ICYMI: These are Biden’s Blackouts

(Washington, D.C., July 20, 2022) – During his remarks on the Senate Floor this afternoon, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. warned that the Biden Administration’s radical energy policies are steering Kansas families towards blackouts. While you may click HERE or on the image below to watch Senator Marshall’s full speech, he said in part,

“The shocking new inflation numbers show Americans are already paying 42% more for energy than this time last year, but now, due to White House policies we may not even be able to generate enough electricity to meet demand… For many, a short term blackout might prove a mild inconvenience, but with the seasonal heat waves hitting Kansas and the rest of the Midwest, it could lead to life threatening complications…These Biden Blackouts show that it is well past time for the President to stop the climate extremism, stop the anti-American policies devastating our communities, and stop looking overseas to fix problems that we have the answers to right here in America.”

Background:

According to the Consumer Price Index Report for June 2021, over the last 12 months:

• Energy increased 41.6%
• Gasoline increased 59.9%
• Fuel oil increased 98.5%
• Energy services increased 19.4%
• Electricity increased 13.7%
• Utility (piped) gas service increased 38.4%

On March 31, Senator Marshall introduced the Gas Prices Relief Act along with Senators Steve Daines (MT) and Mike Braun (IN), legislation that would stop any new rule or regulation from going into effect if it would:

• Decrease oil, gas, or biofuels production;
• Increase gasoline prices;
• Have negative impacts on energy production, domestic electricity generation, transmission of fuel or electricity

The prohibition remains in effect until either Jan 1, 2023 or until the national average consumer gas price is $2.60 or less. The current national average is $4.25 a gallon. One year ago, the national average gas price was $2.80, but it was even less when Biden was inaugurated, averaging closer to $2.40 a gallon.

Senator Marshall’s Full Remarks as Prepared

Summer is in full swing, and all across the Midwest people are preparing for lake vacations, barbeques, and new to this year’s agenda, they are also preparing for the Biden Blackouts.

The shocking new inflation numbers show Americans are already paying  42% more for energy than this time last year, but now, due to White House policies we may not even be able to generate enough electricity to meet demand.

Let us not forget, that under Republican leadership we had a nation completely in control of our energy security, we were the global leader in energy production, and we were a net exporter of oil products. 

However, under Democrat leadership, we are making plans for the lights to go out…

But it isn’t this Administration’s fault of course. Just ask them. No, this White house states they are powerless to the whims of a global marketplace – and don’t bother asking them to own the consequences of their actions.

Did Joe Biden actually believe canceling the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office would not have any negative effects on the global energy markets? Think about it! The largest oil producer in the world – stopping the transport of nearly a million barrels a day, over 5% of our supply… who could have ever predicted decreasing supply could impact the cost at the pump?

And, who could have predicted that halting all leasing on Federal lands would impact global supply. I asked the Interior Secretary if this policy made it more difficult for oil companies to drill and she could not give me an answer. This administration doesn’t care about the cost of gas at the pump, until they get it high enough to make driving electric cars more comparable.

And don’t even think about implying that John Kerry, Biden’s climate envoy at COP26, would cause private companies to take coal powered plants offline and eliminate base load, without a plan going forward. After all, he said in Glasgow, “By 2030 in the United States, we won’t have coal. We will not have coal plants.”  We may not have coal, but we will have brownouts. 

And it was Joe Biden on the campaign trail who said, “Kiddo, I want you to just take a look… I want you to look in my eyes. I guarantee you, we are going to end fossil fuels…”

Yes this President has declared war on American energy, and every American is paying the price at the gas pump. And yet, this President wonders out loud why companies won’t invest in more exploration when it’s a 5-10 year payback on such investments. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. Republicans have been sounding the alarm on the negative impacts of this Administration’s policies since President Biden took office. Honestly, this should be surprising to no one, yet the left seems confounded, stupefied, and without a plan, except to turn off your air conditioner and freezer. 

Even more, they have resorted to outright lies. In fact, they repeat these lies over and over, hoping America will eventually fall for them. They repeatedly claim they have not been interfering with American energy production, and now deceivingly spout they support the industry that they have been vilifying for years.

Mr./Madam President, it is clear we need more traditional fuel production, I know it, the American people know it, and, to be completely clear, the White House knows it.

Why else would he have gone overseas to Riyadh to beg for more oil? Why is he reaching out to dictators like Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, or countries that sponsor terrorism like Iran instead of supporting American production in places like my home state of Kansas?

When I asked Secretary of Energy in Committee about the price of gas she cheekily replied that she drives an electric vehicle. This is the same Secretary of Energy that laughed and found it, quote, “hilarious” when asked about her plan to increase oil production in America. That is how this Administration responds to the pain of the American people, laughing as they ride away in their fancy electric vehicles. 

That said, I truly hope that those of us forced to experience a Biden Blackout are able to get through it safely. For many, a short term blackout might prove a mild inconvenience, but with the seasonal heat waves hitting Kansas and the rest of the Midwest, it could lead to life threatening complications. 

These  Biden Blackouts show that it is well past time for the President to stop the climate extremism, stop the anti-American policies devastating our communities, and stop looking overseas to fix problems that we have the answers to right here in America.

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