Dems Double Down On High Energy Prices With Green New Deal Policies

‘Soaring Energy Prices’ Are Putting A Squeeze On The U.S. Economy: ‘For Consumers It’s Like A Tax’

“The U.S. economy is facing a new threat: rising energy prices. Crude oil has risen 64% this year to a seven-year high. Natural-gas prices have roughly doubled over the past six months to a seven-year high. Heating oil has risen 68% this year. Prices at the pump are up nearly a dollar over the past 12 months to a national average just over $3 a gallon. Coal prices are at records. Higher energy prices could push up inflation in coming months, damp consumer spending on other products and services, and ultimately slow the U.S. recovery, economists say.” (“Soaring Energy Prices Raise Concerns About U.S. Inflation, Economy,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/10/2021)

• “Gas prices jumped 1.2% last month and have soared more than 42% compared with a year ago. Electricity prices rose 0.8% in September from August.” (“From Cars To Gasoline, Surging Prices Match A 13-Year High,” The Associated Press, 10/13/2021)

• “Many analysts believe these factors will push prices up further in coming months. Moody’s Analytics projects oil will rise to between $80 and $90 a barrel by early next year from $79 now and natural-gas prices to $6.50 to $7 per million British thermal units, from $5.5650. JPMorgan Chase & Co. gives a worst-case scenario of oil rising for the next three years and reaching $190 a barrel in 2025. Electricity prices rose 5.2% in August from a year earlier, the largest gain since early 2014, according to the Labor Department.” (“Soaring Energy Prices Raise Concerns About U.S. Inflation, Economy,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/10/2021)

“‘For consumers it’s like a tax,’ economist Kathy Bostjancic of Oxford Economics said of the price increase.” (“Soaring Energy Prices Raise Concerns About U.S. Inflation, Economy,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/10/2021)

• “Energy represents a sizable chunk of consumer budgets. In August, about 7% of consumer spending went toward energy, according to the Labor Department. Historically, high energy prices have often preceded recessions. Consumers can’t easily cut consumption on short notice, as they can with discretionary purchases, so higher prices act as a tax, draining the money they have available to spend on other goods and services.” (“Soaring Energy Prices Raise Concerns About U.S. Inflation, Economy,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/10/2021)

Coal Prices Are Up As Rising Demand Hits ‘Supply Held Back By Carbon Emission-Reduction Plans’

“Coal prices have been pushed up by rising demand colliding with supply held back by carbon emission-reduction plans.” (“Soaring Energy Prices Raise Concerns About U.S. Inflation, Economy,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/10/2021)

Oil And Gasoline Prices Are Up As The Biden Administration Disincentivizes Domestic Production: ‘It Doesn’t Look Like Drivers Will Be Finding Relief At The Pump Any Time Soon’

“The national average for a gallon of gasoline rose a nickel over the past week to hit $3.32. The primary driver of this surge remains the cost of crude oil, which is now closing daily above $80 a barrel. In August, the price of crude was in the low $60s per barrel.” (“Sorry Folks, But the Cost of Gasoline Is Still Going Up,” AAA Gas Prices, 10/18/2021)

• “Today’s national average of $3.32 is 13 cents more than a month ago, $1.16 more than a year ago, and 67 cents more than in 2019.” (“Sorry Folks, But the Cost of Gasoline Is Still Going Up,” AAA Gas Prices, 10/18/2021)

• “With oil prices remaining elevated, pump prices will follow suit because the cost of crude oil accounts for more than half of the price of each gallon of gas. Forecasts from the International Energy Agency for more robust oil demand, especially heating oil this winter, are also keeping crude oil prices elevated.” (“Sorry Folks, But the Cost of Gasoline Is Still Going Up,” AAA Gas Prices, 10/18/2021)

• AAA’s ANDREW GROSS: “Compared to the price of gas a year ago, it now costs consumers about $17 more to fill up their vehicles. That’s the cost of a large pizza with toppings. And unfortunately, it doesn’t look like drivers will be finding relief at the pump any time soon.” (“Sorry Folks, But the Cost of Gasoline Is Still Going Up,” AAA Gas Prices, 10/18/2021)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “Oil prices are rising, and the White House is worried about higher gasoline prices for consumers…. Average gasoline prices nationwide have risen 40 cents a gallon in the last six months and $1 since December. The White House blames OPEC for not increasing supply more as demand has rebounded amid the pandemic recovery, but that’s a too-easy scapegoat. Crude oil prices have doubled since November to $83 per barrel, and petro-states want to maintain higher prices to fund their governments. But U.S. producers have also been slower to revive output as the Administration is threatening the oil and gas industry with a panoply of taxes and regulation. Producers aren’t going to drill more wells today, even at today’s higher prices, if they don’t think they will produce future profits…. The way to reduce gas prices is by increasing oil supply. That means not sending policy signals that the Administration’s goal is to put the industry out of business.” (Editorial, “Oil Prices and Bad Policy,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/11/2021)

