U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg: House Republicans flipping America’s energy switch back on

Day in and day out, I continue to hear from constituents across southern Michigan who cannot afford to fill up their tanks or pay their home heating bills. Families across the nation are struggling due to high energy costs and are being forced to decide whether to pay for groceries or fill up their gas tank each week. On the day that President Joe Biden was sworn into office, the average price for a gallon of gas nationwide was $2.39. Today, the national average is $3.42, over a dollar more than when President Biden took office.

Over the course of the past two years, President Biden has waged a war on American energy, contributing to skyrocketing gas and utility costs. Since his first day in office, President Biden has pursued an anti-energy agenda by canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, suspending new oil and gas leases on federal land and water, and imposing restrictions and fees on oil and natural gas production. When energy prices began to rise drastically due to these failed policies and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Biden decided to beg our foreign adversaries for energy supplies and drain our strategic reserves instead of unleashing clean energy production here at home.

House Republicans made a promise in our Commitment to America that we would work to lower gas and utility costs for hardworking Americans and promote energy independence. Fulfilling this promise, House Republicans have passed House Resolution 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, which will provide American families with much-needed relief from President Biden’s war on American energy. H.R. 1 will cut bureaucratic red tape and increase energy production here at home so we can lower energy costs and stop depending on hostile foreign countries for both energy resources and critical minerals that are needed to build everything from cars to communications equipment.

This cornerstone legislation will unleash American energy production by reforming the permitting process for essential energy infrastructure, increasing domestic production and processing of resources to secure America’s critical minerals supply, and repealing policies advanced by the Biden administration that jeopardize America’s energy independence. Among its many provisions, H.R. 1 would prohibit the president from declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing, eliminate restrictions on the import and export of oil and natural gas, repeal royalties and fee increases imposed on energy production that raise energy prices, and require the resumption of leasing of oil and gas resources on federal lands and water.

Included in H.R. 1 is the text of my bill, Protecting International Pipelines for Energy Security (PIPES) Act. The PIPES Act will uphold American energy security by prohibiting sole executive authority from revoking permits pertaining to construction and operation of cross-border energy infrastructure facilities. Through the passage of this legislation, we will prevent executive overreach from shutting down safe and essential pipelines, like Line 5 in Michigan, without congressional approval. Line 5 transports the majority of Michigan’s propane needs that hundreds of thousands of people in the state use to heat their homes. If we close this essential pipeline, nearly 34,000 jobs could be lost across the Midwest and it could result in a $20.8 billion loss in economic activity.

Together, these important actions will help us reverse course from the failed policies of the Biden administration and promote American energy independence. This legislation unleashes the full power of American energy and mineral production by eliminating burdensome permitting requirements, creating jobs and fostering innovation. The United States can produce energy cleaner than anywhere else in the world and it is our responsibility to do it. H.R. 1 includes the permitting reforms necessary to strengthen our supply chain by mining and producing the critical minerals we need for renewable energy projects and future technologies. Without these necessary actions, we will continue to be reliant on hostile foreign adversaries like China and subject to the all-too-familiar volatility we have experienced since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Energy security is national security. H.R. 1 will provide stability by ensuring that the United States has the proper policies in place to secure its supply chains, become a producer of clean and reliable energy, and make life more affordable for Michiganders and citizens across the country. H.R. 1 is a necessary step to achieving American energy dominance and will help the United States prosper as a global leader.

Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, serves on the House Energy & Commerce Committee. He represents Michigan's 5th Congressional District, which includes Lenawee and Monroe counties.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Tim Walberg: House Republicans flipping U.S. energy switch back on