America in Crisis

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, first of all, I thank my good friend and colleague for organizing and leading this leadership hour.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to address the Biden administration's energy crisis. This is a crisis that was created by the Biden administration.

Last week, the price of gas reached a 7-year high. In fact, in my home district, Pennsylvania-15, we are now paying anywhere from $3.49 to $3.67 a gallon--well over the price any American should have to pay.

In 2019 and 2020, the United States was a net total energy exporter. This means for the first time since the 1950s we were exporting more energy than importing. We were energy independent, and we saw the many benefits across all sectors of United States manufacturing, production, and consumption. For example, in 2020, the average gasoline price in the United States was $2.17 per gallon.

I am proud to represent a district and come from a State that plays such a large role in domestic energy production. In fact, Pennsylvania is the second largest producer of natural gas and the third largest net supplier of energy to other States. Without the energy production of my district and others in rural America, our cities would wake up cold, in the dark, and hungry. But President Biden chose to stifle American energy production, issuing executive order after executive order reducing and even pausing our own access to oil and natural gas.

In addition, the Biden administration has reached out to OPEC-Plus begging them to produce more oil which--let's not forget--is less environmentally friendly, less humane, and less regulated than United States sources.

Last week, I joined my colleagues in a letter to this administration opposing the pleas, the begging to OPEC-Plus, and encouraging the use of American produced energy to meet our current needs. We asked the administration to reverse the crushing executive orders impeding our own energy production and to work with Congress on issues affecting American energy security and supply. We know the answer to this self- imposed crisis: we must lift the limitations on our own energy supply.

By repealing these executive orders and encouraging American producers to harness our abundance of natural resources, we can meet our energy needs and we can ensure Americans and our allies have access to affordable, reliable, and exportable energy produced in the United States.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman, once again, for his leadership.

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