‘Natural-Gas Prices Have Surged’ While ‘The Number Of Rigs Drilling For Gas Has Been Basically Flat Since Spring’

“Natural-gas prices have surged, prompting worries about winter shortages and forecasts for the most expensive fuel since frackers flooded the market more than a decade ago…. It is supposed to be offseason for demand, and prices haven’t climbed so high since blizzards froze the Northeast in early 2014. Analysts say that it might not have to get that cold this winter for prices to reach heights unknown during the shale era, which transformed the U.S. from a gas importer to supplier to the world. Rock-bottom gas prices have been a reliable feature of the U.S. economy since the financial crisis. Gas crashed and never recovered thanks to the abundance extracted with sideways drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Gas is burned to generate electricity and heat homes and to make plastic, steel and fertilizer. A substantial and sustained increase in price would be felt from households to heavy industry.” (“Natural-Gas Prices Surge, and Winter Is Still Months Away,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/19/2021)

• “The number of rigs drilling for gas has been basically flat since spring despite much higher prices. When prices rose above $5 in 2014, there were more than three times as many rigs drilling gas wells as the 100 operating now, according to Baker Hughes Co.” (“Natural-Gas Prices Surge, and Winter Is Still Months Away,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/19/2021)

• “Similar factors are at play in Europe, where prices have been setting records all summer. In Asia, buyers are paying more than ever for deliveries of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, to sail across the Pacific instead of to Europe. The supply deficit is particularly acute in Europe, where inventories are thin thanks to hot weather, lackluster wind-power generation and lower imports from Russia. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst Samantha Dart said that stockpiles in northwestern Europe have recently been about 24% below average.” (“Natural-Gas Prices Surge, and Winter Is Still Months Away,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/19/2021)

‘Get Ready To Pay Sharply Higher Bills For Heating This Winter, Along With Seemingly Everything Else’

“Get ready to pay sharply higher bills for heating this winter, along with seemingly everything else. With prices surging worldwide for heating oil, natural gas and other fuels, the U.S. government said [October 13^th] it expects households to see their heating bills jump as much as 54% compared to last winter. Nearly half the homes in the U.S. use natural gas for heat, and they could pay an average $746 this winter, 30% more than a year ago. Those in the Midwest could get particularly pinched, with bills up an estimated 49%, and this could be the most expensive winter for natural-gas heated homes since 2008-2009. The second-most used heating source for homes is electricity, making up 41% of the country, and those households could see a more modest 6% increase to $1,268. Homes using heating oil, which make up 4% of the country, could see a 43% increase — more than $500 — to $1,734. The sharpest increases are likely for homes that use propane, which account for 5% of U.S. households.” (“Winter Heating Bills Set To Jump As Inflation Hits Home,” The Associated Press, 10/13/2021)

• “The forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is the latest reminder of the higher inflation ripping across the global economy. Earlier Wednesday, the government released a separate report showing that prices were 5.4% higher for U.S. consumers in September than a year ago. That matches the hottest inflation rate since 2008, as a reawakening economy and snarled supply chains push up prices for everything from cars to groceries. The higher prices hit everyone, with pay raises for most workers so far failing to keep up with inflation. But they hurt low-income households in particular.” (“Winter Heating Bills Set To Jump As Inflation Hits Home,” The Associated Press, 10/13/2021)

“Natural gas in the United States, for example, has climbed to its highest price since 2014 and is up roughly 90% over the last year. The wholesale price of heating oil, meanwhile, has more than doubled in the last 12 months…. Heating oil prices … are tied closely to the price of crude oil, which has climbed more than 60% this year. Homes affected by those increases are primarily in the Northeast …” (“Winter Heating Bills Set To Jump As Inflation Hits Home,” The Associated Press, 10/13/2021)

‘This Is Going To Create Significant Hardship For People In The Bottom Third Of The Country’

“To make ends meet, families are cutting deeply. Nearly 22% of Americans had to reduce or forego expenses for basic necessities, such as medicine or food, to pay an energy bill in at least one of the last 12 months, according to a September survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. ‘This is going to create significant hardship for people in the bottom third of the country,’ said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association. ‘You can tell them to cut back and try to turn down the heat at night, but many low-income families already do that. Energy was already unaffordable to them.’ Many of those families are just now getting through a hot summer where they faced high air-conditioning bills.” (“Winter Heating Bills Set To Jump As Inflation Hits Home,” The Associated Press, 10/13/2021)

From Its Very First Day In Office, The Biden Administration Has Worked To Shut Down American Oil And Natural Gas Production On Federal Lands And Make American Energy More Difficult To Extract And Transport

On His First Day In Office, President Biden Cancelled The Keystone XL Pipeline, Making It More Difficult And More Expensive To Get Oil To Refineries And ‘Sending An Early Signal That The Climate Panic Will Trump Nearly Everything Else In His Administration’

