Another essential component of our national security is energy security. America is blessed with abundant natural resources which can ensure that we have accessible and affordable energy. Legacy energy sources such as coal, oil, gas, and uranium can meet our demands, and Wyoming is blessed with an abundance of these energy resources. However, a growing partnership between politicized investment capital and unelected bureaucrats seeks to undermine these necessary resources to advance an energy transition which cannot provide the power a prosperous nation requires.
Faced with an onslaught of regulations and private sector advocacy, I value my position on the Natural Resources Committee and as Co-Chair of the Coal Caucus to advance policies which unleash American energy rather than inflicting energy poverty on our communities. Among my priorities are reforming laws weaponized by environmental groups such as the National Environmental Policy Act, reducing the federal burden on the Western mineral estate, and routing out the ESG-bureaucrat collaboration, such as my success in blocking the implementation of Natural Asset Companies (NACs).
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Every day, the true cost of the Biden Administration's green bad deal agenda becomes clearer, and the harm to the nation becomes greater. If they succeed in blocking all oil and gas projects, Wyoming will suffer: household energy prices will skyrocket even more, citizens will lose good-paying jobs, and communities won't have the reliable revenue they need to fund vital services. Schools will be underfunded and essential government functions will struggle to assist the communities they exist to serve.
The federal government must be held responsible to ensure abundant, affordable energy is available for all Americans, and the development of this energy is key component of American tribes' economic success. 30% of America's coal reserves west of the Mississippi River lie on tribal lands, but the actions of the Biden Administration have locked out these tribes from harnessing the resources to provide affordable power and economic investment in their communities.
Water is the most valuable resource that exists for western states, yet a lack of viable infrastructure has prevented the American West from fully harnessing its benefits for decades. From watering crops to producing energy that in turn funds our communities, we must seek ways to use the water we have to achieve long term prosperity.
An oversight hearing by the U.S. Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources gave U.S. Rep. Harriett Hageman, R-Wyoming, a window to again grill Bureau of Land Management leadership about a policy in which the agency won’t allow oil and gas drilling to proceed on any leases on the lands it manages if those leases are involved in litigation with environmental groups.
This was not a policy ordered by any courts, but allows those groups to maliciously stop oil and gas projects simply by filing lawsuits, whether they have merit or not, Hageman said.
The Bureau of Land Management claims that they don't need to approve any new drilling leases because companies are not using the leases that exist. However, they conveniently forget to mention that many of these leases can't be developed due to ongoing litigation, or that companies seeking to adjust leases to allow for more efficient operations are not able to make progress due to the BLM's refusal to act.
A group of Senate and House Republicans introduced companion bills that would force the federal government to factor potential adverse effects into energy policy decisions.
I have often said that there is a special place in hell for those who pursue policies that are intended to increase the price of food, energy, and housing. Yet, we currently have people in positions of power who are pushing energy poverty as official policy, and as the cost of energy increases, the cost of everything else quickly follows.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Harriet Hageman and Senator Dan Sullivan introduced the Energy Poverty Prevention and Accountability Act to stop the federal government from inflicting energy poverty on the American people. The bill requires reviews of existing energy laws and regulations to determine if they are adversely impacting energy prices, and establishes metrics to ensure future laws and regulations do not inflict energy poverty on at risk communities.