The House of Representatives debated H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act. This bill would prohibit the Secretary of Energy from tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) for reasons other than a severe energy supply interruption until the Secretary of the Interior issues a plan to increase oil and gas production on federal lands and waters.
The President campaigned on a promise to end fossil fuels, and he has pushed his failed policies from day one—including cancelling the Keystone XL Pipeline and telling the ten million workers who provide the energy our nation desperately needs that he doesn’t want them to produce. In fact, not only does he not want them to produce, he has gone overseas begging global oil cartels for more energy.
Instead of calling on American workers, he used his own “political emergency” to drain the SPR to its lowest level in over 40 years.
These policies are completely disconnected from reality. We are now facing rolling blackouts where families may not have energy in the middle of the night. In places like California, that is standard practice.
Our Republican majority is in touch with the reality that every family is facing choices—and it starts with energy.
We are standing up to return the SPR to its rightful use for national security emergencies—not fabricated political emergencies. We must let our producers do what they do best and keep the government out of it.
I support this bill and stood in front of my colleagues on the House Floor to debate the many reasons we need this legislation. Watch my remarks here or below.
Border Security Update
Last month was the worst month ever recorded at our southern border, with the highest number of migrant encounters ever recorded as a direct result of President Biden’s border policies.
Since President Biden has been in office, there have been over 4.5 million migrant encounters at the Southwest border and over 1.2 million known gotaways who evaded U.S. Border Patrol agents in the last two years. This is larger than the population of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States.
It continues to amaze me that over a million illegal migrants have entered this country completely undetected, yet President Biden and Democrats in Congress continue to pretend there is no risk to the safety of Americans. December was the worst month at the border ever. At least 17 known and suspected terrorists were apprehended among the over 250,000 apprehensions—not including gotaways.
Despite all this, the President continues to push his failed border policies. Republicans in Congress are pressing forward with legislation to secure the border and block this flow of illegal migrants, drugs, and weapons into our country.
This week I led a letter with every Republican member of Congress from Texas to President Biden asking him to reimburse Texas for the costs our state has been forced to spend on border security, and meet with us to hear the solutions we are proposing to end this security crisis.
The House Committee on Homeland Security released the latest edition of the “Startling Stats” factsheet for December 2022. Download it by clicking below.
Introducing the Natural Gas Tax Repeal Act
This week I introduced the Natural Gas Tax Repeal Act, to strike the Natural Gas Tax imposed by President Biden in the Inflation ‘Expansion’ Act. New fees or taxes on energy companies will raise costs for customers, creating a burden that will fall most heavily on lower-income Americans.
I am proud to stand up for the Permian Basin by introducing legislation to strike the President’s new harmful natural gas tax that will drive up the cost of household energy bills and make inflation even worse.
President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army recently issued a premature and reckless new final rule defining “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act.
The federal government has no business being in charge of every drop of water in Texas. I guarantee that rural communities know conservation, and the importance of protecting our own water supply, better than Joe Biden and unelected bureaucrats at the EPA.
I am proud to stand up for the farmers and ranchers in the 11th District of Texas by joining my fellow Republicans in demanding the Administration rollback this egregious federal overreach.
We sent a letter demanding the administration roll back this rule. Read it here.
Announcing my Energy and Commerce Subcommittee Appointments
I am thrilled to announce that as a member of the House Energy and Security Committee, I will be serving on the Energy Subcommittee. Our new Republican majority understands that we are not in an energy transition, we are in an energy expansion.
This subcommittee will drill down into debates on smart energy policy to support the Permian Basin and provide relief to all American families who are suffering from skyrocketing energy bills and inflation. I am proud to be the voice for the Permian Basin and the men and women who provide affordable, abundant, and clean energy to the world.
In addition to the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, & Grid Security, I will also serve on the Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, & Critical Minerals, and the Subcommittee on Communications & Technology.
Fentanyl frequently appears disguised as Xanax, Adderall, and other medications that are often pushed to youths via social media. Big Tech must take responsibility for its role in this crisis and should work with law enforcement agencies to protect our children.
I joined my colleagues in the Energy and Commerce Committee to hear from brave witnesses with personal experience in the tragedy fentanyl can cause. My colleagues and I are committed to passing solutions to protect our community from these dangers and keep Big Tech accountable.
It was an honor to swear an Oath before God to support and defend the Constitution of the United States among so many of you this week in Midland.
Thank you to US District Judge David Counts for administering the Oath, Midland County Sheriff David Criner for leading the prayer, Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis for leading the pledge, and all of the elected officials and community members in attendance for their work on behalf of our region.
I also want to say a special thank you to my incredible wife Camille and our three daughters for supporting me and enabling me to do this job.
Representing the 11th District of Texas is the honor of a lifetime, and I am honored to continue serving you in my second term.
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