We applaud the House of Representatives on the introduction of H.R.1, the Lower Energy
Costs Act. Americans need Congress to focus on the biggest challenge facing Hispanic
families and business – persistent inflation fueled by high energy costs. Hispanic voters
understand the need to move past the regulatory paralysis, burdensome taxes and
wasteful spending holding back American energy abundance.
The Hispanic community in particular stands to gain from sensible and strong energy
policy that fixes the broken supply chain, decreases reliance on foreign nations, and
unleashes economic opportunity. Our community is deeply tied to the energy sector
both as consumers and workers.
- Hispanics represent 17 percent of workers in the energy sector and over 20 percent in
mining, oil, and gas. In Texas, the oil and natural gas industry laborforce is 30 percent
Hispanic. The jobs in the energy sector are well paid and offer plenty of opportunities
for skills development and wage growth. Ensuring that this part of the economy
remains dynamic is crucial to the future of overall economic growth. - Hispanic households experience particularly high levels of cost-based energy
insecurity. According to a recent survey, 40 percent of Hispanic respondents could
not pay an energy bill over a three-month period, the highest percent among all
groups surveyed. - H.R.1 offers the opportunity to reverse the current trends of higher costs, increased
regulation, and stifled growth. The series of bills under consideration move our
country toward greater energy abundance and affordability.
By removing these bottlenecks in the energy supply chain, the bill will help ensure
energy production from diverse sources. The Lower Energy Costs Act can be an
inflection point in the Biden Administration’s seeming war on affordable energy that is
fueling inflation and harming the environment. We commend your attention to this
challenge and urge you to support lower energy costs for all Americans.