Congresswoman Stephanie Bice says instead of taking ownership of the disastrous results of their own energy policies, Democrats are “gaslighting” the hardworking individuals in the energy industry.
Writing in a column this week, she criticized Democrats for the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act that was passed last week in the U.S. House.
Bice said it was “an obvious choice” to voting against the measure that is also known as the Socialist Energy Price Fixing Act.
H.R. 7688 would give President Biden power to declare an energy emergency, arming the Federal Trade Commission with tools to impose de-facto, arbitrary caps on gas stations for the price of fuels and discourage new energy production. This legislation would cause long gas lines, rationing, and a greater reliance on imported energy – much like the economic and humanitarian disaster in the 1970s. Essentially, this package seeks to cast blame on Americans in the oil and gas industry and offers no real solutions to address the root cause of our energy crisis.
This misguided legislation comes at a time when our nation is in desperate need of a solution to relieve sky-high costs that are negatively affecting every American. As gas prices continue to rise, we will continue to see the effects trickle down into every other aspect of our economy, including the price of food as well as goods and services. This will further increase inflation, which is already at a 40-year high. Let me be clear – this is a direct result of the Biden Administration’s decisions to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline, halt oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters, delay permit approvals, and greenlight Vladimir Putin’s Nord Stream 2 Pipeline. Surging gas prices are not a result of price gouging, but from Biden’s war on American energy production.
Instead of dangerous price controls and blame shifting, the solution to sky-high energy costs is basic supply and demand. The price of gasoline is determined on a global market, therefore the way to lower prices is simple – to increase domestic supply. Therefore, it is imperative that we unleash American oil and gas production. The Administration should immediately end the federal freeze on new oil and gas leasing, fast-track pending LNG export permits, expedite approval of all pipeline and energy development, and stop the regulatory assault on U.S. energy development and financing.
Frankly, H.R. 7688 is insulting to hardworking Oklahomans throughout the Fifth Congressional District, where nearly a quarter of all jobs are connected to the energy industry, whose efforts power our nation. Instead of legislation that blames American energy producers, we should roll back the onerous energy policies of the Biden Administration and unleash American energy once and for all.