America was built by people who refused to be told what to do. Despite the warnings, they crossed uncharted oceans and vast wilderness to settle new lands. They risked their fortunes to build industries and invent wonders that reshaped the world. Above all, they founded a nation that has stood as a beacon of hope and freedom for 250 years. Every generation since then has been called to defend it, because independence is never won once and filed away. It is a perpetual struggle.
The men and women of our industry carry that spirit of America forward. Independence, entrepreneurship, and innovation are not slogans to us. They are the same instincts that settled a continent and built a country, and they run through everyone who refuses to let a distant authority decide what is best for their families and their livelihoods.
The colonists did not revolt because they hated their homeland. They revolted because some faraway power presumed to run their lives, trample their freedoms, and impose taxes without their consent. This is how our members feel when policymakers in Washington or a statehouse, driven by ideology and faulty math, enact laws or regulations to dictate how families heat their homes.
The fight for energy choice is yet another fight for independence, and we are winning. This spring, the U.S. Department of Energy revised its Home Energy Rebate guidance to restore fuel neutrality. Federal dollars can no longer be used by state governments to force families off heating oil, propane, or natural gas. Washington took its thumb off the scale and returned the freedom of choice to our customers. This correction was long overdue, and the message is unmistakable. Families, not bureaucrats, get to choose.
The independence our nation secured also birthed a spirit of innovation, a centerpiece of the American character we carry forward. Think of all the great inventions that have spanned those centuries, such as the cotton gin, the light bulb, the airplane, the automobile, the computer, and countless others. We, too, have innovated by delivering to our customers ever more efficient, cleaner-burning fuels and heating technologies that dramatically reduce emissions and lower household energy costs, all while supporting local communities and good-paying American jobs.
I hope you take a moment this summer to reflect not only on the greatness of our nation, but all that this industry, and your business, have accomplished. But the fight is never over. When the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, the great patriots who freed our country did not call it quits. The struggle for liberty was and continues to be a constant vigil, and there are more fights yet to come.
Many of you will hand these businesses to your children or grandchildren, as they were handed to you. We defend this independence not only for ourselves but for them, and for every family that depends on the warmth and comfort that we deliver.
The fight continues. More victories lie ahead. Let us go, and win.
