BY LARRY BEHRENS:

These days, there are a lot of critics of the Biden Administration’s policies on energy, and for good reason. A gallon of gas reached five dollars, and the response from the Administration has been a collective shrug of the shoulders. Over the weekend, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm suggested prices would fall to $4.27 per gallon by the third quarter as if that was some sort of positive benchmark.

In response, President Biden is begging foreign powers for more oil and working overtime to sell a green utopia future that is failing. With an approval now in the 30s, you would think he would ramp up the power of America’s oil and gas energy industry for no other reason than political self-preservation. Alas, the commandments of the Green Cult demand strict adherence no matter the political cost, or the pain inflicted on the people.

Those candidates seeking to replace the status quo need to do more than complain – they must offer a clear vision forward with specific proposals for concrete relief. Here are five ideas for first steps:

  1. Families all over the country are feeling the pain of strained budgets, DC bureaucrats should too. – Republican leaders should craft a revamped federal budget with incentives that focus on American energy production. More specifically, their budget should require Cabinet Secretaries from Energy, Interior and Transportation to report to Congress every week on progress toward fixing our energy crisis with increased domestic energy production. A lack of progress would result in a corresponding budget cut.
  2. Demand the Keystone pipeline, along with all other refineries, pipelines and infrastructure move forward immediately ­– Congress should again use the power of the budget to mandate any department in the Biden Administration holding back energy infrastructure face the budget chopping block.
  3. Require the Biden Administration to Stop Impeding the Flow of Capital to American Energy – One of the most effective backdoor regulations stopping American energy production is President Biden’s use of agencies such as the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to strangle financial capital for American oil and natural gas energy projects. Biden plays the shell game of blaming energy companies for lack of production and then uses his administration to stop the money flow for the same production.
  4. Investigate the White House Climate Office – Since Biden’s first day, John Kerry has run the unaccountable, but powerful, climate office out of the White House. Kerry has time to jet off to every climate summit on the globe but not much time explaining his actions and controversial statements to Congress. The next Congress must call Kerry to testify and demand every email, every calendar and every text message from Kerry’s office to determine the amount of influence he’s peddling against the American energy industry.
  5. Congress must demand President Biden and his entire administration convert to green energy immediately – If living off solar and wind power while relying on electric vehicles is such a bright future, Congress should demand Biden and his Cabinet do it right now. Let the White House disconnect from all fossil fuels right away and let Kerry take a wind-only sailboat to his next climate summit. This is the lifestyle Biden, and his green disciples, are demanding so let them lead by example. They must do it now, because after all they repeatedly tell us the Earth is at stake.

No doubt President Biden would veto any budget with these measures, or any others that threaten his green agenda. However, if the opposing party receives a mandate in November, they shouldn’t back down in any face-off with a Biden Administration that has delivered record prices and failure unlike many have seen in their lifetime.

President Biden declared war on American energy his first day in office and we’re all living with the disastrous results. If Americans deliver a Republican-led Congress to Washington, they should expect those leaders ready to take on Biden’s failures on the first day too.

Larry Behrens is the Communications Director for Power The Future, a non-profit that advocates for America’s energy workers. You can find him on Twitter @larrybehrens or you can email him: [email protected]

This article originally appeared at Real Clear Energy