“The Canadian pipeline company that had long sought to build the Keystone XL pipeline announced [in June] that it had terminated the embattled project, which would have carried petroleum from Canadian tar sands to Nebraska. The announcement was the death knell for a project that had been on life support since President Biden’s first day in office and had been stalled by legal battles for years before that, despite support from the Trump administration.” (“The Keystone XL Pipeline Project Has Been Terminated,” The New York Times, 6/09/2021)

“President Joe Biden formally announced on [January 20^th] he was revoking a key permit for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, the second time a Democratic administration has scuttled the $8 billion project in less than a decade. Biden’s action was part of a series of executive orders on his first day in office …” (“Biden Kills Keystone XL Permit, Again,” Politico, 1/20/2021)

• “Keystone XL has been mired in court challenges and left in limbo by shifting U.S. political leadership since it was initially proposed in 2008.” (“Keystone XL Oil Project Abandoned by Developer,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/09/2021)

• “Keystone XL’s developers laid off 1,000 workers immediately upon Mr. Biden’s move last week, and tens of thousands more could follow if oil companies can’t keep drilling on federal territory. Industry leaders also say the moves endanger progress on emissions, which have fallen dramatically in the U.S. in recent years in part from a drilling boom that allowed power producers to burn more gas instead of coal.” (“Biden’s Climate-Change Policy Targets Oil Industry,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/26/2021)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “President Biden issued a blizzard of executive orders on his first day in office, including a diktat to revoke the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. This is a slap at Canada, and it sends a message to investors that playing by U.S. rules provides no immunity from arbitrary political whim. … Killing Keystone won’t keep fossil fuels in the ground. It will merely strand billions of dollars in Canadian investment and kill thousands of U.S. jobs while enriching adversaries and alienating an ally. … Mr. Biden is sending an early signal that the climate panic will trump nearly everything else in his Administration. The unstated but operative message from the Keystone kill is that he will use regulation and permitting to do the dirty work.” (Editorial, “Biden’s Keystone Pipeline Kill,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/20/2021)

During His First Week In Office, President Biden Issued A Moratorium On Oil And Natural Gas Exploration On Federal Lands

“The Biden administration announced [January 21^st] a … suspension of new oil and gas leasing and drilling permits for U.S. lands and waters, as officials moved quickly to reverse Trump administration policies on energy and the environment. The suspension, part of a broad review of programs at the Department of Interior, went into effect immediately under an order signed Wednesday by [the] Acting Interior Secretary … It follows Democratic President Joe Biden’s campaign pledge to halt new drilling on federal lands and end the leasing of publicly owned energy reserves as part of his plan to address climate change.” (“Biden Halts Oil And Gas Leases, Permits On US Land And Water,” The Associated Press, 1/21/2021)

• “The order also applies to coal leases and permits, and blocks the approval of new mining plans. Land sales and exchanges and the hiring of senior-level staff at the agency also were suspended.” (“Biden Halts Oil And Gas Leases, Permits On US Land And Water,” The Associated Press, 1/21/2021)

• “President Biden has long signaled his intention to curb oil-and-gas drilling on federal land as part of a sweeping effort to reduce U.S. emissions to combat climate change…. [In January] Mr. Biden signed executive orders to suspend new oil and gas leasing while the Interior Department reviews existing leases and permitting practices.” (“Biden’s Order to Freeze New Oil Drilling on Federal Land: What You Need to Know,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/27/2021)

• “Biden’s move could be the first step in an eventual goal to ban all leases and permits to drill on federal land.” (“Biden Halts Oil And Gas Leases, Permits On US Land And Water,” The Associated Press, 1/21/2021)

‘Holding Back New Drilling Permits Would Gradually Reduce Production On Federal Land,’ Which Makes Up ‘About A Quarter Of Annual U.S. Production’

“[T]he federal government owns large swaths of land companies use for oil-and-gas drilling. Such a policy would heavily impact energy producing states such as New Mexico and Wyoming, which together have almost 53.8 million acres of federal land, according to the Congressional Research Service. U.S. oil production on federal lands grew to 954.3 million barrels in fiscal 2019, up 28% from fiscal 2016, Interior Department data showed. Drilling on federal land and water generated almost $6 billion in government revenue last year.” (“Biden’s Order to Freeze New Oil Drilling on Federal Land: What You Need to Know,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/27/2021)

• “Oil and gas extracted from public lands and waters account for about a quarter of annual U.S. production.” (“Biden Halts Oil And Gas Leases, Permits On US Land And Water,” The Associated Press, 1/21/2021)

• “Holding back new drilling permits would gradually reduce production on federal land, since oil-and-gas wells pump less over time and companies have to drill new wells to sustain production.” (“Biden’s Order to Freeze New Oil Drilling on Federal Land: What You Need to Know,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/27/2021)

And The Biden Administration Spent The Summer Working To Curtail Oil And Gas Production And Exploration In Alaska

“The Biden administration on [June 1^st] suspended oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reversing a drilling program approved by the Trump administration and reviving a political fight over a remote region that is home to polar bears and other wildlife — and a rich reserve of oil. The order by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland follows a temporary moratorium on oil and gas lease activities imposed by President Joe Biden on his first day in office.” (“Biden Suspends Oil Leases In Alaska’s Arctic Refuge,” The Associated Press, 6/01/2021)

