OPINION:
Energy fuels every aspect of modern life. It powers our homes, fuels our vehicles, and drives our innovation. From the most routine parts of our daily lives to the backbone of our economy, affordable and abundant energy is essential.
As the representative for America’s most prolific oil and gas producing region, I’ve seen firsthand the importance of policies that bolster American energy independence and dominance. Our region’s success is built on the hard work of energy workers, our unique resources, and the companies powering it all. Without these, American energy dominance is not possible. That’s why we must cut red tape, foster a pro-energy economy, and pass commonsense legislation that strengthens our energy future.
In stark contrast to these goals, the Biden-Harris Administration spent four years implementing disastrous energy policies that pandered to woke environmental extremists over the needs of everyday American families and workers. These policies drove up energy prices and led to a weakened electric grid that has jeopardized Americans’ safety and security. Thankfully, with President Donald Trump back in the White House and Republicans in control of Congress, we’ve hit the ground running to reverse these catastrophic energy policies.
The most tangible way we have done this was by passing the Working Families Tax Cut package. This transformational legislation is a massive win for hardworking Texans back home in my state, and all across the country. It supports a pro-growth, pro-worker, pro-family, pro-business, and pro-energy economy. It implements President Trump’s energy dominance agenda, serving as yet another example of “promises-made, promises-kept” from this administration and congressional Republicans.
This legislation is historic in every aspect, but among its most critical achievements are the pro-energy provisions within it.
For starters, it dismantles the Biden administration’s $500 billion in “Green New Scam” tax credits that wasted taxpayer dollars on unreliable energy schemes that prioritized woke-ideology over real results. Repealing them protects our energy sector from further distortion and ensures our markets return to proven, dependable energy sources.
This legislation also ends the weaponization of permitting and unlocks American energy potential by reinstating quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales and mandating at least 30 lease sales in the Gulf of America over the next 15 years. This provision will bring long-term certainty to producers, giving families and businesses access to reliable, affordable energy.
A fundamental economic principle is that when you tax a producer, you tax the consumer, and the Biden-era natural gas tax did exactly that, creating unnecessary volatility and uncertainty for producers and consumers alike. With the Working Families Tax Cuts, we delayed this harmful tax for ten years to lower costs, protect jobs, and incentivize robust domestic production which is a major win for American families and small businesses.
With this legislation, we are also making critical investments into next-generation, dispatchable baseload power to keep our grid stable and our economy competitive. It is no secret that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving and requires exceptionally high levels of energy to keep running. By making these investments, we are ensuring our power grid can meet these skyrocketing energy demands.
Furthermore, this legislation appropriates funds to repair and begin replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) that President Joe Biden recklessly drained for political points with no plans to refill it. The SPR is a critical national security asset for the United States. Energy security is national security, and ensuring we have a full and secure SPR is essential to safeguarding our country for any potential future conflict.
While Democrats continue to push the idea that our energy grid should be reliant on wind and solar alone for the future, Republicans understand that unreliable energy leads to higher costs, more blackouts, and less jobs. The facts don’t lie, energy prices skyrocketed nearly 30% during the Biden-Harris Administration, and families paid the price at the pump and at home. This is why we built the Working Families Tax Cut to put energy policy back on track
The bottom line is that this legislation is a critical step in the right direction to help ensure we have a stable economy and abundant energy sources for generations to come. At the same time, there is still much to be done, and I am committed to continuing our momentum and building upon this legislation to deliver more results to the American people.
• Rep. August Pfluger represents Texas’ 11th congressional district, which includes the Permian Basin the nation’s largest secure energy supply. He is the first member of Congress to represent Midland and Odessa on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep. Pfluger graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy before serving in the military for over twenty years as a decorated fighter pilot and later as an advisor on the National Security Council during President Trump’s first term. He still serves as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.
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