Dear friends and colleagues,

Summer is officially here! And, if there is one thing synonymous with summer, it’s travel.   

Yet, as Americans hit the road and take to the skies for summer vacation, they are being hit with the harsh reality of historically high gas prices. 

Sadly, this is no great surprise. The Biden Administration put the United States on a slippery slope towards soaring energy prices when, in the president’s first week in office, he canceled the Keystone XL Pipeline, announced a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on public lands and offshore waters and reconsidered federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices. In recent weeks, as this crisis went from bad to worse, the president has written letters and held convening sessions but has done little to implement real solutions to the problems he set in motion 17 months ago.  

Republicans, on the other hand, are pursuing meaningful, commonsense policies to ease the burden facing far too many working families at the gas pump. Earlier this year, Senators John Barrsaso (R-WY), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), James Risch (R-ID), Roger Marshall (R-KS), John Hoeven (R-ND), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Lease Now Act (S.4228), which would require the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to immediately resume oil and gas lease sales. 

Additionally, Republicans are charting the course for American energy independence from foreign adversaries like China and Russia. This month, CRES endorsed legislation introduced by U.S. House Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), the Critical Minerals Classification Improvement Act (H.R. 8045), to allow for minerals that have both fuel and non-fuel uses – like uranium – to be included on the U.S. critical minerals mining list.    

As Rep. Pfluger said, “Energy security is national security. We should not be reliant on our foreign adversaries like China and Russia to power our daily life.” 

This sentiment was echoed last week by the Energy, Climate, and Conservation (ECC) Task Force, led by Rep. Garret Graces (R-LA). On Friday, the ECC Task Force rolled out their “Beat China and Russia” pillar as part of a six-part policy strategy for clean energy and the environment.  

“Energy security and national security go hand-in-hand,” wrote the ECC Task Force during the roll-out of their second pillar. “U.S. policies on energy and climate that encourage domestic energy production and the utilization of American resources will increase U.S. competitiveness, strengthen our economy, create jobs, decrease U.S. dependence on adversarial regimes, and provide security to our allies while also helping to reduce global emissions.”  

The ECC Task Force and the China Accountability Task Force sent a letter to President Biden last week expressing concern over his decision to waive tariffs on solar panel imports from several Southeast Asian countries, including China, for two years. This decision undermines the Department of Commerce’s investigation into Chinese efforts to circumvent existing tariffs and harms U.S. solar manufacturing at a time when we need domestic energy solutions.  

President Biden has turned his back to American energy and resources while increasing our dependence on China, Russia and other adversaries. As summer travel kicks into overdrive this week, it’s time we start embracing the rich and abundant resources of this country to alleviate the strain that rising energy prices are having on our pocketbooks.   
 

All my best,

​​​​​​​​​​​

 

Heather Reams
CRES President

Rep. Garret Graves joins Rep. Dan Crenshaw on “Hold These Truths” Podcast— House Energy, Climate, and Conservation Task Force Chair Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA-06), recently sat down with one of his fellow members of the Task Force, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-02), for a recent episode of his popular podcast Hold These Truths to discuss one of the agenda’s six pillars, “Beat China and Russia.” 

Reps. Graves and Crenshaw discussed one of America’s strongest strategic assets— its geopolitical advantage in producing and exporting resources— and why American energy independence and dominance is necessary to maintaining the advantage.  

“The Left loves to talk about more green energy and more batteries and more of all of these things that require a substantive amount of rare earth minerals, but they don’t want to produce them ourselves,” said Crenshaw.  

Listen to the full podcast episode here. 
 

House Republicans Show Concern Over Biden Administration Solar Tarriff Decision— Last week, the ECC Task Force and the China Accountability Task Force collaborated and sent a letter to President Biden scrutinizing his decision to waive tariffs on solar panel imports from several Southeast Asian countries for two years. This decision undermines the Department of Commerce’s investigation into Chinese efforts to circumvent existing tariffs and harms U.S. solar manufacturing. 

"With American energy prices on the rise and global energy security at risk, your decision to intervene on behalf of the CCP is shocking and irresponsible," the lawmakers stated in the letter. "As supporters of an all-of-the-above energy strategy, we cannot sit idly by as you decimate the future prospects for U.S. solar manufacturing in favor of giving China a free pass to undercut American companies with slave labor. We request that you reverse course and allow Commerce to conduct a legitimate investigation, and we look forward to your timely response." 

