The average American drives nearly 40 miles each day. With gas prices having reached new heights this summer, what was once a simple exercise in commuting to work or driving to the grocery store quickly became an unimaginable headache. In June, Coloradans endured the greatest price hike of any state in the nation as gasoline reached an average of $4.92 per-gallon – nearly a dollar higher than it was the month prior. At one point, prices rose by 10 cents in a single night.

Coupled with record food and rent prices, the rising cost of fuel brought many Coloradans to their financial breaking point. But high gas prices don’t only affect those who drive a car. According to experts, continuously elevated energy prices could drag the nation into a broader recession.

In response to record gas prices, President Joe Biden took a number of half-steps, from proposing a three-month federal gas-tax holiday to drawing down the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. But though these policies could shave off a few cents at the pump, they served as little more than a short-term bandage for the problems facing everyday Coloradans.

Though prices are finally beginning to recede, government can do much more to support American energy to ensure an affordable and reliable supply long into the future. What we need is for policymakers to advance actions that restore American energy leadership – leadership driven in no small part by the state of Colorado. That is why the American Petroleum Institute has developed a ten-point blueprint for how policymakers can achieve this critical objective.

First and foremost, Congress must support critical oil and natural gas infrastructure projects. These investments would directly benefit our state due to the industry’s massive role in our economy. In the U.S., Colorado ranks fifth in crude oil production and seventh in both natural gas reserves and total energy production. Moreover, the oil and gas industry has contributed nearly $50 billion to our state’s economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of workers and billions of dollars in wages.

Since the passage of Senate Bill 181 in 2019, Colorado’s natural gas and oil industry has survived an unprecedented regulatory overhaul at the state level, with much of the associated rule-making taking place during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first permits under the new regulatory regime weren’t approved until September of last year, and though state regulators have made progress during the past 12 months, the state’s current rig count of 21 – a key indicator of new production – is markedly lower than the 35 that operated in the months preceding the passage of Senate Bill 181. Combined with the devastating effects of the pandemic and a Russia-Saudi price war that cratered prices, oil production in Colorado ultimately plummeted by 11% in 2021. Natural gas production levels also remain significantly lower than they were in 2019, despite the ongoing surge in demand.

Colorado’s natural gas and oil operators are nothing if not resilient, and they have admirably weathered the storms of recent years. Our state today has among the most protective energy regulations in the nation, and our operators are committed to continuous environmental progress. But the time to meet the moment is now. The ongoing global energy crisis has unequivocally demonstrated that the world needs more natural gas and oil, not less. Policymakers at both the state and federal levels should ask whether they want it produced in places like Colorado, with our host of environmentally conscious laws, or in foreign and sometimes hostile nations where basic human rights are elusive.

Colorado’s natural gas and oil operators are ready to meet the moment, for the betterment of our state, our national security and the energy security of our allies across the world. It’s time for policymakers, from the Biden Administration to regulators and lawmakers in Colorado, to flip the switch.

Lynn Granger is executive director of API Colorado, a division of the American Petroleum Institute.