Policy
Ten Steps Biden Can Take To Increase Energy Independence Now
Since his inauguration, President Biden has actively undermined American energy security in the name of promoting green energy. His Administration has enacted policies designed to limit traditional domestic energy production and stifle investments in U.S. energy supply chains.
Today, we are seeing the consequences of those policies—surging prices, dwindling domestic production, and a loss of economic and diplomatic leadership throughout the world. Fortunately, it’s not too late for President Biden to reverse course. Below are ten steps the President could take immediately and in the near-future to increase domestic energy production, supply, lower costs here at home, and assert American energy leadership around the world.
1. Immediately unfreeze all of the oil and gas leases, as well as drilling permits, that were paused by the Biden Administration in February 2022. The White House unilaterally blocked hundreds of leases and permits after a federal district court ruled against its “Social Cost of Carbon” regulation scheme.
2. Allow the implementation of the “Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program” in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which was suspended by the Department of Interior in June 2021. This includes reissuing 10-year leases on nine tracts covering more than 430,000 acres.
3. Pause the proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) methane flaring rules that will sharply limit domestic oil and gas production. The rules’ requirement that producers eliminate gas venting puts U.S. producers at a huge disadvantage compared to their Russian competitors.
4. Allow the Keystone Pipeline project and other safe methods for transporting North American energy to move forward. Biden’s decision to revoke the Keystone Pipeline permit will ultimately make the world more dependent on countries like Russia to supply energy. Even Canada criticized Biden’s choice to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline.
5. Withdraw proposals to increase taxes on American energy companies when they operate overseas. President Biden’s current tax plan in Congress would result in a 43 percent tax hike on American energy companies when they compete around the world. That puts our energy companies at a distinct disadvantage as they try to compete with Russia and other global competitors.
6. Lift the Administration’s ban on carrying liquified natural gas (LNG) by train. Last November, President Biden reversed a 2020 Department of Transportation rule that allowed LNG to be transported safely by train, thus limiting access to America’s clean natural gas.
7. End the use of the “Social Cost of Carbon” measure used by the federal government to assess whether to pursue regulatory action against American energy producers. President Biden could at least lower the cost to Obama-era levels to reduce regulatory burdens on U.S. producers. The President should also rescind the recent FERC decision to apply greenhouse gas standards to LNG.
8. Reject any policies that would fine domestic electricity producers for using American natural gas. The President’s plan to leverage “carbon pollution-free energy” included punitive fines on electricity generated from oil or gas. The President’s energy goals must be amended in order to encourage—not impede—American energy production.
9. Stop discriminating against American oil and gas in government procurement. President Biden recently signed an Executive Order that would completely bar the use of domestic oil and gas in government procurement.
10. Immediately level the playing field for domestic energy producers by classifying nuclear and natural gas as clean forms of energy similar to what the European Union (EU) is adopting, and working with Congress to end both special-interest tax incentives for politically-favored energy sources and products (wind, solar, electric vehicles, etc.) and punitive tax measures against the utilization of all traditional domestic resources (oil, gas, nuclear, coal, etc.).
We urge lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to join us in calling on President Biden to act now.