By Congressman Markwayne Mullin
Joe Biden declared war on American energy the day he took office. He has fulfilled his campaign promise to shut down American oil and gas production, sending energy prices soaring – an act of pure cruelty towards American families struggling to make ends meet. To combat sky-high energy costs, Biden must reverse course and dramatically increase leasing, exploration, and production of oil and gas here at home.
One of Biden’s first Executive Orders as president was directing the Department of the Interior (DOI) to pause oil and gas leasing on federal lands and offshore waters. While a judge overruled the moratorium last year, the Biden Administration has delayed holding lease sales repeatedly.
The Biden administration finally caved, holding its first batch of sales in June 2022, 18 months after Biden took office. This involved leasing only 71,251 acres of public land for oil and gas drilling. For comparison, President Trump leased 478,420 acres of public land for drilling during his first year in office. In fact, Joe Biden has leased fewer acres of federal and offshore land for domestic production at this point in his presidency than any other president since the end of World War II.
Americans deserve affordable and reliable energy. Instead of empowering our domestic producers, Biden has drained our emergency reserves and imported oil from adversaries like Russia and Saudi Arabia. Our country should not rely on unstable foreign dictators for stable energy. We have the resources we need to power our nation under our feet.
Biden’s assault on American energy is not only jeopardizing our nation’s security but is also a dereliction of duty. The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) requires DOI to finalize an offshore leasing program every five years. Past administrations have consistently renewed this plan without delay; however, Biden’s Interior Secretary carelessly broke this practice, and withheld the release of the new program until the last moment possible. This recklessness ensured energy prices will remain high as we spend the remainder of the year without a finalized offshore leasing schedule. Further, the “plan” ultimately released by DOI promoted Biden’s “Green New Deal” – nothing more than a commitment to destabilize our domestic energy production.
I’ve joined my fellow House Energy Action Team Co-Chairs and 127 of our House Republican colleagues in urging Biden to take immediate action to issue a new leasing plan and end his assault on American energy. The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that U.S. energy consumption will only increase from 2022 through 2050 as efficiency gains cannot account for population and economic growth. Driving more investment into our energy sector would lower gas and electricity prices for struggling families and ensure a steady flow of American energy in the future. Reliable and affordable energy is the backbone of our economy and it’s critical for Joe Biden and his Cabinet to treat it accordingly.
