US Needs to Open Up ‘Our Energy Resources,’ Rep. Gary Palmer Urges

Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas on July 9, 2021. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

A member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee says that increasing the development of all domestic energy resources, particularly oil and gas, will help lower inflation.

That’s because increased fuel costs permeate all levels of the economy, according to Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.).

“Well, it will, because energy is the most ubiquitous part of the entire economy. There’s an energy cost in everything,” Palmer told Steve Lance, the host of NTD’s “Capitol Report.” “So, if you can reduce energy cost, your manufacturing costs come down, your production costs come down, your wholesale, and you’re warehousing and your transportation.”

The national average gas price was $4.24 per gallon as of March 23, according to data from AAA. That’s up from $3.53 in February, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and from $2.88 in March 2021, data show.

“If we open up our energy resources, you will see prices come down. We’ve seen it already,” Palmer said, citing the fluctuations in natural gas prices that he said have been as high as $15 per unit and as low as roughly $3.

The congressman criticized the latest proposal by congressional Democrats to subsidize the high cost of gas—which they say is temporary and caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine—by sending people checks from the federal government.

The rebates that Rep. Mike Thompson’s (D-Calif.) legislation proposes are $100 for single filers earning less than $75,000 and $100 for joint filers earning less than $150,000.

“Well, the Democrat policies of printing more money is another reason why we have rampant inflation. And you combine that with the increase in energy costs, it’s going to make it worse, not better,” Palmer said. “They’re totally out of touch with the American people. And I understand we’ve got an issue with climate change, with CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions. We can deal with that.”

Palmer pointed to the recent sanctions on Russian oil imports, which produce 40 percent more carbon dioxide emissions than U.S. oil.

He also said the United States has an abundance of both oil and natural gas, so it doesn’t make sense to import it.

“We refuse to buy natural gas that’s produced right here in the United States because we’re trying to eliminate that industry. That makes no sense,” Palmer said.

He said the United States has enough of its own oil and natural gas to power the nation and bring down global energy prices, while still developing renewables to replace fossil fuels when technology allows.

“Well, I support renewable energy, but it will not supply the nation’s needs and not in the time frame that the Democrats are pushing,” he said.

A woman walks by a Con Edison power plant in a Brooklyn neighborhood across from Manhattan on March 15, 2018, in New York. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Palmer who worked for two engineering companies before being elected to the House of Representatives in 2014, said U.S. energy infrastructure is a patchwork grid, functioning as different parts.

He said U.S. energy demands can’t be met with renewables alone.

“But each part of that requires a consistent baseload, which you do not get with solar or [turbines]. Natural gas, on the other hand, is the cleanest fossil fuel that we have,” he said.

“You build one of those facilities, and it will generate power for 65 years, a solar facility maybe 25 to 30 years, and you can’t recycle the solar panels. A turbine, wind turbine generation facility maybe 25 to 30 years. But after 10 years, the generating capacity declines precipitously, and you can’t recycle the blades.”

Palmer said he believes our energy independence will come from developing a variety of energy resources, including nuclear, gas, oil, and renewables.

“So, we need a mix. And I really think the future in terms of eliminating emissions is next-generation nuclear,“ he said. ”And particularly now that we have the technology to recycle spent fuel rods [that] would still retain about 90 percent of their energy capacity. That’s the direction we ought to be going.”