Straight Talk with Sam

On January 20th, 2021, a gallon of diesel fuel cost about $2.70 a gallon. Today, a gallon of diesel will set you back more than $5.

Why? Because the United States today has less diesel fuel on hand than we've had heading into winter in the last 70 years. And, in 1951, demand for diesel fuel was one-quarter of what it is today.

That means fuel costs for farmers, truckers, shippers, and railroads have all increased 85 percent. Whether you like it or not, our entire economy runs on diesel fuel. When those prices go up, we all feel the pain at the grocery store.

Higher diesel prices increase the cost to put crops in the ground, harvest those crops, and get them to market. There's simply no practical replacement for the high-horsepower diesel engines that power tractors, trucks, trains, and ships. When costs go up for the people who produce the food we eat and get that food to market, the cost of food at the grocery store goes up too.

That's why this isn't just a huge problem for farmers, truckers, and folks that drive diesel trucks. It's a massive problem for everyone in this country, at least everyone who wants to eat dinner tonight.

It doesn't have to be this way. America can, and should, be energy independent. That's the entire reason why I introduced the TAP American Energy Act earlier this year. We shouldn't have to rely on Venezuela and the Middle East for the oil that powers our country, not when we have plenty of proven oil reserves here in the United States of America-plus nearly 1 billion acres of the world's most productive farmland where we can grow feedstocks to produce biofuels.

We need to ease this diesel shortage and lower fuel costs. Making America energy independent again is the only way we're going do that. If we don't, we're going to see prices rise even higher and inflation hit even harder at the grocery store and everywhere else.

We have all the tools to fix this. It's time we made America energy independent again and got the job done.

Sincerely,

Sam Graves