01.15.25

Biden Kneecaps American Energy Production on His Way out the Door

President Biden’s Offshore Drilling Ban Hamstrings the Incoming Trump Administration and Ignores the Needs of the American People

LAST WEEK, PRESIDENT BIDEN ANNOUNCED A BAN ON NEW OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS DRILLING IN U.S. COASTAL WATERS

  • In January 2025, President Biden announced an order banning new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters, accounting for 625 million acres of ocean. (CBS: Biden bans new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters – 1/6/25; The Associated Press: Biden issues ban on offshore oil and gas drilling in most federal waters. Trump vows to undo it – 1/6/25)
  • To enact this blanket ban, the Biden administration is using a provision in a 72-year-old law without providing an expiration date for the order. No president has ever used this authority to block drilling in such a large area of ocean and “[i]t’s legally questionable whether a President can bind his successors in this manner.” (Axios: Sweeping Biden offshore drilling ban throws wrench in Trump's plans – 1/6/25; NPR: Biden makes an 11th-hour move to block coastal oil drilling – 1/6/25; The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: Biden Issues a Sweeping Oil Leasing Ban – 1/6/25)

THE ANNOUNCEMENT IS A CAPSTONE ON THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S FOUR YEARS OF OBSTRUCTING AMERICAN ENERGY PRODUCTION

  • As a 2020 presidential candidate, Biden pledged, “I want you to look at my eyes. I guarantee you. I guarantee you. We’re going to end fossil fuel.” (The Associated Press: In intimate moment, Biden vows to ‘end fossil fuel’ – 9/6/19)
  • Over the first three years of the Biden administration, it took an average of 258 days to complete drilling permits on federal and tribal land. Through the four years of the Trump administration, it took only an average of 172 days. (Reuters: Exclusive: Trump prepares wide-ranging energy plan to boost gas exports, oil drilling, sources say – 11/27/24)
  • The acreage of oil and gas leases on public land offered by the Bureau of Land Management has plummeted under President Biden.

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(Deseret News: New leases for oil, gas plummet under Biden-Harris. Will the future hold more of the same? – 9/12/24)

  • Over the course of his administration, President Biden:
    • Cancelled the $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline between the U.S. and Canada on his first day in office. (Politico: Biden Kills Keystone XL Permit, Again – 1/20/21)
    • Banned all new oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska, accounting for over 13 million acres of land. (U.S. Department of the Interior: Press Release – 9/6/23; CNN: Biden administration will limit drilling in Arctic refuge as it secures president’s legacy – 11/7/24)
    • Released a climate rule that would require most fossil fuel power plants to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 90% between 2035 and 2040 or shut down. The rule likely forces coal-fired plants to retire earlier than anticipated. (Politico: Biden rule tells power plants to cut climate pollution by 90 percent — or shut down – 5/11/23; EPA: EPA Proposes New Carbon Pollution Standards for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants to Tackle the Climate Crisis and Protect Public Health – 5/11/23)
    • Announced a pause in granting permits for liquefied natural gas export facilities, a move that had “become a top priority of environmentalists.” (The Washington Post: U.S. Stalls Gas Export Projects That Activists Say Are ‘Climate Bombs’ – 1/26/24; The Hill: Biden Seeks To Appease Progressives With Climate Moves – 1/25/24)

TIME AND TIME AGAIN, SENATE DEMOCRATS ENABLED BIDEN’S ANTI-AMERICAN ENERGY AGENDA

  • Every Senate Democrat in the 117th Congress voted to pass Biden’s so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which raised taxes on oil and gas companies. One year after the bill’s passage, foreign companies were the main benefactors of $110 billion in government spending. (H.R. 5376: Roll Call Vote #325 – 8/7/22; Reuters: Oil and Gas Companies Will be Most Impacted by Inflation Reduction Act, Moody’s Says – 9/7/22; The Wall Street Journal: The Biggest Winners in America’s Climate Law: Foreign Companies – 7/20/23)
  • Every Senate Democrat in the 117th Congress voted against:
    • Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) amendment to eliminate the tax imposed on energy companies in Democrats’ so-called Inflation Reduction Act. (S. Amdt. 5301, H.R. 5376: Roll Call Vote #289 – 8/7/22)
    • Sen. John Kennedy’s (R-La.) amendment to force the Biden administration to hold offshore oil and gas lease sales in the outer Continental Shelf.  (S. Amdt. 5387, H.R. 5376: Roll Call Vote #303 – 8/7/22)
    • Sen. John Barrasso’s (R-Wyo.) amendment to force the Biden administration to hold onshore oil and gas lease sales. (S. Amdt. 5409, H.R. 5376: Roll Call Vote #291 – 8/7/22)

THE RESULTS: HIGHER ENERGY PRICES ON EVERYTHING FROM HOME HEATING TO GASOLINE

  • As of June 2024, 21 million households owed a total of $13.5 billion on their electric bills while utility shutoffs in FY 2024 were expected to rise to 3.8 million households. (CNN: Heating your home will cost more again this winter – 10/1/24)
  • “Electric rates remained relatively flat in the seven years before President Biden took office, rising 5%. Thank cheap natural gas. Yet since January 2021 electricity prices have soared 29.4%—about 50% more than overall inflation.”

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(The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: Biden’s Green-Energy Price Shock – 4/11/24)