- 3 months ago
At a press briefing in Owego, Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY) spoke against a looming ban on natural gas hookups in new construction in New York.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good afternoon or good morning. I'd like to welcome everyone here today to
00:04Johnson Pools and SPAS and I'd like to welcome Congressman Nick Langworthy for
00:09being here today to talk on a very important subject. We have a lot of
00:13elected officials behind me. I'd just like to note Sheriff Gary Howard and
00:17Assemblyman Chris Friend and many of my colleagues behind me here. We're here
00:24today to have effort to combat the electric mandate on new construction. I
00:30know that Congressman Langworthy is going to talk about that and a lot of the
00:34negative aspects of it and we need to take a lead on that in this county as
00:39well to what I think the most important issue one of the most important issues is
00:43making public aware of this. You can talk to many people in our community and many
00:48other communities around the area here and they do not even aren't aware of
00:52this and we need to really let the public know what's going on here because
00:56it's going to affect everyone whether you're building a new home, whether you're
01:00buying a new home, what do you want to buy a new home ten years from now and you're
01:05going to have no choice other than to start buying these houses that are being
01:07constructed now and if it's not your choice you know you might not find the
01:12house you're looking for. So with that I'm just going to ask Congressman Langworthy
01:15to come up and address us and welcome to Tioga County. Thank you so much
01:19supervisor it is great to be back here in Tioga County and I want to thank all of
01:23my friends for joining me here today as we tackle this important topic. I want to
01:30especially thank Eric and Janice Johnson for hosting us today here in giving us
01:36the backdrop for this discussion and John Healy from the Builders Exchange of the
01:40Southern Tier for joining us to represent the home builders of the
01:45Southern Tier. They are on the front lines of housing and commercial
01:50construction markets across the region and they see firsthand how government
01:54policies affect housing costs and accessibility and unfortunately thanks to
02:00radical energy policies that have taken root in Albany we are in the midst of a
02:06housing nightmare going forward and I'm here in a week ago today with a clear and
02:11urgent message we need to ban the ban that's the ban on natural gas and
02:17propane and new construction. Governor Hochul and Democrats who control the
02:21legislature they woke up one morning and they decided it was time to declare war on
02:27natural gas and propane and I don't need to tell you that those are two fuel
02:33sources that a lot of people in the Southern Tier depend on to heat their homes and
02:38they have made our state ground zero for the Green New Deal and in Washington the
02:42Green New Deal is a concept it's a pipe dream in New York it's unfortunately law
02:49and I have been sounding the alarm on this since I went to Congress but we're now
02:54just a few short months away from a ban on natural gas hookups in new
03:00construction from taking effect. Too many people still are completely unaware of what is on the
03:08horizon January 1st 2026 you can no longer build a new home in the state of New
03:13York with the energy source of your choice and it's already affecting the
03:18housing market and the cost of our energy bills when I tell people in
03:22Washington that next January in a cold climate you know when they think of me
03:27as a guy from Buffalo they think about snow but when I tell them that you could no
03:33longer build a home that hooks up to natural gas their eyes pop out of their head
03:37they can't get their head around the logic that would get a state to that
03:41decision especially a state that's known for cold weather and very large snow
03:47events this is simply an un-American assault on our freedom our pocketbooks
03:53and most importantly our safety because I don't need to tell anyone in the
03:58Southern Tier what a lifeline natural gas and propane are during a winter power
04:04outage on the other end of our district you know where I live a winter storm
04:10Elliott you know it was we we remember it is the Christmas blizzard Christmas of 22
04:16it was just days before I took office as congressman brutal cold whiteout
04:22conditions no end in sight to the hurricane force winds and we lost 69 lives
04:30in that storm and I've told the governor to her face that if her
04:35electrification mandate was online during this storm that number would have at
04:39least been tenfold and I believe that with full conviction that death toll would
04:44have been far worse if people didn't have natural gas to heat their homes and to
04:49stay alive gas stoves gas fireplaces they literally saved lives in
04:54communities like ours and it's bad enough that people in the Southern Tier can't
04:58access natural gas sitting right under our feet that God gave us because of
05:03downstate ideology and mandates that would transform our economy but it's
05:09especially outrageous that Kathy Hochul was supposed to be the governor in our
05:14first governor from upstate New York in over a hundred years but she's abandoned
05:18that that that upbringing those those roots to kowtow to the radical left that
05:25runs her party in Albany to stay in power she was from Buffalo now she's Kathy
05:30from Brooklyn and I have told her directly that the community she grew up
