Rising energy costs have hurt everyone, slowing our economy and driving up the cost of goods and services downstream from the energy sector. But, according to a recent survey of low-income households, Hispanic Americans have been especially hard hit, with 40% saying they could not pay their energy bills over three months.

Congress has a chance to do something about this sorry state of affairs.

The House of Representatives recently passed HR 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act , which would boost America’s energy independence by fast-tracking the approval process for energy production on federal lands, streamlining the permitting process for energy projects, eliminating other unnecessary regulatory barriers, and abolishing new taxes on natural gas. It would also decrease our dependence on unreliable foreign sources of energy.

The bill would also ensure that unelected bureaucrats cannot block economically significant energy projects by misapplying federal law. The Clean Water Act, for example, has been used for years in ways Congress never intended. Bureaucrats have used it to bypass property rights and delay projects, killing jobs, driving up costs, and hurting the economy.

It’s past time for Congress to put an end to such abuses.

Ultimately, the Lower Energy Costs Act is about helping everyone meet the challenges of energy insecurity by increasing production and lowering costs. For Hispanics, this measure is about even more than the ability to heat and cool our homes and put gas in our tanks. It’s about jobs.

Hispanics make up 17% of workers in the energy sector and more than 20% of those in the mining, oil, and gas industries. The Texas oil and natural gas industry workforce, for example, is 30% Hispanic.

That’s why Hispanics stand to be among the biggest winners of HR 1. As Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) put it , “energy production is the key to America’s national security and economic success … and this bill would remove the burdensome, bureaucratic handcuffs that have been hurting the industry and millions of Americans.”

Unfortunately, the White House has threatened a veto of the measure, and Democratic Senate leaders have said the bill is “dead on arrival.” We urge both the president and the Senate to reconsider.

Instead of standing in the way of lower energy costs and a growing economy, they should work with the House to help people meet the economic challenges caused by rising energy prices and a sluggish economy by moving quickly to enact the Lower Energy Costs Act.

Monica De La Cruz is a U.S. representative for Texas. Daniel Garza is president of the LIBRE Initiative.