Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) has introduced legislation known as the American Energy Act (H.R.1067). The outspoken Republican, who is a member of the House committee overseeing natural resources, says her bill would cut red tape to "unleash" American energy, streamline the energy permitting process, reduce gas prices, and eliminate "frivolous lawsuits" threatening the country's energy independence.
"In short, H.R. 1067 will help reduce gas prices by providing certainty for responsible energy production and preventing baseless litigation," the GOP lawmaker says in a press statement. "With the price at the pump skyrocketing and the international energy market destabilizing, the world needs American energy now more than ever.”
Western Energy Alliance is one of the groups supporting the measure. AFN spoke with Alliance president Kathleen Sgamma.
"The oil and natural gas industry is highly complex, and the regulatory environment we face is highly complex," says Sgamma. "There are so many hoops to jump through in order to develop in this country where we produce energy in a much more responsible way than anywhere else in the world. [And] anytime we can increase certainty and make it easier instead of more difficult to develop American energy, the less we will have in the long run to import from Venezuela and Russia and Saudi Arabia."
In his recent State of the State address, President Joe Biden said the U.S. will need oil and gas for another ten years. Critics took issue with that timeline – but given that the president seems open to using oil and gas, AFN asked Sgamma if Biden and his fellow Democrats should support Boebert's bill.
"Democrats don't want to do anything that helps the American producer," Sgamma responds. "For some reason, they think that if they put up obstacles in front of the American producer, it's going to lead to this shiny renewables future where climate change goes away – and that's simply not the case. There's nothing that replaces oil and gas."
Other organizations that support Boebert's bill include Heritage Action and Americans for Limited Government.
Cosponsors of the American Energy Act include: Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-05), Rep. Eric Burlison (MO-07), Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-09), Rep. Harriet Hageman (WY-AL), Rep. Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Rep. Barry Moore (AL-02), Rep. Troy Nehls (TX-22), Rep. Andy Ogles (TN-05), Rep. Pete Stauber (MN-08), Rep. Ben Cline (VA-06), Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21), and Rep. Tom Tiffany (WI-07).
