America’s leadership position as an energy producer is being kneecapped by President Biden’s fossil fuel-averse policies, according to Mike Sommers, president of the oil and gas lobbying group American Petroleum Institute (API).
Speaking at the API annual conference in Washington D.C., Sommers cites far fewer drilling leases on Federal land during Biden’s first three years —18 — than the 96 offered during the same period of Barack Obama’s presidency.
The higher energy costs are primarily due to democrats’ hostility towards the American fossil fuel industry. They use the regulatory process to strangle exploration and development of the abundant resource under our feet. Democrats have a better idea. They want us to buy more oil…
— Rob Mitchell (@MitchP85D) August 31, 2023
He also noted that “Washington is on the cusp of spoiling the American energy advantage, undermining it with short-sighted policies and hostility toward US oil and natural gas.”
Biden’s green energy policies promoted partially via legislative efforts but mostly through administrative actions, have been among the most extreme in history. Restrictions on many commonplace household appliances have been enacted or proposed, such as refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, and natural gas stoves. Court challenges to these perceived government overreaches are underway.
The price of a natural gas furnace could rise by thousands of dollars due to burdensome new design requirements mandated by the regulations. Dishwashers have been the target of a wave of emissions-related restrictions, and consumers have noted that the time required for a wash cycle has doubled.
Biden’s climate agenda also mandates that by 2032 two thirds of all new vehicles sold be battery-powered electric. Currently, battery-powered electric cars cost $10,000 to $25,000 more than their gas-powered equivalents. Regulations targeted at emissions even impact such areas as financial investments.
It has been noted that Congress has been unwilling to pass such restrictive energy policies, which is why the Biden administration has used the regulatory route to do so.
Sommers also noted that the far-reaching impacts of these energy policies on jobs and the economy will be on the ballot in November 2024: “American voters are watching. And as Americans head to the polls later this year, energy is very much on the ballot — and so is everything energy touches: Jobs, America’s security, manufacturing, inflation.”
A major component of the Democrat party agenda — to which President Biden fully subscribes—has been Environmental advocacy. Central to that is reducing carbon emissions through all possible means. Policies which result in the reduction of all fossil fuel usage have been paramount to this goal. Biden has been unwilling to pursue a strategy that mixes fossil fuels and renewable sources of energy.