Letter to the Hon. Joseph R. Biden, President of the United States - Kinzinger, Burgess, Crenshaw Lead Letter to POTUS Calling for Comprehensive Energy Strategy

Letter

Dear President Biden,

We are currently in the midst of one of the most remarkable and disastrous energy crises in recent history. An arctic air mass has wreaked havoc across most of the United States. This extreme weather event caused power disruptions for millions of Americans, leaving them to suffer through below-freezing temperatures and contributing to dozens of deaths. First and foremost, we request that your administration do all that it can to address the immediate needs of those impacted.
We do not write to point fingers or cast blame. No single policy decision, source of energy, political figure, or energy market bears full responsibility. This crisis was caused by a confluence of factors, not the least of which is the unpredictability and severity of weather events. We do, however, write to underscore the strategic importance of maintaining--and, in some cases expanding--access to sufficient baseload energy sources in the United States.
The signatories of this letter have consistently championed an "all-of-the-above" energy strategy. We understand the fundamental importance of preserving our resources and natural heritage, and we agree that the consideration of environmental impacts is essential to any policymaking relating to energy. We have records demonstrating support for renewable energy technologies, and we expect their use to expand in the coming years. But the United States simply cannot afford to continue pushing a renewables-only energy strategy to the detriment of abundant and reliable baseload sources, including nuclear and natural gas. Forming and calibrating a strong national energy policy is not a zero-sum game. While this has been clear to each of us throughout our time as public servants, in light of the hardships caused by these extreme weather events, it should now be abundantly clear to the nation.
It is long past time that elected officials, pundits, business organizations, and environmental lobbyists put down their pitchforks and come to the table to have an honest discussion about the future of America's energy strategy. Many have already done so, but a handful of influential partisans and zealots have become the loudest voices on these matters, stoking fear and talking past one another as each perpetuates a "my way, or the highway" approach to issues that, at their core, require thoughtful debate and compromise.
One thing we should all agree upon is that we must undertake every effort to avoid the suffering and death yielded by this winter storm and other extreme weather events in the future. If you share this sentiment, we stand at the ready to fully participate in this discussion, and we will work to bring others in our party along to be honest brokers as well. But we must ask that you make a similar commitment on behalf of your administration and your party so that we can break the Washington-based gridlock which has suffocated meaningful debate about the future of energy and environmental policy for far too long.
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration. We look forward to working with you to achieve these objectives for the sake of the country.
Sincerely,

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