“The Interior Department will review and could replace the Trump-era management plan for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska that put millions more acres on the table for possible oil and gas development, the agency announced Tuesday. An initial assessment of the management plan shows that it conflicts with President Joe Biden’s executive order in January to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a legal memorandum filed in a U.S. District Court case in Anchorage on Tuesday.” (“Biden Administration To Reconsider Trump-Era Plan That Expanded Drilling Opportunities In National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska,” Anchorage Daily News, 9/08/2021)

• “At the end of last year, the Trump administration approved the most intensive development option for the reserve, putting 18.5 million acres on the table for possible development… Daniel-Davis said in the memorandum…. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, in a post to social media on Wednesday, called the Biden administration’s move to review the plan a ‘politically motivated stunt to lock up the NPR-A,’ saying it is ‘short sighted, threatens Alaskan jobs and seeks to undermine investment in our state.’” (“Biden Administration To Reconsider Trump-Era Plan That Expanded Drilling Opportunities In National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska,” Anchorage Daily News, 9/08/2021)

‘The Oil Industry Is Emerging As A Primary Target Of President Biden’s Climate Policy’

“The oil industry is emerging as a primary target of President Biden’s climate policy, setting the stage for a confrontation that could shape the future of the energy sector. The president is [issued] an executive order Wednesday that would suspend new oil and gas leasing on federal land … in what is widely seen as a first step toward fulfilling Mr. Biden’s campaign pledge to stop drilling on federal lands and offshore. Drilling on federal lands accounts for roughly 9% of U.S. onshore production, but oil industry leaders see a curtailment on future development as a significant threat….” (“Biden’s Climate-Change Policy Targets Oil Industry,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/26/2021)

• “Many of his actions have been expected, but the administration’s speed and willingness to target the industry have surprised its leaders and analysts…. Mr. Biden has been under pressure from environmentalists to take aggressive action …” (“Biden’s Climate-Change Policy Targets Oil Industry,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/26/2021)

‘Any Doubt That The Biden Administration Plans To Slowly Regulate Fossil Fuels Out Of Existence Vanished’

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “Any doubt that the Biden Administration plans to slowly regulate fossil fuels out of existence vanished [in January]. First came the Keystone XL pipeline kill, but perhaps more significant is the 60-day freeze on new leases on federal lands and bureaucratic permitting. The pause could soon become a long-term ban. Federal lands account for about 22% of U.S. oil production, 12% of natural gas and 40% of coal. When the Obama Administration slowed oil and gas permitting on federal land, drilling and exploration shifted to private land. The Biden Administration may shut that down too.” (Editorial, “Biden’s Fossil-Fuel Freeze,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/22/2021)

• “[S]hale fracking occurs in large part on federal land in western states, and it continually requires new leases and investment. Federal land accounts for 51.9% of New Mexico’s oil production and 66.8% of its natural gas, as well as a sizable share of gas extraction in Colorado (41.6%), Utah (63.2%) and Wyoming (92.1%). A federal leasing ban would cost some 18,000 jobs in Colorado, 33,000 in Wyoming and 62,000 in New Mexico by 2022, according to the American Petroleum Institute. States would also lose hundreds of millions of dollars of mineral royalties that are shared by the feds. Oil and gas revenue accounts for 20% of New Mexico’s budget. Downstream suppliers like fracking sand mines in Wisconsin and steel manufacturers in Pennsylvania would also be hit.” (Editorial, “Biden’s Fossil-Fuel Freeze,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/22/2021)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “[I]t’s worth going down the list of ways this Administration has tried to punish U.S. producers. At a presidential debate last year, Mr. Biden said he would ‘transition away from the oil industry.’ His first day in office, Mr. Biden revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which was supposed to carry oil from Canada and the Bakken Shale to refineries on the Gulf Coast. A week later he issued an order placing a moratorium on new oil-and-gas leases on federal lands and waters. A court blocked that moratorium, but the Interior Department got the presidential message. It approved a mere 171 drilling permits on federal lands in August, down 75% from April. The Biden Administration also moved to suspend existing leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and it initiated a fresh review of Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve that could put it off limits as well. Get it—a ‘petroleum reserve’ will be off limits for petroleum. Mr. Biden also signed a Congressional resolution that vitiated the Trump Administration’s regulation on methane leaks from fossil-fuel production. The White House probably will replace it with a stringent standard that will make fracking more expensive. The Administration is also unleashing financial regulators against the industry. The Federal Reserve and other bureaucracies are looking to impose new rules on ‘climate-related financial risk,’ as a May order from Mr. Biden put it. The purpose is to close off sources of funding and raise the cost of capital for the industry, and it’s succeeding. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees natural-gas pipelines, has signaled it probably will start requiring a climate study before approving even the smallest infrastructure upgrades. That will raise the bar for worthy projects, while creating costs for climate mitigation. As one sign of the regulatory gantlet, two different proposed pipelines in the past two years have won a case at the Supreme Court and then been canceled anyway.” (Editorial, “Biden Suddenly Loves Frackers,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/15/2021)

