A few weeks ago, I received an email from Ricardo — a resident of Kings County. In his message, he attached a picture of his electricity bill explaining they were raising rates again. He said his family was stuck “between a rock and a hard place” when it comes to these rising energy bills. Unfortunately, Ricardo is not alone. Hardworking people across the Central Valley are having to choose between filling up their tanks to get to work and putting food on their dinner table.

I get asked a lot what can be done to bring down these costs, and the truth is the only way to ensure long-term stability in energy prices is to increase our domestic production. Last week, House Republicans passed HR 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, to do just that.

The Lower Energy Costs Act is a sweeping energy reform package that will cut red tape and allow us to increase our supply of safe, clean and affordable energy. The bill would increase domestic energy production, streamline the energy permitting process, increase energy infrastructure and exports, increase the production and processing of critical minerals, and reverse production limitations put in place by President Joe Biden.

While each part of HR 1 will help restore American energy independence, I’m proud that my bill, HR 1430, the NEPA Adequacy Streamlining Act, was included in this package. This provision streamlines the approval process for energy production by allowing the secretaries of the interior and agriculture to use previously conducted environmental impact statements for the approval of similar projects. In other words, my bill would speed up the energy project approval process by cutting red tape, leading to more production site approvals where new energy production can occur. This is just one example of the types of common-sense reforms that make up the Lower Energy Costs Act.

America has some of the greatest energy resources of any nation in the world — we should be using these resources to create jobs, strengthen our national security and bring prices down. Unfortunately, this administration has continued to hamper our ability to produce energy here at home — where we do it cleaner and safer than anywhere else in the world, including right here in Kern County.

Kern County is one of the nation’s top 10 oil-producing counties. Not only does the energy industry create tens of thousands of high-paying jobs across the valley, but the industry is responsible for a large portion of Kern County’s yearly revenues. The revenue from the oil and gas industry here in Kern is used to fund vital public services like our schools, firefighters, police officers and hospitals.

During Biden’s State of the Union address, the president made the claim that energy companies “invested too little of their profits to increase production.” Yet, his policies have created a situation where they don’t have the permits or long-term regulatory certainty to invest and build new refineries. Biden himself said that we’ll need oil for “at least 10 years.” Why would an energy company invest in building a new refinery if it’s only going to be in production for 10 years?

While we, as a country, should continue to develop and pursue other sources of energy, we cannot abandon traditional energy sources. I support an all-of-the-above approach to energy production and use, but that does not mean immediately transitioning to 100 percent renewable fuels. The president’s energy policies don’t match his rhetoric. If we continue down the Biden administration’s stated goal of moving away from the oil and gas industry within the next 10 years, it’s communities in Kern County that will pay the price.

The Lower Energy Costs Act is a complete rejection of the Biden energy agenda that has driven up costs for Central Valley families and once again made us dependent on foreign adversaries for energy. It would fundamentally shift the conversation surrounding energy production from one of reduction and reliance to one of innovation and independence. Its passage will strengthen our national security and provide affordable energy to Central Valley residents.

Whether it’s oil, natural gas, coal, wind, solar or hydropower, we can provide every American with low-cost, reliable energy for generations. Passing the Lower Energy Costs Act is a critical step to making that a reality.