Democrats’ War on Domestic Energy Hurts American Producers and Families
‘[I]f the Biden Administration really is serious about helping American consumers, then they’ll stop waging war on American producers. If they’re serious, they’ll call off Democrats’ plans to tax reliable American energy into extinction. For the sake of working families who are struggling to fill their tanks and keep the lights on, I hope they get serious sometime soon.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding energy:
“Right now, Washington Democrats are frustrated by the pace of the radical green transformation they envision for America.
“They’re having trouble getting enough Senators to agree to make the most reliable and abundant forms of American energy more expensive for working Americans.
“Energy prices are rising faster than at any point since 1980. Gasoline is nearly 60% more expensive than it was last summer. Natural gas is up nearly 40% in that same time.
“Washington Democrats have surveyed this scene and decided it’s the perfect time to hike taxes on American energy.
“Reviving a failed tax from the 1980s on American oil refiners and exporters and increasing it by nearly 60%.
“New, sky-high fees on America’s natural gas producers.
“And more pain at the pump for working families.
“It’s an insane proposition.
“But there does appear to be an exception:
“If you’re not among the 75% of Americans who say inflation has caused you financial hardship, and you happen to have a spare $80,000 laying around, Washington Democrats want to give you a ‘green energy tax credit’ if you buy an electric vehicle made with Chinese supply chains.
“This is what Washington Democrats are trying to do with their one-party control of government. And they’re hoping President Biden will declare a national emergency to help them do it faster.
“Well, unfortunately for the far left, the President is occupied with a climate conundrum of his own.
“On the campaign trail, Candidate Biden left no room for doubt that he had bought his party’s new radical climate dogma, whole-hog.
“‘I guarantee you we are going to end fossil fuel.’ Sure enough, his first year in office was an all-out assault on American energy, just like green activists drew it up.
“Day One bans on new energy exploration.
“Cancelling a safe, efficient, pipeline that was set to create American jobs.
“And ghoulish, reanimated regulations from the War on Coal.
“But unlike the radical base that’s frustrated their ideas aren’t moving faster, the Biden Administration now appears to be concerned that their assault on American energy has worked too quickly.
“Americans have seen gas prices double on this President’s watch. Sky-high diesel is driving other prices up all across the economy. And big majorities of Americans don’t like what Democrats are doing about it.
“But rather than call off the onslaught and clear the way for a return to domestic energy dominance, the Biden Administration has dispatched officials to beg other countries to take over America’s share of the market for reliable energy that the President has purposefully abandoned.
“They’ve literally chosen places like Venezuela over states like Pennsylvania… or Texas… or Alaska.
“Then, on a trip last week to oil-rich Saudi Arabia, President Biden announced:
“‘I’m doing all I can to increase the [oil] supply for the United States of America.’
“The President who promised he’d, ‘end fossil fuels’ thinks that finding more energy for American families means flying to the Middle East and asking politely instead of unleashing our own production here at home.
“And for the record, U.S. producers extract oil and gas in a far more environmentally friendly manner than many of their competitors overseas. So if the priority is reducing our environmental impact, outsourcing seems more than a little short-sighted.
“Mr. President, if the Biden Administration really is serious about helping American consumers, then they’ll stop waging war on American producers.
“If they’re serious, they’ll call off Democrats’ plans to tax reliable American energy into extinction.
“For the sake of working families who are struggling to fill their tanks and keep the lights on, I hope they get serious sometime soon.”
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