Nearly every aspect of our life depends on having access to energy. From running a business to cooking your dinner to heating and cooling your home, affordable energy is critical to the wellbeing of all Americans. 

So, ensuring we have access to reliable, affordable, and clean American-made energy seems like common sense, right? 

Unfortunately, the Biden-Harris administration has undermined American energy reliability and production at every turn, and families and businesses are paying the price. By virtually every metric, Americans’ cost of living has gone up the past few years, and energy prices are at the core of the staggering increase. 

Rather than adopting an all-of-the-above strategy that uses a mix of all reliable energy sources, including natural gas, coal, nuclear, wind, and solar, we are seeing a mountain of overreaching regulations from this administration in an attempt to impose a “one-size-fits-all” energy mandate. 

Take, for example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan 2.0. This set of rules imposes strict and costly mandates targeted at greenhouse gas emissions from our nation’s new and existing natural gas and coal power plants. The burdensome requirements will put these producers, which provide reliable, affordable, baseload energy, on a fast track to early retirement — the last thing we need. And not only that, but it will also put thousands of hardworking Americans out of good-paying jobs. 

60 percent of electricity generation in the United States comes from natural gas and coal. Forcing unattainable rules and regulations onto these plants will drive up prices and result in blackouts, like we have seen in California. 

But it’s about more than just meeting our energy demands and the needs of Americans today. Increasing our energy supply and grid resilience is critical to American leadership and our economic security. 

There has been a rapid increase in electrification and the construction of new data centers that fuel cutting-edge AI technologies — all with significant energy needs. If power plants that produce baseload energy are taken offline without adequate replacements — as the current administration is attempting to do — we are going to face an energy shortage or drought right when our economy needs it most.  

With energy prices up nearly 40 percent since President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office, American families and businesses cannot afford to let these new mandates continue. 

House Republicans recognize the energy crisis that this administration has created. Since taking the majority just two years ago, we have worked to increase access to reliable, affordable American energy, which is key to ensuring our nation’s prosperity.  

Permit reform is our top priority. The House passed H.R. 1, The Lower Energy Costs Act last year, which will leverage our abundant energy and mineral resources to bring down prices for families across the board and create thousands of good-paying jobs. It slashes unnecessary red tape, streamlines the permitting process, allows agencies to do their jobs more efficiently, and removes duplicative reviews that increase costs and delay construction. Unfortunately, the White House and Senate Democrats have joined forces to oppose our common sense bill. 

The Transparency and Honesty in Energy Regulations Act will also unleash clean American energy. It prohibits the administration from using phony and biased greenhouse gas metrics to justify imposing new mandates on the energy industry that further a nonsensical agenda that Americans cannot afford. 

By limiting big bureaucracy in energy production, we can help bring domestic industries back home and support communities whose livelihoods depend on American energy — communities abandoned by President Biden and Vice President Harris. House Republicans have accomplished a lot to lower costs, grow our economy, and reduce emissions.

America’s role as the innovators of tomorrow depends on rejecting the false choices between affordable energy versus clean air and water, or renewable versus fossil energy. We know American companies can produce energy in a cost-effective, environmentally responsible way, because they are already doing it! The United States has the cleanest energy production and manufacturing processes in the world, helping us to reduce emissions more than any other nation. 

So, when you’re filling up your car on your way to your polling place or turning your lights on to fill in your ballot, remember this: Conservatives are leading to unleash American energy and lower costs, while meeting the environmental goals of our communities and around the globe.

Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) is a member of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce and Chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Jeremy Harrell is the CEO of ClearPath Action, a conservative energy advocacy organization which works to accelerate clean energy solutions.