US Rep. Zeldin Says NY Dem’s Newly-Passed Clean Energy Bills Will Worsen Inflation

by Yehudit Garmaise

By signing a legislative package of three bills, Hochul said she will “strengthen New York's commitment to clean energy development and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.” 

However, US Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-1st), the Republican nominee for governor, said the governor’s efforts could cause inflation to further spike.

“One of the things we should be doing is reversing New York’s ban on the safe extraction of natural gas,” Rep. Zeldin said on Fox last night. “[People who live on] the Southern tier of New York that sits on the Marcellus and Utica Shales [which contain deep natural gas reserves] want to be able to tap into this resource that can create jobs and generate revenue.”

“You can revitalize these communities,” said US Rep Zeldin after the governor signed the bills at the Newlab headquarters in Brooklyn. “You can be exporting energy to other states. You can be exporting energy to other countries, but in New York, they banned it. 

“You can reduce energy costs for New Yorkers who need that relief. You help the entire region, and you can help the country with that effort.”

Zeldin said that Gov. Hochul’s energy policies don’t just affect the cost of gas, but impact the costs of other consumer goods as well.

“When the cost of diesel goes up, the costs of loaves of bread, and the costs of chicken go up as well.”

“US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-14th District) has a whole lot of friends who are in the majority in the Assembly and Senate, and the next bill that they are trying to pass right now would ban all gas hook-ups on new construction statewide,” said Rep. Zeldin, who took aim at “one-party Democrat-rule in Albany.”

In the next clean energy bill, New York will require all new construction to install electric stoves, which not only also require significant natural gas and coal to run, but whose flames are significantly less adjustable for cooking.