Energy & Environment
Congressman Gonzalez supports an all-the-above approach to energy and understands the importance of American energy not only to power our cars and homes, but also as a national security issue and a job creator.
As chairman of the Congressional Oil and Gas Caucus, Congressman Gonzalez aims to bring a Texas perspective to Washington, D.C., regarding the oil and gas industry. He leads the caucus as an opportunity to educate fellow lawmakers about the production and distribution of oil, gas and other petroleum hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas and gas liquids.
Congressman Gonzalez also supports the development of sources of renewable energy, acknowledging the potential in wind and solar energy for both the South Texas economy and American energy independence. Currently, Texas produces more wind energy than most other U.S. states. The 34th District is home to part of the Los Vientos Wind farm, the second largest wind farm in the country.
More on Energy & Environment
MCALLEN, Texas – Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) blasted the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and the state of Texas for its failures following the devastating winter storms last week and called for reimbursements for Texans in response to outrageously high utility bills.
MCALLEN, Texas — Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) joined nine members of Texas' Democratic Congressional Delegation in demanding immediate answers from leadership of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and Public Utility Commission of Texas as to the cause, duration, and equitable distribution of power outages across the state of Texas.
MCALLEN, Texas — Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) joined nine members of Texas' Democratic Congressional Delegation in demanding immediate answers from leadership of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and Public Utility Commission of Texas as to the cause, duration, and equitable distribution of power outages across the state of Texas.
WASHINGTON – Today, a group of Democratic lawmakers, led by Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15), sent a letter to the Biden administration requesting them to rescind the recent Executive Order that would ban responsible energy leasing on federal lands and waters. The other signatories of the letter include Reps. Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) and Marc Veasey (TX-33).
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) sent a bipartisan, bicameral letter to President Donald Trump to raise awareness about Mexico's efforts to undermine the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and substantial U.S. investments in energy infrastructure on both sides of the border. It has been widely reported that the Mexican government is giving preferential regulatory treatment to Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) to the detriment of U.S. operators.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressmen Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) and Lance Gooden (TX-05) introduced the Reclaiming American Rare Earths (RARE) Act, bipartisan legislation to drive domestic production and reduce America's dependence on China for rare earth minerals used to build the technology that keeps our country safe and connected. The RARE Act establishes tax incentives for the domestic production of rare earth elements and minerals.
WASHINGTON – Congressmen Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15), Bill Flores (TX-17), Bill Johnson (OH-06), Jim Costa (CA-16), and Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) wrote to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Neil Chatterjee urging the commission to continue processing, reviewing, and accepting critical natural gas and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects and reject calls for a moratorium on the approval and construction of new projects during the COVID-19 pandemic.
MCALLEN, Texas – Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) cosponsored bipartisan legislation introduced by Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) to support the energy industry by providing $3 billion in funding to purchase crude oil produced in the United States for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Representative Michael Burgess (TX-26) is the Republican lead in the House, and the bill is also cosponsored by Representatives Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Kelly Armstrong (ND-AL), Kendra Horn (OK-5), Roger Williams (TX-25), Mike Conaway (TX-11), Marc Veasey (TX-11), and Bill Flores (TX-17).
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) announced the opening of applications for the 2020 Environmental Education (EE) Grants Program sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA has $3 million in funding available for locally-focused environmental education projects under the program.
In addition to other environmental topics, the 2020 EE Grants Program will fund education-based projects pertaining to marine debris mitigation, food waste and loss reduction, and recycling.