Calling Attention to the Energy Crisis

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce) for organizing this evening's Special Order hour.

For months now, we have seen a steady rise in energy prices, highlighted by rising prices at the gas pump. The United States imports hundreds of thousands of barrels of Russian oil every day, a slap in the face to workers and businesses across our country.

Sanctioning Russia's energy sector will cripple their economy and might be what it takes to end Russia's illegal invasion of a sovereign nation.

Today, the administration took a much-needed step and banned the import of Russian oil and gas. To help counter a lack of oil from Russia, the administration is currently requesting that dictatorships like Venezuela and Iran increase their oil and gas output instead of unleashing domestic energy production. This is unconscionable.

To support American workers and businesses, we should tap into the abundance of natural resources at home to counter high fuel costs, including Iowa-made ethanol and biofuels.

As a Presidential candidate in 2020, President Biden pledged to promote and advance renewable energy, ethanol, and other biofuels to help rural America.

Ethanol helps to extend our fuel supply, and this can help alleviate price pressure at the pump while giving access to American-made energy.

If only the Midwest States switched from E10 to E15, it would easily replace all the barrels of oil that we will no longer be importing from Russia. American ethanol producers have well over 2 billion gallons of unutilized production capacity and are standing ready to play a larger role in our energy sector.

We should continue to also grow our energy export network with our European allies and our NATO partners to help them wean off Russian energy. Biofuels, nuclear, oil, natural gas, hydro, and electric can all be part of our energy diplomacy and weaken Russia's influence in Europe.

We must take an all-of-the-above approach to our domestic energy policy, especially in the face of Russian aggression.

I will continue to fight to ensure that our energy sector continues to use oil and gas and American-made energy to end our dependence on Russia and other adversaries, diversify our energy usage, become more environmentally friendly, and create good-paying jobs here at home.

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