Calling Attention to the Energy Crisis
Floor Speech
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Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Pennsylvania.
Madam Speaker, today, Michigan's average fuel prices are mere cents away from the all-time high in the Motor State--not seen since the middle of the Great Recession. On Thursday, Triple A (AAA) data showed that Michigan had seen the highest State-wide average increase over the last week of any State in the Union.
Today, a gallon of regular unleaded gas costs 61 cents more than it did just one week prior. Diesel, which helps fuel our State's thriving agricultural industry, has increased even more.
Since this time last year, the cost of diesel is up 58 percent. In 2022, the price of natural gas is expected to reach an 8-year high. Not only does this increase families' costs to heat their homes, but it also further raises the already-inflated price of essential fertilizers that help grow Michigan crops.
Clearly, President Biden's war on American energy independence has created an energy crisis and made us more dependent on adversaries like Vladimir Putin, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. The crisis continues to hit our homes, our farms, and our businesses, and it grows in severity week after week.
Recently, I sat down with some farmers in my home State. They lamented how the rising prices of energy and overall production costs is hurting their livelihoods and trickling down to Michigan consumers. The data shows the same U.S. farm income is expected to drop 8 percent this year, all while prices at the supermarket reach historic highs. If we don't unleash American energy, this cost will continue to reverberate in our agricultural industry and at Michiganders' kitchen tables for years to come.
Madam Speaker, I implore the Biden administration to take the necessary steps to increase our energy production at home. We have the capacity, we have the drive, we have the capability and tools to do so--for the sake of consumers in Michigan and around the world.
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