Concord, NH: House Speaker Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry), Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn), and Science, Technology and Energy Chairman Michael Vose (R-Epping) held a press conference earlier today to discuss the energy crisis and the devastating effects of failed policies coming from Washington, DC:
“The Biden administration shut down pipelines, limited fuel permits and pursued costly green energy policies to make traditional fuels uneconomical, and our country will pay for those disastrous policies. Luckily, in New Hampshire, smart fiscal management by House Republicans created a surplus that enabled us to react in real-time to this disaster and pass HB2023, to ensure our citizens do not have to choose between heating their homes and putting food on their tables this winter,” said House Speaker Sherman Packard.
Speaker Packard continued, “Make no mistake about it. This [energy crisis] is Washington’s fault, not the state of New Hampshire’s fault. This is the failure of the Biden administration and the Democratic Congress.”
“When you shut down further exploration for natural gas, make it more difficult to build pipelines to transport natural gas from one place to another, and then the geo-political situation internationally, it puts a premium on natural gas, and you end up with shortages. When you end up with shortages, you end up with higher prices and that affects us directly, especially here in New England where we depend heavily upon natural gas,” explained Chairman Michael Vose.
Chairman Vose continued, “When you restrict resources, much like what has been happening here and nationally, you create scarcity and that is what drives up costs. State energy policy has nothing to do with costs – nothing at all.”
“We hear every day from constituents about the impact of high energy costs and how it’s affecting their lives. Make no mistake, the punitive cost to turn on your lights, start your car, or fire your furnace – these are the direct result of Democrat policies. Many of the policies have come from Washington – starting with a president who ‘guaranteed’ that he was ‘going to end fossil fuels’ and has done everything he could to keep his promise,” said House Majority Leader Jason Osborne.
Leader Osborne continued, “And while the Democrats in Washington are working overtime to drive up the costs for working New Hampshire families, the Democrats here have been working overtime to do the same through massive carbon taxes, passing the costly renewable portfolio standard, eliminating ratepayer rebates for RGGI, or adding tens of millions in surcharges to the systems benefit charge. Winter is coming and catastrophic energy prices are already here courtesy of Green New Deal Democrats and their scorched-earth policies.”