SEN CYNTHIA LUMMIS: Trump is ending Biden’s war on energy and one state is key to that strategy
I don’t have to tell you that Biden-era policies drained the pocketbooks of American families. But just how bad was it? Everything got more expensive. Food, consumer goods and especially energy. During President Joe Biden’s administration, energy prices increased by over 30% as a direct result of his disastrous anti-energy agenda.
But the Biden era is over, and that’s nowhere more apparent than in America’s energy outlook. President Donald Trump is reversing course and returning us to the Golden Age of American energy production. That’s great news for Wyoming and for America.
One big way the president is unleashing American energy is by removing costly regulatory hurdles. On day one, Trump declared a national energy emergency to spur domestic energy and critical mineral production and lower prices for all Americans. He reversed the Biden administration’s unconscionable decision to pause LNG export permits. He has opened up new federal lands and offshore locations for responsible leasing, and he has proposed permitting reforms. Under the leadership of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, the administration is protecting mining jobs out west and reversing the Biden administration’s assault on U.S. energy.
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The first Trump administration took long-overdue steps to modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), aiming to cut through red tape and fast-track essential infrastructure projects. Unfortunately, the Biden administration swiftly dismantled those reforms, replacing them with permitting hurdles and endless environmental reviews designed to stall progress.
As a result, vital projects – oil and gas exploration, pipelines, roads, bridges – are stuck in limbo, not due to a lack of ability or resources, but because Washington’s bureaucratic machine obstructs them. Now, thanks to Trump, America is poised to completely overhaul this permitting process and eliminate liberal inefficiency and obstruction.
Trump has been an ally and friend of coal country. Unlike Democrats, who are still obsessively pushing their radical Green New Deal, Trump knows that intermittent wind and solar will not meet all of our energy needs in the era of cloud computing and artificial intelligence demands.
Trump, likewise, has been honest with the American people about the importance of baseload energy sources. And Wyoming knows that better than anyone, we’ve been America's No. 1 coal producer since the 1980s, making ever cleaner baseload energy from coal a reality.
But Trump isn’t content to just stick with what we’ve always done. He wants to innovate. And so does Wyoming. We want to unleash our traditional energy sector while investing in new and exciting nuclear technology. Wyoming began construction on the first new-generation advanced reactor in Kemmerer last year. When completed, it will supply energy to 400,000 homes, creating 1,600 construction jobs and 250 high-paying permanent positions in the process.
Wyoming contains the largest uranium deposits in the country, presenting the opportunity to lead the way from mining to fabrication to energy production. America will not achieve Trump’s energy goals without nuclear energy, which means America will not achieve energy dominance without Wyoming.
Trump's pro-energy agenda will also lower prices for Americans and create good-paying jobs in the process. His recent executive order aimed at increasing America’s critical mineral production will spur jobs across western mining communities that have been left behind by the elites in Washington.
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It’s time to restore our rightful position as the world's leading mineral producer. Wyoming is key to freeing America from dependence on hostile foreign powers for critical minerals. We have the critical minerals, we have the technology and we have the workforce necessary to boost their production.
Trump is making America safer by investing in American energy. Energy independence serves as a vital national security asset. By reducing our reliance on foreign energy sources, America becomes less vulnerable to supply disruptions and price manipulation from our adversaries.
The Biden administration’s full-scale assault on Wyoming energy will take years to undo, but I’m pleased that Trump and his administration are already making headway and bringing American energy back.
After spending four years here in the Senate during the Biden administration trying to work and get answers from bureaucrats who were more focused on placating far-left environmental activists, I’m excited to work with Zeldin, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who all have relevant real-world management skills and experience. Under Trump’s administration, I know we will right the ship and deliver on his energy commitments to the American people.
Our country is blessed with amazing natural resources that are critical to our economic and national security. We must use those resources. We must invest in our energy security. Wyoming is grateful that President Trump is delivering on his promise to Make American Energy Great Again.