Palmer talks energy, China at chamber luncheon

Increasing domestic energy production, combating the influence of China and improving his home district dominated a Washington update given by U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Hoover, on April 13.

Palmer, the Republican Congressman from Alabama’s Sixth District, spoke to a group of area chambers of commerce at Mountain Brook’s Grand Bohemian Hotel.

The ongoing war in Ukraine, Palmer said, did not create an energy crisis; rather, it exposed an existing one. It is a crisis made worse by decisions made by the Biden administration, such as canceling the Keystone XL pipeline project, which would have brought about 830,000 barrels of Canadian oil per day through the United States down to the Gulf Coast. Countries have learned both during supply chain crises and the war in Ukraine the dangers of relying on adversarial nations for critical imports, Palmer said.

Palmer touted natural gas as a “key” to bringing down energy costs and reducing carbon emissions. He also advocated for next-generation nuclear energy as a way to both reduce the carbon footprint and help make America more energy independent. Next-generation nuclear, he said, would help convert spent fuel rods and produce more energy on less land than what wind turbines are capable of, with a longer life.

In House Resolution 1, Palmer authored two parts of the legislation that repealed what he called a $27 billion “slush fund” for green energy companies and protected the purchase of gas stoves.

“We have so neglected our hydrocarbon infrastructure,” Palmer said. “We need to take a more rational, regional approach to this.”

Instead of relying on other countries for energy, the U.S. should be a global leader in the field, the congressman said.

“The United States is literally an energy superpower,” Palmer said. “We need to unleash it.”

Palmer said he is concerned about China’s growing influence in both Central and South America, as well as their buying of “golden shares” of corporations, thus ensuring them a spot on the company’s board and access to information.

There is also growing tension between China and Taiwan, and should a fight break out, Palmer warned the U.S. would follow Japan. If Japan fights, he said, the U.S. would as well.

“China’s not our friend,” Palmer said. “Their objective is to be the dominant world power.”

The threat of China and a growing national debt is serious business, Palmer said. So while some may seek TV time or social media attention, Palmer said leaders and citizens don’t have time to fight, but instead need to come together.

“We don’t have the option to fight each other,” Palmer said. “We’ve got to come together. We’ve got to realize we share this country together.”

In local matters, Palmer touted the forthcoming new construction on the Northern Beltline. While Palmer opposed the infrastructure bill which funded the project, due to its north of $1 trillion price tag, he was pleased to see funding for the long-standing project be included.

On April 12, Governor Kay Ivey announced new construction this spring on the beltline that will include a fourth lane of the new road, to be called Interstate 422, that will extend for 10 miles and connect U.S. 31 in Gardendale to Alabama Highway 75 in Pinson. 

The project will help finish the Appalachian Development Highway System, Palmer said.

Palmer also wants to see Alabama compete for high-tech jobs and industries. With Huntsville booming and businesses coming to Birmingham, there is an opportunity to make the area stand out, he said.

“We have an opportunity in my opinion to create a technology corridor between Birmingham and Huntsville that will rival any other in the country if we get this [Northern Beltline] built,” Palmer said.

In response to a question from the audience about accusations the FBI had “infiltrated” the Roman Catholic Church, Palmer said he was “very concerned” about what he called the “weaponization and politicization” of law enforcement. FBI Director Christopher Wray in March condemned a since-withdrawn memo created at a regional office that highlighted the need for “mitigation” of so-called “extremists” within the church.

"We do not and will not target people for religious beliefs, and we do not and will not monitor people's religious practices," Wray told the Senate Intelligence Committee on March 8, according to a CBS News report. "That's not acceptable."