August Pfluger: “The most important tool our country has is energy. It is the underpinning of our economy. It forms a foundational piece…”

“The most important tool our country has is energy. It is the underpinning of our economy. It forms a foundational piece of our national security. We see this playing out in all parts of the world right now. The prosperity of our country rests on the abundant natural resources that we have that no other country has. We are blessed to have those natural resources. This has been reaffirmed as Americans have seen the events unfold in places like Ukraine. Make no mistake, the single biggest important impetus for Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine was the belief that Vladimir Putin would not weaponize energy, and he did. We recognize the critical importance of secure, abundant, affordable resources and affordable energy better than anywhere else. Because we know what it takes to produce it, we understand how devastating it would be to lose it, and we see the potential before us if we had the opportunity to unleash our full energy capabilities. Our Nation is blessed with natural resources and a strong, innovative spirit that encapsulates the American character. Nowhere is this more evident than in my own district with the Permian Basin, which produces over 40 percent of the country's oil production.…”