“Access to affordable, reliable, and abundant energy is vital to America’s economy, national security, and quality of life. Yet ideologically driven government policies have thrust the United States into a new energy crisis just a few short years after America’s energy renaissance, which began in the first decade of the 2000’s, transformed the United States from a net energy importer (oil and natural gas) to energy independence and then energy dominance. Americans now face energy scarcity, an electric grid that is less than reliable, and artificial shortages of natural gas and oil despite massive reserves within the United States – all of which has led to higher prices that burden both the American people and the economy.” (Project 2025, Section 3.2: Department of Energy and Related Commissions, Bernard L. McNamee, page 395, paragraph 2.) 

Let’s walk through this one statement at a time.

“Access to affordable, reliable, and abundant energy is vital to America’s economy, national security, and quality of life.” Yep. Factual and broadly accepted. We’re on board so far.

“Yet ideologically driven government policies have thrust the United States into a new energy crisis….”

No. While some government policies, such as the shift toward renewable energy and regulations on fossil fuel extraction, have contributed to changes in energy markets, labeling this as a “new energy crisis” caused solely by these policies is misleading. Several factors beyond policy decisions have contributed to energy price fluctuations and supply issues, including:

• Global supply chain disruptions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which caused disruptions in global oil and natural gas markets.
• Fluctuations in demand for oil and gas as economies have reopened.

Are we in an energy crisis, though? Yes, but it’s global and largely due to demand bouncing back faster than supply could keep up after the pandemic.

“Despite the world having already weathered several energy crises, the one we are living through now is the first truly global one due to the interconnections in energy markets. The crisis has emerged after a decade of under-investment in legacy energy sources, in addition to a very slow scale-up of renewables compensating for that gap. This has led to a perfect storm, via a mix of shocks following the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While energy should be affordable, secure and sustainable, this “energy triangle” is under strong pressure on all three fronts. There is an insufficient buffer in the system to absorb recent shocks without unprecedented price rises.” Source: World Economic Forum¹

“…just a few short years after America’s energy renaissance, which began in the first decade of the 2000s, transformed the United States from a net energy importer to energy independence and then energy dominance.”

Here’s the accurate part: The U.S. energy renaissance—driven largely by advances in fracking and horizontal drilling—did lead to a massive increase in domestic oil and natural gas production, reducing dependence on foreign energy. By 2019, the U.S. became a net energy exporter.

Here’s the inaccurate part: The term “energy dominance” is debatable. While the U.S. has produced more energy, it has remained linked to global energy markets and prices, meaning true “energy independence” has not been fully realized. The U.S. still imports oil and depends on foreign markets for both imports and exports.

As I point out in Section 3: The General Welfare² when the author argues for “restoring our energy independence”, fossil fuels are a finite resource³. Further, I’m not sure how they believe they’re going to “restore” our energy independence, when it soared to a 70-year high in 2022⁴ – under Joe Biden. (Although I’ll admit that leaving out the context is disingenuous here – we achieved energy independence under Trump, because of the shale boom that began in 2005. Biden has presided over even higher levels.)

Forbes underscores the importance of consistent terminology when we talk about energy independence:

“It’s important to understand that the following two statements are each true under a consistent definition of energy independence.

1. If the U.S. is not energy independent under Joe Biden, then it was never energy independent under Donald Trump.
2. If the U.S. was energy independent under Donald Trump, then energy independence has grown to record levels under Joe Biden. 

[Source]⁵

“Americans now face energy scarcity, an electric grid that is less than reliable, and artificial shortages of natural gas and oil despite massive reserves within the United States.”

There is no widespread energy scarcity in the U.S. While energy prices have fluctuated, the U.S. remains a major energy producer and has ample domestic reserves of oil and natural gas. The increased price of energy, especially in the context of the global oil and gas markets, does not equate to a lack of available energy.

“The average U.S. customer loses power less than two times per year for a total of less than five hours, which represents 99.95% reliability.”[Source]⁶

The U.S. electrical grid (which is less a national grid than a series of regional grids) faces challenges, particularly due to extreme weather events and aging infrastructure, but this is not solely due to government policies on energy production. The push for renewable energy will help, not harm, reliability in the long term. (Texas has severe grid problems, because they decentralized and are not connected to the rest of the country’s grid. Additionally, bad (Republican) policies have failed time and time again⁷ to shore it up.) The Texas power grid is a master class example of why not everything should be left up to the states. They failed to winterize their equipment, so the ice storm knocked out the power, which knocked out natural gas, which relies on electricity. [Source]⁸

The reason I say “bad Republican policies” were responsible for this, is because 1) Greg Abbott is in charge of Texas. He is a Republican. Was he warned to winterize the grid⁹ or this would happen? Yes. Did he fail to do so? Also yes. Deregulation also played a part in this series of unfortunate events:

“Texas officials knew winter storms could leave the state’s power grid vulnerable, but they left the choice to prepare for harsh weather up to the power companies — many of which opted against the costly upgrades. That, plus a deregulated energy market largely isolated from the rest of the country’s power grid, left the state alone to deal with the crisis, experts said.”

Result? “More than 4.5 million homes and businesses were left without power, some for several days. At least 246 people were killed directly or indirectly, with some estimates as high as 702 killed as a result of the crisis.” [Source]¹⁰

McNamee’s claim of “artificial shortages” implies that government policy alone is limiting access to natural gas and oil. In reality, factors such as market volatility, OPEC production decisions, global supply chains, and environmental concerns all play a role. Furthermore, oil and gas production remains high, though global events like the war in Ukraine and refinery shutdowns due to the pandemic also influence supply and prices.

“All of which has led to higher prices that burden both the American people and the economy.”

Energy prices did rise significantly in 2021 and 2022, driven by various factors:

• Global energy demand rebounding faster than supply after the pandemic.
• Geopolitical factors like Russia’s war in Ukraine disrupting natural gas supplies, especially in Europe, which had a ripple effect globally.
• Inflation caused by supply chain disruptions and increased energy demand.

However, these price increases cannot be attributed solely to U.S. government policies. Global factors, including decisions by OPEC+ to limit oil production, have played a major role. Furthermore, gas prices are dropping all over the country.¹¹

While some government policies have encouraged a shift toward cleaner energy, the claim that they are solely responsible for an “energy crisis” and “artificial shortages” is inaccurate and oversimplifies a complex global situation, none of which can be blamed exclusively on U.S. domestic policy.