The Biden Administration has failed to comply with yet another deadline to hold a quarterly onshore oil drilling lease sale after receiving a ruling from a federal court that they were legally obligated to do so.
The Department of the Interior, under direction from Biden, defied the June 2021 court ruling which commanded the administration to end its ban on new gas and oil leases. According to the Western Energy Alliance, which challenged Biden’s initial ban, the Biden administration has failed to comply with the order. In August of 2021, the DOI promised to publish notices of competitive sales that December, and sell leases within 45 days, but both promises have been broken.
Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, noted that despite Biden’s promises to “work like the devil to lower prices at the gas pump,” he’s clearly “not trying very hard.” She slammed the administration for missing deadlines, dragging its feet, and ignoring a legal obligation to hold sales. She added that “the Biden Administration is intent on preventing American producers from developing the energy we have at home to meet our country’s needs and lower gas prices.”
The interior secretary is required, under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, to hold lease sales “at least quarterly.”
While the Biden administration is failing to meet these mandatory obligations, the price of gasoline has peaked again, meeting the previous record set in August of 2014, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Gasoline prices’ largest contributing factor is the price of crude oil.
Biden’s aggressive anti-fossil fuel agenda has been a staple of his administration since taking office, from shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline to ditching oil drilling Alaska and remaining silent on a ruling that prohibited a massive lease for offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Since Biden took office, the U.S. has transformed from being an energy-exporting nation to being entirely dependent on Russian and Middle Eastern energy sources.
Sgamma criticized Biden for blocking domestic fossil-fuel operations which she points out would “help the nation lower energy prices.” “Instead, the president lobbies Russia and OPEC to boost their production while constraining American producers. As a result, gas prices remain high and the president makes empty promises,” she added.
Author: Ashley Morgan
