Giving States Control Over Energy Production

This week, we’ll be voting on H.R. 2728, the Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act. This is commonsense legislation that gives states that already regulate hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the right to continue doing so. The bill allows the federal government to set baseline standards for states that don’t already have fracking regulations in place. But it reaffirms the state-based regulation system that’s been successful for generations.

For more than 60 years, states—including Texas—have safely regulated fracking. We’ve done so without a single case of groundwater contamination. In a country like ours, state-based regulation makes sense. The geologic formations in Texas are very different from those in Pennsylvania. So production methods and regulations should be tailored to each region. Our country’s future depends on developing our energy resources, and fracking is a critical component of an “all of the above” energy strategy. So I’ll be supporting this legislation to allow states to implement the regulations that work best for their industries.