State House and Senate Republicans on Wednesday called on the General Assembly, governor and the Biden administration to support oil and gas production as a way of dealing with high gas prices.

That ask will come in the form of a joint resolution they intend to introduce this week. The joint resolution asks state regulatory agencies such as the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to issue permits to increase Colorado oil and gas production for use at home and abroad. 

“We’ve seen nearly record-breaking prices at the pump. The families of Colorado cannot afford this,” said House Minority Leader Rep. Hugh McKean, R-Loveland. “Never in the history of this state have we had a need to push for more oil and gas production,” he added. 

Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, pointed out that four permits have been issued so far this year by the COGCC. In 2018, there were 5,100 permits issued. There’s no long-term stability or security in how producers can move forward, and producers won’t increase production until those long-term investments are secure, she claimed.

Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, said people would have never guessed a year ago that inflation would be at a four-decade high. He cited as an example the prices he’s paying for his farm equipment. He said bought fuel for $1.59 a gallon a year ago, but last week, it was $4.49 per gallon. That price is for diesel for farm use only, which does not include a 45 cent per gallon fuel tax.

Those higher prices don’t just impact what it costs to drive to work, he explained; it also impacts the food prices at the grocery store.

Sonnenberg added that inflation, under the failed policies of the Democratic governor and the Biden administration, is going to cost everyone more money. He cited a recent Common Sense Institute that said the average hike in costs per family in 2021 was about $2,900 more for food, recreation, housing, transportation and medical care over 2020 prices.

“The cost of living has reached a crisis point,” Sonnenberg said.

It’s also a national security issue, he said, adding that relying on foreign countries for energy and food sets up the nation for failure, at a time when those resources are already available in this country.

“It’s time now to open up the pathways to energy production so we can be self-sufficient,” he said.

Sen. John Cooke, R-Greeley, said oil and gas production in Colorado has slowed to a halt due to the policies of state Democrats. He also noted that Republicans are committed to the development of renewable energy, pointing to several Republican-backed bills on geothermal energy and a look at small modular nuclear reactors. But he added that “we need oil and gas.”

“These fuels get us to work and our kids to school. They support our industries and jobs. They heat our homes,” Cooke said, noting that if the state is serious about addressing climate change, “we must source our energy from the lowest-emissions producers, and those producers are right here in Colorado.”

But ramping up production isn’t that simple. According to CNN and other national news reports, the war in Ukraine isn’t prompting a leap by oil and gas companies to increase production. Nor can it be done quickly enough to impact current oil and gas prices.

The Biden administration recently imposed a ban on Russian oil exports, which Cooke said was at about 600,000 barrels per day. 

Sonnenberg said producers are willing to provide the energy “we demand from them” if they have a labor force and the permits. But they’re not anxious to go to work because “we haven’t been supportive,” he added. 

Cooke added that there isn’t a way to transport that oil and gas, given that the Keystone Pipeline was shut down in the early days of the Biden administration.

McKean said the state should be able to grant production permits in 90 days from application to issuance, a move he said would provide “surety” for investors.

“If we can create date certainty for when permits will be issued, they’d head out to work,” McKean said. 

“They are ready to produce with the current set of regulations,” McKean said. “They’re ready to produce, they know they can do it safely and productively, but they need certainty on when the permits will be issued.”

Wednesday’s news conference in Colorado mirrors Republicans calls, including in Congress, for more energy independence.

Correction: An earlier version incorrectly identified the diesel Sonnenberg uses as for his trucking business; it’s for his farm. The story also clarified information on the price he paid.