REMINDER: Secretary Of The Interior Deb Haaland Is A Green New Deal Champion Who Thinks, ‘It'd Be Great To Stop All Oil And Gas Leasing On Federal Lands’

THEN-REP. DEB HAALAND (D-NM): “Sure, if I had my way, it'd be great to stop all oil and gas leasing on federal lands, because those lands belong to all of us.” (“What Biden's Interior Pick Means For Oil And Gas,” E&E News, 12/18/2020)

• HAALAND: “I am wholeheartedly against fracking and drilling on public lands…” (“'It's My Homeland’: The Trailblazing Native Lawmaker Fighting Fossil Fuels,” The Guardian, 5/15/2019)

Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) was an original cosponsor of the Green New Deal. (H.Res. 109, 116^th Congress; “Green New Deal,” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s Website, Accessed 1/28/2021)

• HAALAND: “I 100% support a Green New Deal …” (“Haaland Pushes For Green New Deal,” The Los Alamos Monitor, 12/24/2018)

“As part of her ‘bold agenda,’ she said she is taking a strong stance against the oil and gas industry by pushing for 100-percent renewable energy. She has signed on to the Sunrise Movement to champion the Green New Deal, a progressive movement that has protested Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, slated to resume her position as the next Speaker of the House.” (“Haaland Pushes For Green New Deal,” The Los Alamos Monitor, 12/24/2018)

As Energy Prices Have Steadily Increased, The Biden Administration Has Humiliatingly Gone Hat-In-Hand To Ask OPEC And Russia To Produce More Oil, While Doing Nothing To Encourage More Domestic Production

“The Biden administration surprised the oil market with an early morning statement from National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan calling on OPEC+, which includes the cartel as well as Russia, to raise output to take some of the heat off the market. That’s an unusual call, not only because those countries are competitors of the U.S. in the global crude trade, but, as both Republicans and environmentalists noted, Biden has cast himself as a climate warrior who wants to move the U.S. to clean energy.” (“Biden Asks OPEC What?,” Politico’s Morning Energy, 8/12/2021)

• “Biden administration officials spoke with representatives from OPEC’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia this week, as well as with representatives from the United Arab Emirates and other OPEC+ members. The White House said the group’s July agreement to boost production by 400,000 barrels per day on a monthly basis beginning in August and stretching into 2022 is ‘simply not enough’ during a ‘critical moment in the global recovery.’” (“White House Calls On OPEC To Boost Oil Production As Gasoline Prices Rise,” CNBC, 8/11/2021)

• JAKE SULLIVAN, BIDEN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: “Higher gasoline costs, if left unchecked, risk harming the ongoing global recovery. The price of crude oil has been higher than it was at the end of 2019, before the onset of the pandemic. While OPEC+ recently agreed to production increases, these increases will not fully offset previous production cuts that OPEC+ imposed during the pandemic until well into 2022. At a critical moment in the global recovery, this is simply not enough.” (White House Press Release, 8/11/2021)

Incredibly, The Biden Administration Even Reached Out To The U.S. Oil Industry About Rising Prices, But Made No Effort To Change Its Legislative Or Regulatory Agenda Targeting Them

“The White House has been consulting with the oil industry to seek a remedy for rising gasoline prices as surging inflation threatens to tarnish the economic recovery, according to three people familiar with the discussions. The latest outreach to the oil industry is an awkward shift for the Biden administration, which has pledged to move the country away from fossil fuels and has drawn criticism from the industry and Republicans for pausing lease sales of federal land for oil and gas development. But President Joe Biden faces mounting political pressure to curb rising prices that have lifted the average per gallon price of gasoline to $3.28, more than $1 above the year-ago level, as crude oil prices hit 7-year highs this week above $80 a barrel. That pain at the pump comes as the U.S. consumer price index jumped 5.4 percent in September, matching a 13-year high …” (“Biden Team Asks Oil Industry For Help To Tame Gas Prices,” Politico, 10/13/2021)

API PRESIDENT MIKE SOMMERS: “You'd think the first place you would go would be American producers, rather than OPEC, which literally held this country hostage for decades because they were our top supplier…. The irony sure is thick. We're talking about an administration that really for the first eight months in office did nothing but try to restrict American development of oil and gas.” (CNN Business, 8/13/2021)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “We thought we’d seen everything, but there it was Wednesday morning in black and white on the White House website: Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, imploring the cartel of oil exporting nations to pump more oil. Talk about a political climate change. This is the same Biden Administration that has spent … months doing everything it can to crush U.S. oil production…. In a single, brief statement, he managed to contradict President Biden’s entire energy message as a candidate and in office.” (Editorial, “Joe Biden Wants OPEC to Drill,” 8/11/2021)