05:36with would be put in a very dangerous position because of the actions that she
05:42has taken in energy this push to full electrification is not just misguided it
05:47is dangerous it's going to have a devastating effect on people's household
05:51budgets and our housing supply in 2021 there is a study of the home innovation
05:58research labs that found the additional cost of building an all-electric house
06:02compared to one with natural gas was was well into the $15,000 range the cost for a
06:09geothermal heat pump can go as high as $45,000 in according to the US Energy
06:16Information Administration there's a 42% increase in annual cost for households
06:22heating in using their utilities with strictly electricity over a home with
06:28natural gas for the average homeowner that is real money it is real money that
06:33consumers and taxpayers here in the southern tier simply cannot afford in the
06:38consequences of these Green New Deal policies they're already being felt it's
06:43just last week there was more news Governor Hochul's Public Service
06:46Commission has green-lighted utility rate hikes because of the mandates the
06:52state is putting down on the utilities it's easy for politicians to beat up the
06:56utilities but they are not the ones at fault here it's Albany telling them
07:02that the grid needs to be beefed up in areas so there this mass
07:07electrification mandate can come online and this obviously you have this housing
07:12discussion that I'm having with you today but this this goes much further I mean we
07:17have the school bus mandate where they want every school bus in New York
07:21State to be electrified at a massive cost to the taxpayer at a cost that our
07:27school district simply cannot afford and in many areas the grid is not
07:30capable of bringing that category one style power to bus garages in our region
07:36and I'm getting calls from my constituents across the district that they don't want
07:41this they don't trust this in the air very concerned about going into frigid
07:47winters in in our region with the idea of an electrification mandate in losing
07:55perhaps that redundancy maybe some people do have radiant electric heat in their
07:58home if they live in an area with that's got lower rates but you know that those are
08:04few and far between but many of those also have the redundancy of maybe a
08:07natural gas fireplace and you know you'd at least have that to keep your family
08:12warm if there's an extended power outage in the cold winter months these
08:18decisions that were made in Albany were not made based on technology
08:24practicality market demand they were made simply for political ideology New York
08:29State wanted to be the leader in out green other states they wanted to emulate
08:34California I don't want our state to ever emulate California I mean California
08:39is the worst state to possibly base yourself after natural gas is clean it's
08:46reliable it's affordable and it's abundant and it's transformed the
08:50Pennsylvania economy if anyone hasn't noticed and that but but the fight that I
08:54went to Washington to have and I'm a little different than a lot of Republicans
08:58that are out there promoting states rights above all else I am looking for
09:03federal solutions to defeat bad policy out of my state capital and that is why I
09:10introduced the Energy Choice Act this would block state and local governments
09:15from banning specific sources of energy that are safe and legal those are like
09:21natural gas and propane here in new construction because the American people
09:25should have the freedom of economic choice to decide what energy they want to
09:29use in their home just like they should have the freedom of choices and what kind
09:32of car they want to drive government shouldn't tell you you must buy an EV if if
09:36you want an EV I want you to have an EV if it doesn't suit your needs as many
09:41people that drive long distances that live in the southern tier it doesn't suit
09:44what what their lifestyle brings you shouldn't be forced to by the
09:47government unfortunately you know that has been another mantra of the folks
09:53running the show in Albany natural gas powers our homes our manufacturing plants
09:58our hospitals and our small businesses it's a lifeline for today but it's also a
10:02bridge to an energy future I it's ironic governor Hochul talks about building a
10:06new nuclear power plant we do need to get into the nuclear age in New York it's
10:12probably a 15-year runway at best-case scenario but we burn natural gas to
10:19create 40 percent of the electricity in the state of New York Niagara Falls is
10:24about 20 percent about 20 percent from existing existing nuclear that goes back
10:31decades and just a negligible amount equates to the power created by the
10:38alternatives of wind and solar yet wind and solar are all that you know the
10:42other side wants to talk about is the alternatives going forward I am proud to be
10:48leading this fight to ban the ban and protect New Yorkers rights to affordable
10:53energy options in their homes and I'm thrilled that this bill is gaining a ton
10:57of momentum and we have a vast support from you know members across the country
11:03various industry leaders we have more than 46 co-sponsors already and they
11:09represent dozens of states not just those states that are at war with fossil fuels
11:15though they don't want this idea to get contagious around the country you know we
11:19need to stop this in its tracks to make sure this doesn't continue in the Energy
11:24Choice Act would do just that but we also have the National Association of
