Biden Admin Has Prohibited Oil Drilling Across 41 Million Acres of Federal Lands, Sparking GOP Probe
12th July 2024
The Biden administration is facing a congressional probe over its actions functionally prohibiting oil and gas production across roughly 41 million acres of federal property—nearly equivalent to the size of the combined land and water area of Florida—the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
Republicans on the House Small Business Committee, led by chairman Roger Williams (R., Texas), penned a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Thursday morning, informing her that they are investigating her agency’s environmental policies targeting fossil fuel drilling. The lawmakers’ probe is largely responding to the administration’s recent actions curbing drilling in Alaska, but they argued those policies are emblematic of President Biden’s broader climate agenda.
“As with nearly every other action the Biden Administration has taken related to fossil fuels and mining, these actions will cost American consumers and businesses money without achieving any real environmental benefit,” they wrote in the letter, which was first reviewed by the Free Beacon. “Cars still need oil, batteries still need mineral resources, and power plants still need natural gas and coal.”