Protecting American Energy Production Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. PFLUGER. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for bringing this bill to the floor. The American public spoke loud and clear on November 5. They said energy was on the ballot. They said that the hilarity and the fraudulent approach that the Biden administration took towards energy policy was wholly rejected.

Madam Speaker, we are in a new day and thank goodness we are. I represent the Permian Basin, Midland and Odessa, Texas, and for 4 years, this community was demonized, demonized, by the President, demonized by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, demonized for the work that they did to bring affordable, reliable energy to this country. They did so with an all-out assault.

I am proud today to support my legislation, H.R. 26, the Protecting American Energy Production Act. This is on behalf of every one of my constituents in Midland and Odessa, Texas, who provide the very pen that is being used by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, who provide the cell phones and the cosmetics and the personal protective gear that goes into an emergency room. They are not just using liquid fuels, but using a safe technology, hydraulic fracturing, which was completely falsely characterized briefly this morning by my colleague on the other side of the aisle.

In 2019, America became the number one oil and gas producer, and it is wholly in part due to the shale revolution and the technology of being able to environmentally friendly extract this product and produce it here domestically for our use and to ship it to our allies and our partners around the world.

After 4 years of the previous administration's outright assault on American energy, it is critical now that we codify and that we work tirelessly to restore some integrity and some character to this American energy dominance and pass meaningful legislation that will unleash American energy and create jobs for hardworking Americans.

My legislation that is being considered today is a necessary first step in reversing the Biden administration's war on energy and preventing the Federal Government from banning the use of hydraulic fracturing.

Fracking is safe. It is clean. It is an effective way to produce affordable energy and to strengthen our national security. By ensuring its continued use, we can reestablish our global energy leadership. We can keep costs low for consumers, every consumer, and we can drive further technological advancements in the industry.

This bill advances President Trump's rightful position, his pro- energy, pro-American outlook on energy, to restore our position as the top producer in the world. Instead of allowing Russia, Iran, and Venezuela to do so, we are going to produce it here.

I thank my constituents for the fact that even though you were demonized, even though you were made to feel like you weren't doing something that was worthwhile, you did. You stood up, and you did it in the face of adversity.

Even at the end of the campaign season in 2024, then-candidate for President Kamala Harris in a debate said that she was pro-fracking. So it is hard to believe that anybody would actually vote against this legislation today because that was the platform of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle.

Today is an opportunity to bring us together, Republicans and Democrats, to codify what we both know has been a major advancement.

It is time to end the bans and unleash our lands. It is time to come together. I am proud to work with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle because I know this will be a bipartisan bill. I know that there will be many Democrats who vote for this. I am glad that we can do this.

I thank the chairman for bringing H.R. 26 to the floor. I fully support it, and I urge my colleagues to also support it.

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