11:29Home Builders who are represented here today the National Propane Association you
11:34know many trade associations have joined our efforts here in this fight and we've
11:39we've built this coalition and I'm very proud that US Senator Jim Justice of West
11:44Virginia he's introduced a companion bill that would be working in the Senate at
11:50the same time I'm working to get it through the house so hopefully we can
11:53beat the Governor Hochul mandate on January 1st of 2026 and we're not going to
11:59rest until this is on the president's desk but you know I'm working hard to get
12:05awareness of this problem because because of the way they do things and
12:08Assemblyman Friend can talk a little bit more about this when we call him up the
12:13way they pass legislation like this isn't through stakeholder meetings hearings
12:17discussions they tuck it in the budget three years ago and then you find out
12:23when it's upon you and until you go to have someone come to your home and say I
12:29need this fixed all of a sudden they're like well the law doesn't allow me to sell
12:33that to you anymore I mean that's the way Albany works and we need we need the
12:40power to go back to the people and I'm confident when we get back in September
12:46we're going to be working to mark this bill up and get it out of committee in
12:49the Energy and Commerce Committee which I fought to have a seat at that table I'm
12:52the only New York Republican on that committee and you know before closing I
12:57also wanted to touch on the fact that home ownership is always been the major
13:03plank of the American dream it's the cornerstone you know right now our
13:09youngest generation is struggling to achieve that portion of the American
13:13dream and it you know they can't find a home that they can afford this is going
13:20to exacerbate the costs of those homes in in it's going to slow if not finish off
13:26any new home construction especially in our southern tier counties you know you
13:30are watching is Albany is intentionally destroying the housing market adding tens
13:35of thousands of costs that will push the dream home much further down the road for
13:40many families this is an Albany problem and I'm working to find a Washington
13:44solution to fix it and it's one of the main reasons I wanted to serve on the
13:48Energy and Commerce Committee New Yorkers now have a seat at that table and I am
13:53going to make damn sure to use this position to fight for common sense
13:56policies and we will ensure that we have access to clean and reliable energy and
14:03before we get into the Q&A I'd like to introduce our host here today the
14:11proprietor here Eric Johnson thank you so much thank you appreciate it I don't have a
14:18whole lot to say other than we talked about this alternative you know if this
14:24goes through they're going to take out a whole industry in New York State if we
14:29can't sell wood gas and pellet stoves net natural gas and LP there's a whole
14:34industry gone and it's across all of upstate New York where everybody does
14:38rely on these sources and you know it's going to mean job losses and that's not
14:43good as well we talked about you know nice egg and in Tioga County and we go
14:49for the last six weeks it's been the joke set your watch at two o'clock because the
14:52power is going to go out six consecutive weeks at a time for a minimum of four
14:56hours a day on Sundays and we have a lot of customers that come in that are on
15:02electric heat in their home and they're like listen it's not heating our house
15:06we're cold we need to upgrade we need to supplement and this would just
15:10absolutely devastate that and hamstring these people thank you thank you very
15:15much here appreciate it very much you being here now we'd like to welcome for
15:19John Healy from the southern tilt tier Builders Exchange thank you John just a
15:25reiterate a couple points to Congress in laying where they said so well number
15:29one just freedom we just asked for the freedom of choice let individual
15:32homeowners small business owners residential houses architects
15:36engineers just let them choose what they want how they supply their own house
15:39what equipment they want to put in infrastructure the infrastructure is
15:44just not in place to support this the law and that there's just there'll be too
15:50much supply not enough demand too much man on supply and then up cost there's
15:54just gonna increase homeownership cost of construction and we think Congress and
15:59laying worthy taking the lead on this issue thank you so much John if you don't
16:04have your building permit stamped on New Year's Eve you don't get to build a home
16:09with the energy of your choice we go town hall probably ought to have extended
16:15hours on New Year's Eve because you're seeing this everywhere and every
16:20municipality I visit they're seeing an uptick of people that are trying to beat
16:24the clock a lot of home builders are trying to pre permit things because you
16:28know they're aware of this problem we're trying to get public awareness of this
16:32problem because again the way they passed the law what's it three years ago tuck
16:37it in the budget don't talk about it and now it's here and it's about to affect
16:42your life and there are people that some of the builders I've met with this
16:47August have told me have just walked away from the table when they they know that
16:52they can't get into the ground by this December that they would have to go to an
16:58all-electric model they're just not interested in building a home anymore and
