Promoting a clean and healthy environment is not a Republican or Democrat issue, it’s an American issue and a global issue. In Central Washington, we’re tied deeply to our land and rely on clean air, water, and soil to feed the world, but we also understand that fossil fuels are a critical component of our economy and national security and can be extracted responsibly within our borders. Unfortunately, partisan rhetoric has skewed the debate and led to the demonization of certain types of energy while placing others upon a pedestal. So, let’s look at the facts.

First, when we talk about emissions, we need to look globally at the entire lifecycle, not just for any one region and at any one point in time. It does us—and the environment—no good if we stop producing fossil fuels if that means families are forced to turn to other, dirtier sources of energy to heat their homes. A prime example of this type of short-sighted policy decision-making is Germany’s move to phase out nuclear production. Germany shut down their nuclear power plants—a carbon-free, efficient source of power—due to fearmongering by anti-nuclear activists and is now relying on coal to meet its energy needs. And, to no one’s surprise, Germany’s power sector emissions increased by 14% in 2021. 

Similarly, House Democrats, environmental activists, and our president are crying out that we must stop producing oil and gas in America but fail to explain what will replace this energy that we need. Right now, one of their solutions is sourcing energy from Venezuela, which has little-to-no environmental standards. Indeed, a study from S&P Global found that oil produced offshore in the Gulf of Mexico ranges between 12.1-23.1kg of CO2 per barrel of oil produced, while oil production in Venezuela’s Orinoco belt averaged 1,460kg of CO2 per barrel of oil produced—over 63 times worse for the environment.

America has the highest environmental standards for energy production in the world and produces energy more efficiently and cleaner than any other country. So when America produces, global emissions go down and energy costs are lowered. China and Russia are 120% less carbon efficient than the U.S., and Russian natural gas exported to Europe has a lifecycle emissions profile 41% higher than U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported to Europe. That means, even when we factor in the emissions from shipping products across the Atlantic Ocean, we still do it better, and cleaner, here. And if the European Union switched all their natural gas imports in 2021 from Russia to the U.S., emissions would have been reduced by over 218 million tons over the course of its lifecycle. By producing energy domestically, we can lower emissions for the entire globe and lower prices for American families. 

In the face of all of this data, it is hard to comprehend why environmentalists and Democrats so adamant we stop producing oil and gas domestically when it is clearly a better option for the environment if we do so, especially in the wake of a nationwide energy crisis. The Biden Administration has fallen prey to much of the nonsensical, unscientific rhetoric in this debate, and as a result has increased waste, increased emissions, increased energy costs, and endangered our environment. 

Fortunately, we can solve our climate challenges through science-based solutions without devastating our economy, and Republicans are leading the way. By diversifying our energy portfolio and investing in ways to improve our energy industry, we can help our climate challenges and Americans’ pocketbooks. In Central Washington, we explore all kinds of energy, from hydropower and nuclear, to solar and wind, and we are constantly innovating, but we also understand that fossil fuels are a necessary part of the picture. When the sun goes down and the wind stops blowing, we still need to run our tractors and farms, and most times, diesel is the only fuel that can get the job done.

I am proud to have introduced and supported legislation that would ensure our nation’s energy independence while protecting our precious natural resources for generations to come. I have cosponsored bills to prevent the Biden Administration from issuing a moratorium on oil and gas leases on federal lands, a bill to authorize construction and completion of the Keystone XL Pipeline, and legislation to modernize the processes for bringing new nuclear technologies online. While President Biden and House Democrats have made the permitting process essentially impossible, I have introduced legislation to reform the permitting process and cut red tape for new energy projects. I have also supported efforts to boost offshore production of oil, gas, wind, and solar energy resources and introduced legislation to protect the Lower Snake River Dams. All these efforts support clean, reliable energy technologies and would help lower energy costs for families in Central Washington. 

We can create and protect a healthy environment while using fossil fuels, we just have to be smart about it, as Republicans have proposed. It is time for President Biden to reverse his anti-energy, anti-climate, and anti-American policies. And rather than taking an all-or-nothing approach, he should take a page out of Central Washington’s book and try an all-of-the-above approach.