Street Businesses, Honored as Guardian of Small Business by NFIB |
August 2014
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 8/27/14 | Barr Tours JENNMAR, Discusses Work to Protect Kentucky Manufacturing and Mining Industries |
July 2014
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 7/31/14 | Barr Discusses Negative Impact of the EPA’s Anti-Coal Regulations |
January 2014
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 1/28/14 | Congressman Barr's Statement on the State of the Union |
| 1/15/14 | Federal Spending Bill Promotes Central and Eastern Kentucky Priorities |
December 2013
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 12/16/13 | Barr Joins Members of the Kentucky Delegation in Filing Amicus Brief at U.S. Supreme Court to Support Kentucky Coal Jobs |
| 12/9/13 | Barr Statement on SOAR Summit |
November 2013
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 11/15/13 | Barr Statement on TVA Announcement |
October 2013
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 10/15/13 | Barr: It is important that Members of Congress do what they were elected to do |
September 2013
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 9/30/13 | Barr Votes Again to Avert Government Shutdown, Ensure No Special Treatment |