WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today delivered a speech on the Senate Floor lambasting President Joe Biden’s backward energy policy that has resulted in skyrocketing inflation, rising energy prices, and U.S. jobs losses.
“American families are paying higher prices for the goods and services they can’t do without as a result of the Biden administration,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Inflation is eating up the budgets of middle-income families. President Biden has repeatedly said he would not raise taxes on those making less than $400,000 a year. But rising inflation as a result of his harmful economic and energy agenda is a tax on all Americans.”
“Can someone please explain why they are so hellbent on shutting down energy production in the U.S.? It provides good-paying jobs and economic opportunities across our nation, especially in my home state of Louisiana, but it’s done in a cleaner and more environmentally friendly manner than in many other parts of the world. They’d rather have the U.S. dependent on foreign sources – often not allies – than produce it cleanly at home,” continued Dr. Cassidy.
Cassidy has criticized President Biden’s decisions to prioritize foreign energy production over U.S. jobs in the past, including the administration allowing Russia’s Nord Stream II pipeline to continue while simultaneously killing the Keystone XL pipeline, and the president’s previous pleas with OPEC to increase oil production.
Cassidy’s speech as prepared for delivery can be found below:
Mr. President,
Let’s take a long, hard look at reality for a second.
Inflation is skyrocketing. We are seeing higher prices at the grocery store. We are seeing higher prices in our electricity bills. We are seeing higher prices at the gasoline pump.
Inflation is eating up the budgets of middle-income families. President Biden has repeatedly said he would not raise taxes on those making less than $400,000 a year. But rising inflation as a result of his harmful economic and energy agenda is a tax on all Americans.
This is not surprising. Democrat and left of center economists like Larry Summers warned us about the risk of inflation and predicted a sharp rise. He sounded the alarm that the $1.9 trillion so-called “American Rescue Plan” would overheat the U.S. economy.
That it did. This summer, used car prices were up 45 percent. Gasoline was up 45 percent. Whole milk was up 7.5 percent.
American families are paying higher prices for the goods and services they can’t do without as a result of the Biden administration. It remains troublingly high. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that consumer prices in June were up 5.4 percent from one year ago. That’s the largest increase since August 2008. This is also more than double the 2 percent targeted by the Federal Reserve.
We were assured from the Biden Administration and his Treasury that this inflation was transitory or temporary. Just last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal Reserve see inflation “lasting quite a while” given their recent and upcoming actions.
Looking specifically at energy, it’s not shocking that electricity and gasoline prices are soaring. The average price of gallon of gas has now been over $3 since May. Today, the national average is $3.19. That’s $1 higher than it was a year ago.
One of the first things President Biden did when he took office was cancel the Keystone XL pipeline and killed the 11,000 jobs with it. He stopped domestic oil and gas leases and only does the bare minimum when the court tells him this ban is illegal. Then he turns around and removes sanctions so Russia can complete the construction of Nord Stream 2 and in turn begs the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which includes Iran, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, to increase oil production so that we can import their oil. So much for the energy independence our country, researchers, and companies worked so hard to develop. And now with every draft of the Democrats reckless tax and spend bill that we see, we see a Democrat party intent on driving prices higher, increasing our dependence on other countries, and harming our domestic workforce.
And don’t for a second try to describe these actions as good for the environment or good for climate. I believe in addressing climate change and the stark truth is President Biden’s noxious energy policies prioritize shutting down domestic production in favor of dirtier Russian gas. What we have here is an administration more interested in virtue signaling than truly pursuing the low carbon solution.
Can someone please explain why they are so hellbent on shutting down energy production in the U.S.? It provides good-paying jobs and economic opportunities across our nation, especially in my home state of Louisiana, but it’s done in a cleaner and more environmentally friendly manner than in many other parts of the world.
They’d rather have the U.S. dependent on foreign sources – often not allies – than produce it cleanly at home.
The U.S. is a global leader in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. This happened because of increased production of U.S. natural gas. During this time, we simultaneously became a net exporter of energy and helped other nations lower their emissions profile as well.
We need to be encouraging exploration and production at home. Not shutting it down and eliminating the good-paying jobs along with it. The Biden administration’s backward and disastrous energy policy is playing out before our eyes – and it’s not good.
It’s not good for American families. It’s certainly not good for energy states like Louisiana. And it’s not good for the health of our environment.
This administrations’ actions are directly leading to high gas and utility prices slamming everyday Americans.
There is a way out of the inflation we’re seeing. But it’s not the empty virtue-signaling coming out of the Biden administration. It’s not putting American energy workers out of a job so liberal elites can pretend they are making a difference.
The Biden administration needs to restart American energy production. Hold lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico. Get American energy and our country back on track.
With that, I yield the floor.