Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - As a storm rolls through the nation, some may be without power for an extended period of time. A local congressman that's been pushing for a ban on restrictions of which sources can be used for energy hopes this will give his bill a boost.
Congressman Nick Langworthy says the storm may help "immensely in terms of fighting for floor time and getting on the calendar to get the bill over."
He adds the House has just passed its last appropriations bill, which was the biggest fight for floor time, because he was up against the January 30 deadline. "You have a lot of states right now that are going to suffer from power outages in cold weather events, and obviously where energy choice is a direct issue," says Langworthy.
He says for states like New York that have actually taken the steps to ban various heating fuels, this is something that will come into focus for everybody. "This is a potentially very dangerous storm for much of the country. The entire eastern half of the country is going to be affected in some way by this storm, at least north of Florida."
Langworthy says he's spoken with colleagues in the Carolinas and in Texas, where power lines went down because of ice build up, creating a very dangerous situation for people, because they don't have the equipment. "They don't have the know how, they don't have the expertise in dealing with this weather that our communities do, and they don't have the equipment. Four or five inches of snow will cripple Washington, DC. I pray for everyone to be safe and sound, but the aftermath of this will tell that story and continue to push for the opportunity to get this bill over the floor," adds Langworthy.
Langworthy says he's overwhelmed by the support he's received from fellow lawmakers on the bill, with 154 co-sponsors. "It represents 35% of the entire House of Representatives. It overwhelms any level of support that I thought possible for a bill like this," says Langworthy. He says his bill started out as a niche New York topic, when Governor Hochul proposed all electrification for new builds. He says energy is interstate commerce. "They don't want to see states pick winners and losers that are going to affect the supply chain and the interstate commerce between states. So this is something that I believe we will get over the finish line. We have three Democratic co-sponsors. I think that is terrific. I'd love to have more. I've got a lot of Democrats that say they will give it a good, strong look on the floor. And I think we could get a lot of Democrat votes when the final tallies read, when we get that floor opportunity."
For those on the fence, Langworthy says he will use this storm to send materials to every office in the aftermath of this storm to tell the story as to why his bill is important for the whole country.