My district includes the Permian Basin, the largest oil and gas producing region in the nation. The Biden Administration has vilified the men and women in my district and other energy-producing areas around the country. It has also enacted anti-energy executive orders and burdensome regulations against the industry.
A favorite tactic is to attack the industry through obscure rules at the agency level. This includes hijacking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list a tiny lizard, whose habitat happens to be in the Permian Basin, as an endangered species. If allowed to move forward, the listing would create a host of regulatory hoops for energy producers to jump through, and could eventually shut down oil and gas production in the region.
In 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a regulatory agenda that considered re-designation of ‘ozone attainment’ in the Permian Basin—despite Texas not having a single air quality monitor in the state. This discretionary action, if finalized, would impose new regulatory burdens on U.S. energy producers, exacerbating inflationary pressures and increasing prices for consumers.
The decision was made after pressure from an environmental group—proving that the Administration is willing to cave to radical agendas and shut down production based on faulty data.
I have made it my mission to combat actions that make it harder to produce clean, affordable, and secure American energy, and that drive up prices for all Americans. Energy producers across the country have made incredible strides to clear up production methods and decrease harmful emissions by 70 percent between 2011 and 2020—all while producing at record levels.
My bill, the “Show the Data Act of 2024,” will protect energy-producing regions in the nation by preventing the EPA from making decisions based on out-of-state monitors.
My other legislation, the “Limiting Incredulous Zealots Against Restricting Drilling (LIZARD) Act,” would prevent the rule that designates the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as an endangered species. I also introduced a congressional review act to nullify the Administration’s attempt to use the lizard as a tool against the oil and gas industry.
Another anti-energy action by the Department of Energy was to block exports of domestic liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports—which endangers energy security for the U.S. and our allies. To make matters worse, the Administration again justified the decision on faulty, non-peer-reviewed data.
I invited Dr. Earthea Nance, the Region 6 Administrator for the EPA, to the Permian Basin for a tour of our facilities. Dr. Nance was the first and only Administration official to visit the Permian Basin. No one else from the Administration, including the EPA Administrator, Department of Energy Secretary, Vice President Harris, or President Biden has visited a production site in the Permian Basin to see the incredible technology and innovation that has led to the largest cut in harmful emissions in history.
It is a privilege to serve as the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee’s House Energy Action Team (HEAT). Over the past two years, we have brought dozens of leaders in the energy industry to brief our group on damage the Administration’s policies are inflicting on the industry.
American energy dominance is the key to national security and the future prosperity of our nation.
Congressman August Pfluger is serving his second term representing Texas’ 11th Congressional District. He served for 20 years as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and is now a Colonel in the Air Force Reserves.