• “For nine months President Biden has been pursuing policies to squeeze oil-and-gas producers to limit production and eventually go out of business. Having begged OPEC in vain to boost oil production, Mr. Biden is now having to suffer the humiliation of beseeching an American industry he vilifies as destroying the planet to save the day…. Crude oil prices have doubled since the November election, and this week closed above $80 a barrel. This has flowed into gasoline prices paid by voters, with the national average for a gallon up more than $1. A federal agency is warning that Americans who use natural gas for heat could pay 22% to 50% more this winter. A Reuters report says the White House is now ‘speaking with U.S. oil and gas producers’ about ‘helping to bring down rising fuel costs.’ Politico adds that this ‘outreach’ to the oil industry is ‘an awkward shift.’ No kidding …” (Editorial, “Biden Suddenly Loves Frackers,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/15/2021)

• “How about asking Congress and your own regulators to take their foot off the neck of U.S. oil and gas drillers? Before the pandemic, the U.S. had become the world’s largest oil producer. Thanks to private innovation, the end of the U.S. oil export ban passed by the GOP Congress in 2015, and President Trump’s deregulation, America has had to import far less foreign oil. The U.S. reduced the strategic leverage of foreign producers such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin. But since taking office, the Biden Administration has killed the Keystone XL pipeline to transport oil from Canada and the Bakken Shale to Gulf Coast refiners; canceled oil leasing in Alaska; suspended oil leases on federal land, even after a court ruled the moratorium illegal; increased fuel-mileage standards for cars, which favors electric vehicles; and invoked the Endangered Species Act as part of a strategy to reduce drilling on private land in the West.” (Editorial, “Joe Biden Wants OPEC to Drill,” 8/11/2021)

• “[I]f Mr. Biden is serious about wanting U.S. producers to help reduce prices at the pump and at home, he will change his punitive policies. Progressives will be upset, but his poll numbers might go up.” (Editorial, “Biden Suddenly Loves Frackers,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/15/2021)

So What Did Change? American Oil Imports From Russia Hit An All-Time High This Year

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, under the Biden Administration, U.S. imports of Russian oil and petroleum products reached an all-time high earlier this year. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Accessed 10/21/2021)

SEN. BARRASSO: “Astonishingly, in August, the National Security Advisor begged Russia and OPEC and the oil cartel to pump more oil. It is hard to believe that really happened. It is also hard to believe--my friend and colleague the senior Senator from Alaska told us in the Energy Committee that the United States is using more oil from Russia than we are from Alaska right now. … Joe Biden would rather buy energy from our enemies and send American dollars overseas than produce it here at home. He would rather send American dollars overseas to our enemies than explore for American energy and the resources that we have, where we have the capacity to lead the world.” (Sen. Barrasso, Congressional Record, S7047-7048, 10/19/2021)

‘While Fossil Fuel Investment Is Falling, Fossil Fuels Account For Most Energy’

“An energy price shock is serving as a reminder of the world’s continued dependency on fossil fuels—even amid efforts to shift to renewable sources of energy. Demand for oil, coal and natural gas has skyrocketed world-wide in recent weeks as unusual weather conditions and resurgent economies emerging from the pandemic combine to create energy shortages from China to Brazil to the U.K. The situation has laid bare the fragility of global supplies as countries drive to pivot from fossil fuels to cleaner sources of energy, a shift many investors and governments are trying to accelerate amid concerns about climate change. The transition figures to be challenging for years to come, energy executives and analysts say, due to a stark reality: While fossil fuel investment is falling, fossil fuels account for most energy—and green energy spending isn’t growing fast enough to fill the gap.” (“Behind the Energy Crisis: Fossil Fuel Investment Drops, and Renewables Aren’t Ready,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/17/2021)

• “Total global oil and gas investment this year will be down about 26% from pre-pandemic levels to $356 billion, the IEA said Wednesday. That is about where it would need to remain for the next decade, before declining further, to meet the goals of the Paris agreement, according to the IEA. … To meet global energy demand, as well as climate aspirations, investments in clean energy would need to grow from around $1.1 trillion this year to $3.4 trillion a year until 2030, the Paris-based agency found. Investment would advance technology, transmission and storage, among other things.” (“Behind the Energy Crisis: Fossil Fuel Investment Drops, and Renewables Aren’t Ready,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/17/2021)

• “In Europe, which experienced a decline in power generation partly due to an unusual slowdown in offshore wind speeds, natural-gas prices have almost tripled in three months, leading some fertilizer makers to halt production because they can no longer produce it economically.” (“Behind the Energy Crisis: Fossil Fuel Investment Drops, and Renewables Aren’t Ready,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/17/2021)

As Energy Prices Surge, Democrats Are Pushing Radical Green New Deal Policies In Their Reckless Taxing-And-Spending Spree That Would Make American Energy Even More Expensive

