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With inflation still rising in the U.S. and around the world, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons continued to work on getting Congress and the Biden administration to lower energy prices.

• Timmons went on Yahoo! Finance Thursday to talk energy prices—and tell viewers why gas tax “holidays” do more harm than good.
• Also this week, Timmons reminded POTUS of actions discussed “previously, including during the presidential campaign, the transition, last year and earlier this year” designed to rein in energy costs and strengthen America’s energy economy. 

Recommendations to Congress: Some measures, such as increasing domestic energy production and energy infrastructure, have long been a part of the energy strategy advocated by the NAM. In his message to President Biden, Timmons reiterated those measures and pressed for additional solutions, including:

• “Providing long-term certainty to the industry to mitigate market volatility”;
• “Refraining from imposing energy export bans, which would cause energy prices to climb even higher and which pose significant risks to our trading relationships with allies—all while strengthening Russia’s influence and power”;
• “Helping to educate the American people about gas prices, including that prices are based on competitive global markets and that increasing taxes or price controls would only further reduce domestic production—driving up prices and undermining our energy security”; and
• “Avoiding temporary measures that fail to solve the underlying energy supply challenges, such as releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve or ‘gas tax holidays,’ which might provide a few days of relief but undermine other critical goals.”

A critical moment: The NAM urged the Biden administration to act on these recommendations immediately.

• “In such an unpredictable geopolitical environment, no one solution will lower prices immediately,” Timmons acknowledged. “But manufacturers are confident that if the administration had taken some of the actions we recommend sooner, we would not be experiencing the same pressures we are feeling today.”
• “Nevertheless, it is not too late to act.”

Solutions-focused: Timmons underscored that “as always, we want to be part of the solution and stand ready to work with you in any way possible.”

• “I realize that supporting domestic energy production would be a new direction for some of the more extreme voices in our country, but you have always worked to find a pragmatic approach to issues facing manufacturers and all Americans.”
• “Your administration can provide relief to the American people, help tame inflation and perhaps even help avert some of the very worst recession fears—if you act without delay.”