Memorial Day Is When We Remember
May 16, 2026
Next week marks Memorial Day, a time we take to remember and honor those who have given their lives protecting and defending our great nation. As we remember the sacrifices they have made to keep America safe, it is also important to honor them with a commitment to protect that hard-fought security any way we can.
When America is the key producer of energy for our own needs and globally, that makes us and the world safer. When we say that energy security and independence is our modern-day fight, it’s not just rhetoric.
By maximizing our resources, we have pulled ourselves out of an era where we depended on foreign adversaries, and sometimes outright enemies, to put gas in our cars and keep our lights
on. Now, Americans can trust that we rely on our own energy resources and all the benefits that come from that.
Pursuing American energy dominance
In 2018, the U.S. surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world’s top producer of natural gas and oil largely because of the hard work and ingenuity of the American energy industry. In December 2020, we reached a benchmark in our country’s history many thought we’d never see again. For the first time in 35 years, the U.S. imported no weekly crude oil from Saudi Arabia. By November 2024, the U.S. had reached a new record of crude oil production in the lower 48 states.
As a result, not only do we have the oil resources to support our own nation, but we are now setting records year after year for exporting oil to our allies around the world. Now, we can keep our nation going without reliance on foreign oil.
In 2024, the U.S. only imported 17% of its energy supply from foreign sources—the lowest amount in nearly 40 years. That means the U.S. has halved its energy imports from other countries, mostly due to increased domestic energy production, since imports peaked in 2006.
Imports from the OPEC countries decreased a whopping 77% during that same time. This is proof positive that “Drill, Baby, Drill” and “Build, Baby, Build” aren’t just catchy slogans. They are policies that drastically improve American energy security while also driving our prosperity.
American energy secures the world
The U.S. has remained a net energy exporter now for several consecutive years—meaning we are producing record amounts of energy that exceed our domestic consumption. In fact, U.S. primary energy exports have been steadily increasing since 2002. Primary energy sources include: coal, coal coke, crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas, biofuels, and electricity.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. LNG export capacity will likely
increase from 11.5 billion cubic feet per day in 2023 to 24.4. in 2028—more than doubling in five years. According to energy author Robert Bryce: “If that happens, US LNG export capacity will equal or exceed, the gas production of both Iran and China. (In 2023, Iran produced 24.3 Bcf/d, and China produced 22.7 Bcf/d). That, ladies and gentlemen, is evidence that the US is a natural gas superpower.”
U.S. energy exports like liqueified natural gas (LNG) are the literal light on the world’s horizon, and our ability to supply the world with energy is only growing. The United States started off 2026 with a huge victory—fueled by increased domestic energy production. In 2025, we became the first country to export more than 100 million metric tons (mmt) of liquefied natural gas in a single year.
This accomplishment was primarily because of start-up production from new LNG plants in the U.S. Not only was this a new annual record, but throughout 2025, we also set five monthly production records—showing the benefits of consistent, common-sense investment in domestic production. Much of these U.S. exports went to our allies in Europe, but also the Middle East and Asia, which directly reduced reliance on natural gas purchased from Russia.
Our ability to supply the world with natural gas has become possible because the U.S. leads the world in natural gas production. That achievement was driven by groundbreaking technological
advances like hydraulic fracturing that have allowed us to tap America’s extensive natural resources. As a result, U.S. natural gas production has more than doubled. According to Bryce’s
analysis of data, the U.S. is now producing more natural gas than Canada, China, Iran, Norway and Qatar combined.
Affordable, Reliable and Clean = Energy Security
The world is clearly still a dangerous and unpredictable place. We cannot sacrifice our standing
as a world energy superpower to countries, like Russia, Iran and China. China, for example, has
shown a willingness to leverage its near monopoly on certain mineral resources necessary for so-called “green” energy and electric vehicle production for some time. They have already restricted exports of certain minerals to the U.S.. We cannot once again make ourselves victim to nefarious foreign governments that only aim to harm American interests and security.
Affordable, Reliable and Clean Energy Security (ARC-ES) is the key to codifying the policies we
need to continue our successful domestic energy production. This is literally a matter of national security. We have invested American time, resources and hard work into accomplishing something that people only a couple decades ago would have thought laughable. We have made America energy independent, energy secure and free of reliance on our enemies for oil and natural gas. We cannot go backward.
ARC-ES will guarantee that we prioritize our domestic energy sources to meet our own energy needs. We can once and for all have affordable, reliable and clean energy security completely fueled by our own American resources. That’s good for American and it’s good for the rest of the world.