Abundance-Oriented Caucus to Focus on Peters’ Priorities: Unleashing American Energy, Building More Housing, Investing in Science

Washington, D.C. - Today, Representative Scott Peters (CA-50), along with a bipartisan group of Congressmembers, launched the Build America Caucus as a founding member. The caucus will support the abundance movement: to ensure government delivers for Americans by tackling the self-imposed red tape that has led to a constricted and costly energy system, out-of-control housing costs, decades of infrastructure delays, and lagging investments. The caucus will also reinforce America’s lead in, and need to support, scientific discovery. The American people have lost faith in government’s ability to get things done, and instead often see government as an obstacle to timely results. The Build America Caucus will work to restore the public’s trust by advancing substantive legislation to cut red-tape and lower the cost of living.  

Rep. Peters’ remarks at the caucus launch below:  

“America prides itself on accomplishing big things:  winning world wars, sending man to the moon, or discovering the next medical breakthrough.  

“During World War II, San Diego factories built a bomber an hour, a bomber an hour.  

“We did it because the need was urgent. So, we found a way.  

Our challenges have not gone away — our capacity to achieve great things has. 

“Homelessness is on the rise, our electrical grid can’t meet future demand, and our competitors like China are supplanting our role as the scientific powerhouse of the world. 

“We know we must build more housing, expand our grid, and invest in basic scientific research. Yet, we let NIMBYs from both sides hold projects hostage. We let so-called "environmental" groups mire transmission and clean energy projects in decades of litigation. And this administration slashes scientific funding and deters the best minds in the world from coming here. 

“Today, we launch the Build America Caucus, the pro-growth abundance caucus, to think bigger and take real action to solve these problems, not just pay lip service. People are frustrated with all the delay, gridlock, and government-imposed red tape. Too often, we as lawmakers see that problem as the system we work in, instead of the system we have the power to change.  

“I am working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to rework the 50-year-old environmental laws that are ironically used to stop clean energy projects. This isn’t easy. We came close last year with the Energy Permitting Reform Act in the Senate, but it came with immense opposition from those who think the status quo is acceptable. We know that it is not. 

“This caucus will stand ready to face the pressure from all sides on strong bipartisan efforts like this, as a commonsense majority that tunes out the noise so that we can get shit done.  

“There are many political fights in D.C., but when I go back home, what I hear about over and over is the cost of living. The cost of housing, and electricity, and childcare. They are counting on us to put politics aside to make their lives better. That’s exactly what the Build America Caucus plans to do.”  

Background:  

Representative Peters has long championed the movement to make government more efficient, build more housing, update outdated laws to deliver reliable and affordable energy to power our economy, and invest in scientific innovation.

Rep. Peters’ legislation in this space includes:

The Building Chips in America Act* 

The BIG WIRES Act 

The SPEED and Reliability Act 

The FASTER Act 

The Advanced Reactor Fee Act*  

The Build More Housing Near Transit Act 

The Fix Our Forests Act 

*Now law 

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