E&E News: Biden drilling order sparks legislative backlash
Still no word from Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez or Rep. Henry Cuellar on if they support legislation (see HERE and HERE) that would block future bans on oil and gas leases without congressional approval.
Looks like that letter they wrote to Biden was all talk and no action. Meanwhile, 120,000 Texas jobs are on the line.
In case you missed it…
Biden drilling order sparks legislative backlash
Emma Dumain
E&E News
January 28, 2021
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063723841
On Wednesday, Republicans were angry. By yesterday, they were taking action.
In the 24 hours since President Biden signed an executive order banning new oil and gas leases on federal lands for the immediate future, members of the House and Senate were introducing legislation to overturn the action that they said will kill jobs and decimate revenue streams that are the lifeblood of many communities (E&E Daily, Jan. 28).
One bill from Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), the “Protecting our Wealth of Energy Resources (POWER) Act,” would essentially bar the mandates laid out in the executive order from going into effect in the absence of congressional approval.
Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.) will sponsor the House companion to the “POWER Act,” backed by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.); Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.); and Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), the ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) on Wednesday night introduced the “Conservation Funding Protection Act” — S. 4947 in the last session of Congress — which would also overrule the new order by “maintain[ing] all current environmental laws and ensur[ing] that the Department of Interior conducts the environmental reviews required by law within clear time frames.”
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) is leading the House companion of that legislation. Scalise — whose home state of Louisiana relies heavily on oil and gas drilling revenue — is also a co-sponsor.
The bill’s title focuses on conservation because a portion of revenues from energy production go to the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
…
In introducing these bills, Republicans also want to show they are serious about finding solutions, not just complaining.
Last night, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), McConnell and 24 Senate GOP colleagues sent a letter to Biden asking for a meeting with the president to discuss his recent executive actions on energy policy.
…
But in a reminder that this issue does not always break neatly along party lines, four Texas Democrats — Reps. Vicente Gonzalez, Henry Cuellar, Lizzie Fletcher and Marc Veasey — on Wednesday sent a letter to Biden urging him not to go through with his planned executive order.
Read the full article from E&E News, here.