Two House committees are conducting a joint probe into the Biden administration's continued oil and gas leasing delays after a leaked memo showed it prioritizing climate.
Fox News senior national correspondent Rich Edson reports that energy companies want Congress to speed up the construction permitting process, currently opposed by Biden.The Republican leaders — led by Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark. — informed a senior Department of the Interior official Laura Daniel-Davis of the probe in a letter on Tuesday.
"The Biden Administration has obstructed America’s energy producers in an effort to force a radical Green New Deal agenda on the American people," Comer told Fox News Digital in a statement."The Democrats’ ongoing war against America’s oil and gas industry has only driven energy prices higher and families across the country are paying the price."
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is pictured during a hearing on Feb. 6. "Instead of pushing the Administration’s climate agenda, the Department of the Interior should be prioritizing economic development and American energy security," Comer added."Congress must ensure DOI is fulfilling their responsibility to advance policies that unleash American energy production and strengthen an industry that provides good-paying job opportunities."
In late November, former Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Amanda Lefton penned the referenced memo, recommending DOI charge energy companies a royalty rate of 18.75%, the highest allowable rate under the law, for a large oil and gas lease sale in Alaska. Lefton acknowledged in the memo that charging a lower rate would likely"offer greater energy security," but wouldn't properly account for climate change.
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