17:01that's that is you know put such a great deal of uncertainty on the backs of this
17:06entire critical industry now we would like to welcome forward Gary Holmes from the
17:12Owego Council
17:15very important and thank you very much for being here sir very
17:22appreciated Eric thank you as elected officials our job is to support and take
17:28care of the people not burden them there's so many things just like the
17:32congressman was talking about if you lose power in upstate New York what's
17:35going to run your generator it's either propane or fuel so this is putting us in
17:41a terrible bind and as he said young people want to build a house they want
17:46to they can't afford it they can't get up they can't have the money to do it and
17:50now if this goes through which this is absolutely in my opinion crazy if this
17:54goes through it's going to cripple the whole industries businesses like this I've
17:58known this these gentlemen these people the family your mother I love your mom by
18:03the way your people they've had this business and worked hard all their this
18:07is going to hurt them terribly that's not our job our job is to take care of
18:11our voters and our taxpayers thank you very much thank you so appreciate it and
18:16now my good friend from Waverly Andrew Aarons thank you for inviting me
18:22congressman I've had a pleasure of hosting the congressman at several meetings in
18:29Waverly and I know him and the Waverly people know him as a true supporter of
18:34the sub-interior nothing can be more important than the issue that he's talking
18:39about today this is going to affect the only way that we are going to energize that
18:45we're going to motorize that we're going to keep this country growing and this
18:50state growing is by a common sense all of the above approach and we have the
18:56right man in Washington to make sure that that happens you know he's going to
19:01fight why he wants to be in Washington I have no clue but we but I'm glad he's
19:07there and I'm glad that he we have a real fighter out there supporting southern
19:13border here thank you so much thank you and now last but not least Assemblyman
19:18Chris Friend someone that's been a part of this fight with me and fighting the
19:22fight in Albany for a long time thank you congressman as congressman mentioned
19:27this law was passed three years ago tucked into the budget and one of our
19:30backroom deals and it's just again part of what was passed in 2019 called the
19:37CLCPA which we are all just began to see the impacts of what that is with
19:42skyrocketing utility rates and cost to our home builder being a salary across the
19:49southern tier that's a lot of money that you're talking about ponying up for
19:53something that we're don't even need to be sacrificing right now we sit across
19:57above the Marcellus and Utica shales which can supply enough energy not only for
20:03our country but for the world for over a hundred years but we're not allowed to
20:07access it and that's ridiculous instead we're putting out electrical cords to
20:12Ohio to West Virginia and up to Canada to bring in electrical power to supply the
20:17demand instead of producing the power here in our own state hiring our own
20:21workers and providing the tax revenues we need within our own state and it's also
20:26disingenuous to go ahead and attack the industry that is the top property
20:31taxpayer in the southern tier which is the natural gas industry if we should
20:36shut them down and take them out of their state what are we gonna do for our
20:40schools where are they gonna make up that tax revenue it's just not fair and I
20:44appreciate the congressman bringing attention to this issue because it needs
20:48more attention thank you to the press for being here today and bringing some
20:52highlight to this thank you so much Assemblyman you know it he touches on the
20:57cost to build but that's a one-time cost the cost to heat I mean asking if you're
21:06at the rates you're outside of a municipal system of electricity which is
21:11very few munis left you could be looking at a thousand dollar a month electric bill
21:18I mean that's that's a reality if you have a cold winter and you have to heat your
21:22home I mean as we see these double-digit rate increases at the behest of
21:27Hochul's Public Service Commission that is going to be in dollars on you know we
21:32have a lot of people in our community on a fixed income they can't afford this
21:36when you go to you know I think about the 80 year old widow trying to stay in her
21:41home in the furnace conks out and she calls the HVAC repairman they say I can't I
21:48can't restore this furnace and I can't replace it you know we'll get you suited
21:54up with a thirty thousand dollar geothermal heat pump who's gonna pay for
21:59that she doesn't have the money and there's that's more the rule than an
22:04exception in the southern tier what what what this idiotic mandate that Albany is
22:13thrust down on us is capable of doing is taking our our biggest long-term threat
22:20which is the flight of our population in putting the afterburners on and sending
22:25more and more people to the exits as they leave for Florida and they leave for
22:29Tennessee and Texas in the Carolinas places where they have more personal
22:33and economic freedom because government shouldn't be picking winners and losers
22:38and they shouldn't be telling people how you should heat your home how you
22:41should you know what sources of energy you should be able to use in your home
22:44and that's why I'm looking forward to next week going back to Washington to
