Jay Obernolte: “The problem of increasing energy costs is a critically important issue for my constituents. Many of the members of my…”

“The problem of increasing energy costs is a critically important issue for my constituents. Many of the members of my community are paying natural gas prices over twice as high as they were a year ago, and they count themselves lucky, because some of the people in my district have natural gas bills three times higher to heat their homes than they were a year ago. Also, gasoline prices in my district are almost twice as high as they were just a few years ago. Mr. Chair, I represent over 100,000 people who commute over an hour, each way, back and forth to Los Angeles every day. They are not doing this because they want to. They are doing this because that is what is required to put food on the table for their families. They can't afford to buy a new car, much less an electric car. Every time the price of energy goes up, these people feel the effects the most acutely. This is not unique to my district. In fact, a survey released several weeks ago showed that over 30 percent of Americans had to make the incredibly difficult decision between paying a higher energy bill or buying basic necessities for their family in the last 12 months. This bill is a meaningful step toward improving that situation. It would streamline the production of energy here in America. {time} 1415 Mr. Chair, the problem we have here is a classic one of supply and demand.…”