Democrats' War On American Energy Hurts Working Families

Floor Speech

"Across the country, the end of summer gave working families gas prices near all-time highs -- beyond just a seasonal swing.

Last week, Washington Democrats opened a new front in their war on affordable and abundant American energy. The Biden Administration announced the withdrawal of more than 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve from oil and gas leasing and cancelled seven oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The President calls this move a necessary step to "meet the urgency of the climate crisis.' But any serious observer would call it bad news for families trying to make ends meet.

Last fiscal year, under President Biden's stranglehold, the number of new federal acres leased plummeted. Comparing the first 30 months of each Administration, onshore leasing is down from 67 sales under the previous Administration to a mere 9 sales under President Biden.

Meanwhile, the Biden Administration has let a five-year plan for offshore energy production -- required by law -- to expire over a year ago with no new plan in sight. In other words, there are no new offshore energy leases in the hopper.

Now, Congress has exercised its authority and forced the President to re-instate an offshore lease it had already cancelled. But in response, his Administration put 6 million acres of the sale off limits to oil and gas exploration.

And Senate Democrats have been more than willing to toe the party line. Last year, every single one of our Democratic colleagues voted against Senator Barrasso's effort to require dependable onshore leasing. And every single one voted against Senator Kennedy's measure to restore certainty to offshore leasing.

So freezing the development of clean and reliable energy here at home does nothing more than kick production of more expensive and less reliable fuels into overdrive overseas. You can guarantee fuels won't be climate conscious or environmentally sound when they come from hostile regimes overseas.

The cost of Washington Democrats' shortsighted obsession is measured in higher costs at the pump, higher home heating and cooling bills, and greater reliance on foreign energy.

By outsourcing our energy policy to the radical environmentalists, the Biden administration is outsourcing America's energy security. Our nation deserves better."

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