OPINION:
There is one facet holding together the economic and national security of a Nation that allows businesses to grow and families to save for the future. The linchpin for all of this and more is energy.
Without access to affordable, reliable energy, nations crumble. Perhaps the most shocking example in recent years of the importance of reliable energy can be seen through Eastern Europe’s reliance on Russia for natural gas, which no doubt emboldened Vladimir Putin to wage war on Ukraine.
Unfortunately, the Biden administration’s anti-American energy policies are putting our country on a similar path of reliance, and it does not have to be this way. Only four years ago, the U.S. became energy dominant for the first time since the 1950s—largely thanks to industry innovation in the Permian Basin, also known as the shale revolution. We could again achieve energy independence to bring down costs for American consumers and end our reliance on foreign governments for energy.
Within the last few weeks, the Saudi-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+), announced they would cut more than a million barrels of output per day starting in May. This announcement immediately led to a jump in crude prices. Make no mistake, this oil output cut is a message from Riyadh to the U.S. that they will capitalize on President Biden’s energy retreat, control the global energy market, and take whatever measures necessary to keep oil prices at levels that benefit them.
OPEC’s announcement and consequences in the market underscore the importance of H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, which affirms that energy is the number one priority of this Congress.
H.R. 1, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives with bipartisan support, will lower costs for families by rolling back the Inflation Reduction Act’s taxes on energy production, costs that will be borne by the consumer. Additionally, this legislation will strengthen our energy security by increasing domestic energy production, updating our permitting process, streamlining energy infrastructure and exports, and boosting the production and processing of critical minerals.
While President Biden chose to target American energy since day one, this Republican majority has prioritized American energy since day one. Just weeks into the 118th Congress, we have passed legislation to depoliticize the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, prohibit sales of that oil to the Chinese Communist Party, and now reduced barriers to the production of all American energy through H.R. 1. It is a complete rejection of the Biden Administration’s anti-energy policies and provides an opportunity to make OPEC+ irrelevant in the global energy market.
While Russia and others use energy as a weapon of war, we must use energy as a tool of diplomacy to help our allies, fight our foes, lower costs for consumers, and provide prosperity to the rest of the world.
Energy produced in the Permian Basin helped the United States and the Allies win World War II, and it can help us reclaim our economic and national security prowess today. Congress must respond to Riyadh’s “Saudi First” message with a message of our own by unleashing American energy and advancing the free-market policies of H.R. 1.
• U.S. Representative August Pfluger, Texas Republican, represents the state’s 11th Congressional District which includes the Permian Basin—our nation’s largest secure supply of energy. He serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Homeland Security Committee, and co-founded the MACH 1 Caucus and the Texas Ag Task Force. He served twenty years as a decorated fighter pilot, later as an advisor on the National Security Council, and still serves as a Colonel in the Air Force Reserves.
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