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While energy prices may have begun to cool for now, Congress cannot take its foot off the proverbial gas. The price of everyday goods is still up 8.3% per recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

We have more work to do in stabilizing our energy markets so that consumers do not experience harmful price spikes in the future.

Expanding our national supply of energy will help reduce and stabilize prices.

Congress can approach this problem through permitting reform, as well as fast-tracking natural gas projects and opening more federal lands to lease.

Reforming our decades-old permitting process would help businesses and consumers across North Carolina.

I run our family’s livestock market with my brother. I have seen how government overreach hurts our economy and places increased costs on residents’ everyday expenses. America’s permitting process is outdated and slow.

Improving our roads, bridges and energy infrastructure take far too long, and residents are left to suffer. Reforming this process would mean we could build the necessary infrastructure, like pipelines, to safely and efficiently transport energy to markets. This greater supply would help drive down prices.

Furthermore, fast-tracking natural gas projects and opening federal lands to leases would expand our energy supply even more.

These are the types of solutions American consumers are looking for. Russia’s war in Ukraine demonstrates the danger of depending on foreign imports.

That is why it is crucial we oppose some Democratic lawmakers’ calls for windfall profit taxes on oil and gas companies. These efforts have historically increased our reliance on foreign imports and would increase prices for consumers.

Expanding our domestic energy production capabilities helps to meet our demand here at home without ceding our energy security to other countries.

David Harward
New London