Read the full letter here.  

“The SEC should seek an approach that achieves consensus on the Commission and will ultimately provide businesses more certainty, not less, on their climate-related disclosures. An effective energy strategy will enhance our national security, reduce global emissions, provide American investors with reliable information, and assure that American companies are not disadvantaged in the global marketplace.” 

—CRES President Heather Reams in a written comment urging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to revisit the proposed rule on climate-related disclosures. 

“The complexity of the current U.S. permitting process leaves substantial opportunities for improvement that would increase predictability, shorten project delivery times and reduce costs while still providing for robust consideration of public and environmental concerns. Let's hope the White House clears hurdles for such projects soon to reduce the risk to American communities, build a stronger and cleaner power supply, create jobs and potentially save lives." 

—CRES President Heather Reams from her latest op-ed, “Amid Hurricane Season, the White House Can Streamline Resiliency Planning,” published in Newsweek 

“Conservatives recognize America can regain its energy independence by expediting the deployment of innovative clean energy technologies. This means reshaping the federal regulatory and permitting processes to increase predictability, shorten the time to project delivery, and reduce costs while still providing for robust consideration of public and environmental concerns. These common-sense improvements will push much-needed clean energy projects forward at a time when Americans continue to face growing price tags at the gas pump and supermarket.” 

—CRES President Heather Reams from her another recent op-ed,  “Under Republican Leadership, Expect Lower Global Emissions and Increased Energy Independence,” published in Real Clear Energy 

“CRES was proud to endorse Rep. Nancy Mace this spring because she is a tireless advocate for the citizens of South Carolina and brings a no-nonsense approach to energy and global climate issues. With her Republican primary victory last night, Palmetto State voters sent a message they support Republican candidates who promote all-the-above policies that reduce emissions, incentivize clean energy development, cut regulatory red tape, and hold foreign countries to their climate commitments.” 

—CRES President Heather Reams in a statement last week congratulating Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) 

CRES Forum Event on Plastics and the SEC Climate Disclosure Rule— CRES Forum hosted an event last week exploring two key topics: the SEC climate disclosure rule, and role of U.S. plastics in global climate mitigation. The discussion highlighted CRES Forum’s most recent release from its new white paper series, “Disclosure or Climate Policy? The SEC’s Role in the Climate Debate,”  authored by Timothy Doyle, CRES Forum Senior Adviser. 

In addition to Doyle, panelists included Matt Seaholm, CEO, Plastics Industry Association, George David Banks, Senior Fellow, CRES Forum, Adina Renee Adler, Deputy Executive Director, Silverado Policy Accelerator, Pamela A. Lacey, Chief Regulatory Counsel, American Gas Association, and Walton Liles, Founder & Principal, Blue Ridge Law & Policy, P.C. 

Watch a recording of the full event here. 
 

CRES Forum’s Charles Hernick Appears on Podcast— CRES Forum Vice President of Policy and Advocacy Charles Hernick recently appeared on an episode of the Energy Impact Podcast. Subjects discussed included a range of CRES Forum’s priorities, including the “all of the above” approach to energy, challenges for transmissions, regulatory barriers to nuclear power, new reforms enacted in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and more. 

The podcast can be downloaded at iTunes and Spotify. 
 

CRES Team Adds a New Member— Spencer Talley has been hired as a government relations coordinator. Talley a recent graduate of Sewanee: The University of the South and former CRES intern, Talley also served as an intern to Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) in his Washington, D.C. office.  

Welcome back, Spencer! 

Biden’s Energy Policies Put China and Russia First, America Last / Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy 

On FOX Business, Portman Discusses Tariff, Energy, and Trade Policy, Urges the Biden Administration to Get Tougher on China / Sen. Rob Portman 

After Tri-Cities visit, Congressional Western Caucus praises Rep. Newhouse’s leadership / Tri-City Herald 

Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference: A promising start to a very important conversation / Mat SU Valley Frontiersman  

Iowa farmers will feed and fuel the world / Newton Dali News 

Can Competition Remake the Electricity Industry? / Real Clear Energy 

Renewables Ride to The Rescue as Texas Bakes Under Withering Heat / CleanTechnica 

Reduce Mining Regulations to Bolster a Secure Energy Future / C3 Magazine