U.S. Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Buddy Carter (R-GA) on Dec. 16 sponsored a Republican bill that would direct the president to provide Congress with a plan for addressing rising energy prices in the United States.
“The American people deserve answers and our bill helps us deliver them by requiring the administration to take responsibility for the energy crisis they’ve created and increase transparency around how their decisions are affecting the American people,” Rep. Newhouse said.
The congressmen introduced the Make Energy Affordable Act, H.R. 6298, with Republican cosponsors that included U.S. Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-OK), Troy Balderson (R-OH), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), David Valadao (R-CA), and Dave Joyce (R-OH).
If enacted, H.R. 6298 would require the administration, in consultation with the secretaries of Energy, the Interior, and Labor, as well as the administrator of the Energy Information Administration, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to create the report, according to the text of the bill.
Contents of the report must include information on how higher energy prices have led to increases in consumer prices and how many energy sector jobs have been lost since Jan. 1, 2021; an assessment of federal actions that contributed to higher energy prices; what actions the federal government is taking to address the current high energy prices and shortages; and a plan to ensure U.S. energy independence, among other items.
“The Biden administration’s failed energy policies have had an impact on every individual, family, and business in central Washington,” said Rep. Newhouse. “On top of the highest rate of inflation we’ve seen in the last 40 years, gas prices have shot through the roof directly as a result of President Biden’s attack on our domestic energy production.”
Rep. Carter called the bill “a no-brainer,” adding that Americans are “feeling the squeeze of Joe Biden’s energy policies.”
“It’s time his administration recognizes the hardships they are inflicting on the working class,” said Rep. Carter. “If the Biden administration truly stands by the energy-related decisions they’ve made since coming to power, then they should welcome this bill as an opportunity to demonstrate the impacts of those decisions on our energy sector.”