Gunasekara’s full testimony can be found HERE.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) today announced Mandy Gunasekara, director of the Center for Energy and Conservation at IWF, will testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Accountability at 2:00 p.m. ET tomorrow, March 29, on the impact of energy costs and inflation on American families.
The hearing, entitled, “Fueling Unaffordability: How the Biden Administration’s Policies Catalyzed Global Energy Scarcity and Compounded Inflation,” will examine rising energy costs and record-high inflation. Gunasekara’s expert testimony will emphasize the need for Congress to prioritize the strengthening of the American energy grid with proven technologies while encouraging continued innovation.
Gunasekara will testify alongside Oliver McPherson-Smith, director for energy, trade, and environmental policy for the American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research.
“We have both the technological capabilities and wherewithal to build energy systems that reliably and affordably deliver energy to all Americans that need it,” states Gunasekara. “The fact that these systems are decaying, and the cost of energy is becoming more of a luxury good than an everyday utility, is not by happenstance nor some uncontrollable factors abroad. It is the result of leftist policies that this administration is pushing through the administrative state and amongst woke CEOs.”
Specific areas of concern in her testimony include:
- Rising energy costs and inflation creating immense financial burdens on the American people, including one in six American families currently behind on electricity bills and the cost for an average household which has risen approximately $10,000 over the past two years;
- The disproportional economic burden low-income populations carry under policies that purport to improve the climate;
- Decaying American energy systems and the cost of energy becoming more of a luxury good than an everyday utility;
- Attempts to transition the grid to inferior technologies by arbitrary deadlines or bans of everyday appliances;
- Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) purposefully getting in the way at a time when we need more domestic energy production and a shoring up of aging energy infrastructure;
- China getting to inherit the jobs, mining opportunities, and economic productivity all while getting a free pass on environmental protection; and
- Biden’s war on American fossil energy forcing European allies to become more dependent on Russian natural gas, which has strengthened the ruble, enriched Vladimir Putin, and undermined U.S. national security.
Gunasekara will urge Congress to:
- Support efforts to make fossil fuels cleaner and more efficient, not shut them down;
- End specialized subsidies to improve competition that can cut costs and strengthen stability;
- Consider ways to account for the value of baseload energy, especially with on-site fuel storage that can withstand any supply disruptions like nuclear;
- Ensure grid reliability or resiliency standards are technology neutral so grid operators and engineers have the flexibility to plan for and respond to major swings in demand;
- Set environmental standards based on proven, not prospective, technologies with flexible timelines for compliance;
- Revoke Biden’s anti-fossil energy policies and his new tax on natural gas, cut red tape, open up public lands and waters to development, and support the development of affiliated infrastructure including refineries and pipelines;
- Expand training programs for prospective and current energy workers through apprenticeships and STEM-focused development; and
- Ensure access to capital and credit is based on a company’s merit and not compliance.
“The Biden Administration has been conducting a war on American energy since day one by restricting our oil investment, production, and transport,” said Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Chairman Pat Fallon (R-Texas). “Instead of taking action to respond to record high prices by reversing his anti-American energy policies, President Biden chose to deny responsibility and ignore the pain he inflicted on Americans’ pocketbooks. We will conduct oversight to examine the implications of the Biden Administration’s industry scapegoating, overreach, and obstruction of American energy and find solutions to ensure our energy security for years to come.”
Details:
WHAT: U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs: “Fueling Unaffordability: How the Biden Administration’s Policies Catalyzed Global Energy Scarcity and Compounded Inflation” Hearing
WHEN: Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. ET
WHERE: 2154 Rayburn House Office Building