Energy expert warns Biden oil, gas drilling ban will hurt consumers, asks Congress to fix it
American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers looks at Biden’s recent ban on oil and gas drilling and the administration’s ban on certain natural gas water heaters.
Biden’s last-minute action on offshore oil and gas drilling may have landed him in hot water as one energy expert warned of potential risks to American consumers.
Mike Sommers, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, called on Congress to fix Biden’s costly action after he announced a ban on new drilling and further development of oil and natural gas in more than 625 million acres of US coastal and offshore waters.
“Unfortunately, these kinds of midnight regulations being put in place by the Biden administration will undermine American energy security and hurt American consumers. That’s not what America voted for,” Sommers stressed.
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Biden’s action comes two weeks before his term expires.
“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and longshoremen have known for a long time: that offshore drilling can cause irreparable damage to the places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs,” the president said in a statement. . “These risks are not worth it. As climate continues to threaten communities across the country, and as we move toward a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coastal areas for our children and grandchildren.”
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The president also invoked the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, meaning President-elect Trump could be limited in his ability to revoke the act.
Sommers pointed out that Congress has “a number of different options they can pursue” to thwart Biden’s efforts, saying the new moratorium “will hurt consumers.”
“The Congressional Review Act is certainly one of them. But they can also pursue this through reconciliation processes because of the benefits that will be gained overseas through the development of these resources, because their government resources will be very large,” explained Sommers.
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He told Speaker Maria Bartiromo that Congress needs to act quickly and make sure it is “very important” during the first few days on Capitol Hill.
“The American people certainly did not vote for the development of less energy in the United States. In fact, energy was on the ballot during this election and energy won,” Sommers said.
Biden’s ban on oil and gas drilling comes on the heels of his decision to bar certain natural gas water heaters from the market, a move Sommers said “will hurt the most vulnerable among us.”
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“That’s the sad thing about this thing, that it’s people who don’t have the ability to pay for themselves. They have to pay a lot of money for these new water tanks that they will have to install and bring back to their places of residence,” he said.
The Sommers argue that not only does the new natural gas water heater tax deferral to America, but Americans as well.
“This is a sad day, I think, because it is the poor who will be most affected by this ban,” he said.
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Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report
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