22:49get back to work and to get this bill across the finish line so I want to thank
22:54you all for being here today be happy to take any questions from the press
22:56so two-part question government wheels move slowly sometimes what are the
23:02chances realistically you think of getting this pushed across before the
23:05January 1st deadline well the deadline is something that I'm making my
23:09leadership in the house very well aware of energy and commerce has been fully
23:13supportive of me moving the ball forward I mean had last year's
23:17presidential election turned out differently I would say that there was no
23:20chance I do believe we will get this across the finish line in the house I
23:26unlike last year when I first introduced the bill we didn't have a Senate
23:30companion now we do and senator justice is someone that understand you know
23:35coming from a state like West Virginia where you know the the national assault
23:39on the coal industries had a very devastating effect on their economy he
23:43understands the need for energy freedom and having a Senate companions a big
23:50deal in this process we're gonna race against clock I'm gonna work around the
23:54clock to get the job done but I had members of Congress from all over the
23:58country coming to me saying well the National Propane Association just visited with
24:02their grassroots visit where their membership from all the different states go
24:06and they visit with their members of Congress and they're like we want you to
24:09get on the Langworthy bill and you know that's a great way to get awareness of that
24:14legislation because so many different stakeholder organizations have joined
24:18this fight we're creating a grassroots movement I'm going to talk to a lot of
24:21these ladies and gentlemen about getting our towns and our counties to
24:26endorse this legislation because we need Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand to at
24:29the National Propane Association I'm confident with the Republican majority we will pass this bill in the
24:44House Senate they move awful slow but time is of the essence we're gonna be
24:49ramping it up and I'm gonna you know I'm gonna work around the clock to get this
24:53done I have no doubt New York will litigate what Governor Hochul could do is
24:56just push this mandate out a few years I mean she's had to do that a time or two
25:00she could blame Trump she could blame anybody she wants I mean no one's gonna
25:04be offended if she blames the president or blames me I don't care what you want
25:08but get more time on the clock don't put this hammer over everyone's head that
25:15everyone's got a race to change the way they do business before December 31st it is
25:20not the right time for this you mentioned you know the priority of getting public
25:27awareness out there what kind of difference do you think that could make
25:29in getting this bill across the finish line in the next four months oh you know I
25:33know Assemblyman Chris friends on my side I know that Senator O'Meara you know
25:37these are we are represented in the state legislature by a lot of pro energy
25:40people our entire delegation probably save for a couple that are in the inner
25:47cities are very pro energy but we need the public at large to join the fight and
25:54to understand that this deadline is something that will affect your lives
25:59going forward you want to buy this gas insert and put it in your house forget
26:02about it if this goes through so you know I am looking for this federal solution to
26:07cancel out their ability to do this but you know the damage is done but the
26:12governor needs this public pressure ask people asking for either a moratorium or
26:17a delay in implementation so that people can be better prepared for this you
26:22realize it all the unpopular things that Albany does they don't run around and
26:26brag about Kathy Hochul's running all over the state telling people she's giving
26:29free lunch to school kids I'm not opposed to that she likes to give out good news bad
26:36news they hide and then they make all the businesses just deliver the bad news
26:41but the sad reality is all they're doing in this process is ramping up more and
26:47more moving trucks to head to point south you mentioned the legal side that if you
26:52get this done what do you think legal wise what's it what's the battle gonna be
26:57like in court I I mean listen everything's litigated these days I expect that
27:01they'd litigate and that would at least buy us all more time you know they can
27:06they can litigate all they want we want to get this in the law I want to get this on
27:10the president's desk and I'm gonna work like hell to get it done well the
27:15deadline that governor Hochul's put on the taxpayers of the state that the
27:19existing law in New York is is 1231 is the last day that someone can permit a
27:24new home and in for construction in New York State without sacrificing the
27:29ability to have a natural gas or propane hookup any other questions the seven
27:35stories thing is that just to protect the cities from building well but all this
27:40ideology comes out of New York City yet their grandfather until 2029 for
27:45anything ten stories and above they don't have to worry about it for a while
27:49because they know they can't make it work down there but us peons upstate that
27:53they don't care about I mean the governor's abandoned her principle she's
27:56abandoned her roots and she doesn't stand for the people here these mandates come on
28:02us right away okay thanks everybody really appreciate you coming
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