Energy Crisis

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLINE. Mr. Speaker, our Nation is facing avoidable crises on many fronts. Because of President Biden's and the Democrats' failed leadership, Americans are dealing with a border crisis, an inflation crisis, a spreading crime crisis, and a crisis in Afghanistan. And now, with the national average for a gallon of gas hitting $3.30 last week-- a 7-year high--we are also facing an energy crisis.

Let me be clear: the responsibility for this crisis belongs at the feet of none other than President Joe Biden. His anti-energy agenda has destroyed American jobs and ended America's energy independence. On his first day in office, the President killed 11,000 jobs by canceling the Keystone pipeline, and one of his first executive orders paused new oil and gas leasing on U.S. lands and waters. That executive order alone will cost approximately 1 million American jobs in the near term and will decrease U.S. gross domestic product by $700 billion.

That same order also puts America's energy security at risk. To make up for slowed production in the United States, U.S. imports from foreign sources will increase by 2 million barrels a day, and through 2030 we would spend $500 billion more on energy from foreign suppliers. Instead of making it easier for American companies to increase American oil and gas production and hire more U.S. workers, President Biden begged OPEC and Russia to increase global output to ease rising prices.

It is a shame. The President has made us more reliant on dangerous adversaries overseas rather than maintaining policies that had us on the verge of energy independence.

It would be great if Joe Biden would reverse course and turn, once again, to an all-of-the-above American energy solution that ensures we are reliant on no one but ourselves; but, instead, I guess we are just going to have to lower our expectations.

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