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “Progressives in Congress, meantime, want to use the Democratic reconciliation bill to punish the industry by doing away with expensing for intangible drilling costs, the oil depletion allowance and more. The bill’s Clean Electricity Performance Program is expressly designed to punish fossil fuels, including natural gas. Mr. Biden and his party have sent signals that are loud and clear, in accord with the larger cultural message that fossil fuels are the new tobacco and the world doesn’t need them. That isn’t true, as Mr. Biden is finding out the hard way. Despite all the subsidies for renewables, fossil fuels provide about 80% of America’s energy, and high prices weigh on consumers and the economy.” (Editorial, “Biden Suddenly Loves Frackers,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/15/2021)

Democrats Have Proposed A ‘Clean Electricity Performance Program,’ Which Would Subsidize Unreliable Solar And Wind Energy, While Punishing Affordable Fossil Fuel Generation, And Utility Officials Warn, ‘All The Costs Incurred By Our Members Are Passed Along To Their Customers’

“House of Representatives Democrats unveiled details on Thursday of a proposed $150 billion payment program aimed at wringing greenhouse gas emissions out of the electricity sector, a cornerstone of the Biden administration's plan to address climate change. The system would reward utilities that increase their production of power from low-emissions sources like solar, wind and hydro, and penalize those that do not, according to a document released by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce outlining key provisions to be included in a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill. … Under the so-called Clean Electricity Performance Program, which would run from 2023 to 2030, utilities would receive payments from the Energy Department if they increase clean energy supplies by 4% annually, according to the document. … If a supplier fails to meet the 4% targeted increase, it will owe $40 per MWh for any shortfall.” (“U.S. Democrats unveil details of $150 bln clean electricity plan in budget bill,” Reuters, 9/09/2021)

JIM MATHESON, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association: “On behalf of America’s electric cooperatives, I write to express my serious concerns about the Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP), part of the Build Back Better Act currently under consideration. America’s not-for-profit electric cooperatives deliver electricity to the most rural and vulnerable parts of America. As you consider legislation to incentivize the nation’s transition to a lower-carbon energy future, it is imperative that you act to preserve access to reliable and affordable electricity for the 42 million electric cooperative consumer-members across the country who depend on the cooperative they own. First, the CEPP’s very narrow 10-year program implementation window is unrealistic. … Second, the clean energy targets specified in the bill are too aggressive… [A] year-over-year four percent increase in clean electricity deployment is not attainable for many of our members. Even if the performance grants in the CEPP could alleviate some of the economic pressures created by such an aggressive deployment, not all parts of the country are geographically well-suited to participate. In addition, we believe there are serious questions about whether the supply chain can support such rapid growth in solar and wind generation in the short time frame required in the CEPP’s compliance window. Third, the CEPP makes a significant mistake by requiring compliance on load serving entities. Many electric cooperatives are relatively small distribution entities that own little, if any, generation. Those co-ops have long-term relationships with generation providers to meet their power supply needs. Each of those individual load serving entities has its own unique set of economic considerations and contractual obligations that may or may not be accommodated by the narrow outlines of the CEPP.” (NRECA’s Jim Matheson, Letter to Reps. Pallone and McMorris Rodgers, 9/13/2021)

JOHN DITTO, President and CEO of the American Public Power Association: “As not-for-profit utilities, all the costs incurred by our members are passed along to their customers. Preliminary analyses conducted by our members of the CEPP show that compliance with the CEPP, whether through meeting the clean electricity percentage increase of four percent annually (assuming it could even be done) or payment for failing to do so would result in substantially increased costs for customers. And if they cannot meet the compliance obligation, they would have to pay a substantial penalty while not being eligible for the grant program to help them contain costs for their customers. … Public power utilities are committed to further reducing their emissions to address climate change. Unfortunately, we do not believe that the CEPP, as currently designed, provides sufficient time for public power utilities to transition to cleaner resources while keeping their rates affordable and ensuring reliability for their customers – two key tenets that must be protected as we reduce emissions – and is therefore unworkable as drafted.” (APPA’s John Ditto, Letter To Reps. Pallone, Tonko, and Rush, 9/13/2021)

TONY KAVANAGH, Senior Vice President of American Electric Power: “The CEPP aggressively expands non-hydro clean energy four-fold in only eight years, and is forcing clean energy development too rapidly. A program of this magnitude, if enacted into law, will adversely impact the reliability and resilience of the electric grid, unless the increase in intermittent renewables is accompanied by an expansion of very expensive firm dispatchable and resilient resources, such as energy storage. The CEPP provides a natural incentive for developers to increase the price of renewable energy projects in a significant manner, and we expect that the market would not have the ability to correct this in a timely fashion, given that the demand for projects is likely to exceed the supply of projects for years to come. Costs not covered under the program include electric transmission and distribution upgrades and the necessary improvements to reliability, such as the extensive build out of energy storage over a short, 8-year program.” (AEP’s Tony Kavanagh, Letter, Accessed 10/21/2021)

Democrats Are Also Proposing A New Methane Tax On Oil And Gas Production, Which The American Gas Association Estimates Could Increase Consumer Natural Gas From 12% To 34%

