February 18th, 2022

Are you paying more for energy than you were last year?

For so many Americans the answer to that question is “Yes.” Unfortunately, relief doesn’t seem to be on the horizon. After a year of the green-at-any-cost agenda being enacted across the country (at all levels of government), oil is projected to reach $150/barrel which would bring national average gasoline prices over $4.00/gallon.

(Side note: Check out and share the latest graphic from The Empowerment Alliance that maps out how widespread those policies are. From city councils to the President and from local zoning to international trade, legislation is cutting off Americans from inexpensive domestic energy sources.)

Usually spring would provide a source of hope for Americans looking forward to family road trips to vacation destinations but a brutally expensive winter (Just ask New Englanders about their bills after they cut themselves off from regional resources and are now burning oil and importing gas from foreign sources) followed by a spring with soaring gasoline prices could mean a pricey future.

Thankfully there is a dash of hope. Elected officials across the country have signaled their desire to keep prices affordable, support the domestic energy industry and protect American jobs by signing TEA’s Declaration of Energy Independence.

Bottom Line: After a year of the green-at-any costs energy agenda spreading across the country, it’s no wonder crude oil supply is tight and prices are soaring.

House Republicans wrote a letter to signal their concern about the nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin as Vice Chair for Supervision at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Fed). Led by Representatives Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14), David B. McKinley (WV-01), Scott Perry (PA-10), Dr. John Joyce (PA-13), Dan Meuser (PA-09), and numerous other DOEI signers, the letter addressed that her appointment would harm American industry.

“We are deeply troubled by your decision to nominate Ms. Raskin, who would wield tremendous regulatory and supervisory authority that could be weaponized to discourage or prohibit banks from lending to or investing in American energy,” they said in the letter. “Her consistent advocacy for the Federal Reserve to de-bank energy companies raises the troubling prospect that she would do just that.”

Bottom Line: The House may not vote on nominations but 40 members expressing concerns should be taken seriously by their colleagues in the Senate.

A conflict in Eastern Ukraine would be devastating to the regional and global energy markets. It is highly unlikely that Russia would continue to provide fuel resources to any European country that opposed them during an armed conflict. This could spell disaster for an already tight energy supply in Europe due to winter demand driving prices sharply upwards.

The United States has the natural resources to help meet this potential supply shortfall. But our energy strategy needs to be realigned, domestically and among our transatlantic and global allies. Policies to increase domestic energy production, expedite export approvals to America’s allies and create a comprehensive energy strategy among those allies would reduce Russia’s geopolitical power. Beyond economic power, American produced fuels are cleaner than those from Russia thanks to a robust domestic regulatory environment. As Rep. Carol Miller pointed out in the press release for her ESCAPE Act, if American energy were to replace Russian energy in the European Union, global greenhouse gas emissions would fall by 72 million metric tons each year.

Bottom Line: With cleaner technology, more efficient production methods, and more stringent environmental protections, the world is better off when America is a global leader in energy production.

As we alluded to earlier, gasoline prices continue to rise as crude oil nears the $100 threshold. Average price per gallon leapt up another 5 cents this past week, climbing from $3.48 to $3.53. Experts are predicting crude prices will reach highs of $125 to potentially even $150 this spring and summer. If so, good luck filling up those tanks. Here’s a helpful chart showing the price per gallon of gas equivalent of crude oil price benchmarks!

EPA Hearing On Power Plant Regulations : On Thursday, February 24, the EPA will hold a virtual public hearing on a rule that “would revoke a 2020 finding that it is not appropriate and necessary to regulate coal- and oil-fired power plants under” the Clean Air Act.