Calling Attention to the Energy Crisis

Floor Speech

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Mr. ESTES. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for hosting this Special Order.

Madam Speaker, for the past year, we have seen policies from the Biden administration devastate families and small businesses across the country. Moms in my district, like Meghan, have seen the cost of filling up their tanks and heating their homes continue to climb.

The average American family will spend an extra $1,300 in gas this year. And Biden's Green New Deal energy policies have left us weak abroad and crushed us economically at home. The national average for a gallon of gasoline is now $4.17--the highest ever on record. There is nothing to stop that number from going even higher as we head into the summer.

But the prices at the pump today are not the result of just the recent events in Eastern Europe. If we look at gas prices on January 21, 2021, just one day after President Biden took office, the national average was $2.40.

One year later, on January 20, 2022--before Putin ruthlessly invaded Ukraine--the national average was already $3.33. President Biden and the Congressional Democrats are solely responsible for the year-over- year increase. And the anti-American energy agenda prevented the United States from maintaining our energy independence at a critical moment in history.

That is why it is so important that we have good, permanent policies in place that encourage production here at home, keeping our prices low for American families and small businesses, and ensure that we maintain stability when bad actors disrupt the world.

We should buy American first. We should buy American oil first. When the United States isn't reliant on foreign oil, we can better address the global threats of tyrants and dictators.

Madam Speaker, it is time we prioritize American energy production again that will put American families first and keep our country safe.

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