02.20.25

Restoring American Energy Dominance by Unleashing Production and Clawing Back Reckless Spending

“I think it’s really important for us to unlock and unleash American energy. It’s important for my state, it’s important for my citizens, it’s important for the country’s security – both internal and external.” – Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)

“Importantly, this budget is built on a fiscally responsible foundation – one with new spending fully offset within the first four years it’s to be spent.” – Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Mike Lee (R-Utah)

REOPENING LEASE SALES WILL EMPOWER PRESIDENT TRUMP TO UNLEASH ENERGY PRODUCTION

“The security of our nation begins with energy. Previous administrations have viewed energy as a liability instead of the immense national asset that it is. To compete globally, we must expand energy production, including commercial nuclear and liquefied natural gas, and cut the cost of energy for Americans.” – Secretary of Energy Chris Wright

  • The budget resolution is the first step in getting the country on track to achieve “energy independence by unleashing American energy production through on and offshore lease sales, and stopping the Biden Administration’s natural gas tax, also known as the methane emissions fee.” (U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget: Chairman Graham Unveils FY 2025 Budget Resolution To Secure The Border, Revitalize Our Military, Unleash American Energy Production And Begin The Process Of Restoring Fiscal Sanity – 2/7/25)
  • The Biden administration banned all oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and all drilling in over 13 million acres of land in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). (U.S. Department of the Interior: Biden-Harris Administration Takes Major Steps to Protect Arctic Lands and Wildlife in Alaska  – 9/6/23; NPR: Biden ends drilling in ANWR, sparking criticism, as Willow Project moves forward – 9/7/23)
  • On his way out the door, 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 Biden administration used an obscure provision in a 72-year-old law to enact the ban and provided no expiration date for the order. No president had 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)
    • President Trump took an initial step to reverse this order on his first day in office, but “[r]eversing Biden’s move would likely require an act of Congress.” (The Hill: Trump orders lift of Biden offshore drilling restrictions – 1/20/25; E&E News: Trump promises to undo Biden lame-duck drilling ban – 1/6/25)

CONGRESS MUST ALSO CLAW BACK MISGUIDED GREEN ENERGY SPENDING

  • Democrats’ so-called Inflation Reduction Act mandated a methane tax – to the tune of $6.35 billion – be levied on American energy companies. President Biden announced the final methane tax during a United Nations climate change conference, suggesting his priority was impressing the international community, not bolstering American prosperity. (Congressional Budget Office: Estimated Budgetary Effects of Public Law 117-169. To Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Title II of S. Con. Res. 14 – 9/7/22; Reuters: US sets methane fee on oil, gas emitters as Biden term winds down – 11/12/24)
  • The Inflation Reduction Act also included, in President Biden’s own words, “$369 billion to take the most aggressive action ever in confronting the climate crisis” and “to fight environmental injustice.” (President Biden Archived: Tweet – 7/29/23)
  • The Penn-Wharton Budget Model increased its estimate of the cost of the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate and energy provisions from $384.9 billion in August 2022 to $1.045 trillion in April 2023 – a 271% increase. (Penn-Wharton Budget Model: Update: Budgetary Cost of Climate and energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act – 4/27/23)

AMERICANS WERE HURTING AFTER FOUR YEARS OF HIGH ENERGY COSTS AND VOTED FOR CHANGE

  • During President Biden’s time in office, energy, gasoline, electricity, and natural gas prices all skyrocketed:
    • Energy prices increased by 30.54%.
    • Gasoline prices increased by 30.50%.
    • Electricity prices increased by 28.55%.
    • Natural gas prices increased by 33.30%. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index – accessed 1/15/25; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index – December 2024 – 1/15/25)
  • According to an Associated Press VoteCast survey, 96% of voters said “high prices for gas, groceries and other goods” were a factor in their vote. (The Wall Street Journal: How Trump Won the Economy-Is-Everything Election – 11/6/24)
  • Two-thirds of voters rated the economy as “not so good” or “poor,” and out of the voters who viewed the economy negatively, 69% voted for Trump in the 2024 election.  (The Washington Post: Voter anger over economy boosts Trump in 2024, baffling Democrats – 11/6/24)