Rick Perry: Feeling Pain at the Pump? Urge Biden to Back More Domestic Energy Production
The Houston Chronicle published an op-ed by Rick Perry, former Governor of Texas and the 14th Secretary of Energy, urging the Biden Administration to take action in the face of rising fuel costs. Even though President Biden’s long-term energy policies are not solely responsible for skyrocketing prices, they are not helping lower costs for the American people either.
Misguided policy decisions such as canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, restricting drilling on federal lands, and canceling offshore lease agreements have sent negative signals to the domestic energy sector. Secretary Perry writes, “Our leaders need to put partisanship aside and commit to serious policies that will free families from the crippling worries of their wallets and bring down the high cost of energy.” Similarly, he notes the administration must embrace an “all-of-the-above” approach to the energy crisis just as Perry did while he was Secretary of Energy. Near term solutions like tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve does not address the root of this crisis.
Supporting an “all-of-the-above” approach also means the Administration should be supporting infrastructure projects, such as the Dakota Access Pipeline. Perry says “Shutting down the Dakota Access pipeline would be both detrimental to our own domestic energy supply, and our allies in Europe.” Citing a recent survey commissioned by the GAIN coalition that found bipartisan support (79 percent of Democrats and 89 percent of Republicans polled) for the continuation of strong domestic energy production, it is evident that the infrastructure project should continue to operate as the Army Corp of Engineers completes its Environmental Review.
In addition to carrying crude oil nearly 1,200 miles from North Dakota through to Illinois, the Dakota Access Pipeline also created 12,000 jobs to the American people, as well as $113 million worth of property taxes. Projects such as these are critical to America’s energy sector, and also benefit local communities.
In order to fight surging gas prices, the U.S. needs its elected officials to pursue policies that expand production and create opportunities domestically. Perry ends his piece with a prediction: “We need leaders who don’t embrace patchwork policies in favor of long-term solutions that effectively address our country’s energy crisis. If they can’t even do that, then November will be a month of reckoning.”