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY & COMMERCE: “The Build Back Better Act establishes a methane fee on pollution from the oil and gas industry above specific intensity thresholds. The methane fee builds on EPA’s existing Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, recognizes the cleanest performers, holds individual companies responsible for their own leaks and excess methane pollution, drives innovation in the sector, and supports the creation of good-paying jobs.” (House Committee on Energy & Commerce, 9/13/2021)

19 STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL: “[W]e would expect Congress to be focused on affordable energy solutions. Yet Congress is instead considering imposing additional fees on the oil and gas industry. In the Senate, the Methane Emissions Reduction Act proposes to charge oil and gas producers $1,800 per ton of methane emissions beginning in 2023. A similar provision in the House’s version of the Build Back Better Act proposes a $1,500 ‘fee’—really, a tax—for each ton of methane emissions. This new tax will damage our economy. Industry experts estimate that the Senate version would impose a $14.4 billion cost and affect as many as 155,000 jobs. Retail gas prices would go up; the American Gas Association estimates that increases to consumer natural gas bills could range from 12% to 34%. And because natural gas and oil play such a central role in the U.S. economy, these price increases could feed inflation in other sectors. The inflation rate is already running at a 30-year high. … We support reasonable and lawful measures to reduce methane emissions. But a de facto tax administered through an onerous administrative regime is not that. We urge you to reject any methane tax and save American energy consumers from ever more painful price increases.” (19 Attorneys General, Letter to Sens. Carper, Manchin, Capito, and Barrasso, 10/14/2021)

As Democrats Trying To Make America’s Electric Grid More Like California’s, The Golden State’s Heavy Reliance On Renewable Energy Has Resulted In Electricity Shortages And Risk Of Blackouts

“Governments trying to fast-track a transition to cleaner sources of energy are finding that it requires vast amounts of investment, and can meet unexpected obstacles. In the U.S., California is in the midst of retiring numerous fossil-fuel power plants to help decarbonize its power grid by 2045, as a state law requires. The California Public Utilities Commission has ordered utilities to buy an unprecedented amount of renewable energy, battery storage and other carbon-free resources to fill the gap and keep up with growth in coming years: more than 14,000 megawatts, or roughly a third of the state’s forecast for peak summer demand. While the companies are on track thus far, the California Energy Commission and the state’s grid operator recently expressed concern that the purchases may not be enough to prevent electricity shortages in the coming summers. … The state’s power grid operator has called on residents to conserve power several times this summer and took emergency measures to buy additional supplies to reduce the risk of blackouts. The state also recently added four temporary natural-gas generators at power plants to help alleviate the shortage.” (“Behind the Energy Crisis: Fossil Fuel Investment Drops, and Renewables Aren’t Ready,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/17/2021)

Far-Left Dems And Activists Agree That Democrats’ Reckless Taxing-And-Spending Spree Is ‘The First Phase Of The Green New Deal,’ Boasting, ‘That’s The DNA Of The Green New Deal’

MSNBC’s MEHDI HASAN: “And what you’re describing there, some of the measures in that budget reconciliation, they sound like measures that were in the Green New Deal that you were one of the architects of. Is that something you’re allowed to say? Or are you worried that, if you say that, Republicans lose their mind because they’ve so successfully demonized a Green New Deal as, somehow, bad on the right?”
SEN. ED MARKEY (D-MA), Green New Deal Sponsor: “No, without question, the Green New Deal is in the DNA of this green budget resolution. All of the things that are in, we talked about in the Green New Deal. Now, we have to go even further, in the years ahead.” (MSNBC, 08/09/2021)

MARKEY: “The Biden Administration is including climate action, environmental justice, and the care economy in its recovery plans. That’s the DNA of the Green New Deal that we introduced.” (Sen. Markey, Press Conference, 4/20/2021)

• MARKEY: “It’s a way of accomplishing many of the goals of the Green New Deal… to go big and bold to match the urgency of the moment.” (“Markey And Progressive Democrats See Infrastructure Bill As A Way To Accomplish Green New Deal Goals,” The Boston Globe, 3/28/2021)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY), Green New Deal Sponsor: “As much as I think some parts of the party try to avoid saying 'Green New Deal' and really dance around and try to not use that term, ultimately, the framework I think has been adopted.” (“Ocasio-Cortez Sees Green New Deal Progress In Biden Plan, But 'It's Not Enough',” NPR, 4/02/2021)

VARSHINI PRAKASH, Sunrise Movement Executive Director and Co-founder: “Our communities are on fire. They’re drowning. They are being poisoned and our children need a future that looks brighter than famine and war. We need a Green New Deal and we need it now. And I really believe that Build Back Better can and should be the first phase of the Green New Deal. It’s a down payment on what will need to be a decade long mobilization of the economy and our resources to combat the climate crisis and create millions of jobs and secure justice for those who have waited way too long.” (“WHAT'S IN THE DAMN BILL?: A Panel Discussion with Progressive Leaders,” Bernie Sanders on Twitch, 10/20/2021)