Newhouse Demands Biden Administration Invest in American Energy, Issue a Five-Year Offshore Energy Plan

I joined House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) and 129 of my colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging the President to reverse his anti-American energy policies and issue a five-year offshore oil and natural gas leasing plan as is required under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), after Interior Secretary Deb Haaland let the previous five-year plan expire. The letter highlights how driving more investment into United States' energy sector would lower gas and electricity prices for struggling families and guarantee a steady flow of American energy into the future.

“We write to express our deep concern with your ongoing war on American energy. Unfortunately, since taking office, you have fulfilled your campaign promises to shut down American oil and gas production. As a result, America is no longer energy independent, and our nation is less secure. In order to reduce the dramatically higher energy costs your actions have placed on hard-working families, we strongly request you reverse course and work with us to unleash American energy. Specifically, we ask you to take immediate action by issuing a five-year leasing plan that includes regular annual lease sales in America’s offshore areas,” we wrote.

We continued, “To be clear, already sky-high energy prices will likely worsen unless you immediately reverse course and drastically increase exploration, leasing, and production of oil and natural gas here at home. And keep in mind your extremist policies are hurting low and middle-income families the hardest.”

We concluded, “The American people have suffered long enough because of your destructive energy policies. We must do everything we can to avoid a future like the one we are seeing in Europe by increasing our investments in American energy, where we have the highest standards in the world. It is time to unleash our nation's vast energy resources and give the American people the relief that is desperately needed.”

You can read the full letter here and below.

Dear Mr. President, 

We write to express our deep concern with your ongoing war on American energy. Unfortunately, since taking office, you have fulfilled your campaign promises to shut down American oil and gas production. As a result, America is no longer energy independent, and our nation is less secure. In order to reduce the dramatically higher energy costs your actions have placed on hard-working families, we strongly request you reverse course and work with us to unleash American energy. Specifically, we ask you to take immediate action by issuing a five-­year offshore leasing plan that includes regular annual lease sales in America's offshore areas. 

Undermining oil and gas exploration and production has severe consequences. For example, Europe is in a full-blown energy crisis, and we are seeing the same issues manifest in California with the governor telling people to tum thermostats above 78 degrees in the heat of summer, avoid using appliances, and limit charging electric vehicles when they get home from work, all while he mandated a ban on fossil-fuel cars. Europe and California should both serve as a cautionary tale against the devastating anti-fossil fuel policies your administration is currently pursuing. To be clear, already sky-high energy prices will likely worsen unless you immediately reverse course and drastically increase leasing, exploration, and production of oil and natural gas here at home. And keep in mind your extremist policies are hurting low and middle-income families the hardest.

For the past decade, countries in Europe have instituted the same unrealistic "Green New Deal" mandates which you espoused during your campaign. These policies have led to an under­investment in safe, reliable energy, and destroyed Europe's domestic production, causing a dangerous reliance on Russia for 40 percent of their energy needs. As a result, these countries are vulnerable to Russia weaponizing its energy, which has led to some of the highest and most volatile energy prices in the world. At a time when Americans are already facing surging energy prices, it is unconscionable that your administration would continue to pursue these same reckless policies, especially when we are seeing their bleak results play out in California.

As you know, an offshore leasing program is required under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), and the Department of the Interior is required to finalize a five-year plan before any leasing occurs. Past administrations ensured a smooth transition between these leasing schedules by putting a new one in place prior to the expiration of the previous one. However, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland broke this tradition and delayed the release of a Proposed Program to the last possible minute, ensuring we spend the rest of this year without a finalized offshore leasing schedule. Unsurprisingly, the "plan" that was ultimately released for offshore energy production further underscored your commitment to destabilize our domestic energy production. By allowing for the possibility of no new offshore leasing for the next five years, your administration decided to stick with the same "Green New Deal" agenda that caused energy catastrophes in Europe and California and has led to skyrocketing gasoline and electricity prices for hard-working families.

We urge you to reverse course on these disastrous energy policies and announce a five-­year leasing plan that actually addresses the energy crisis you created. The previous leasing schedule included ten lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and one in the Cook Inlet for a total of eleven lease sales over five years. Any Final Program released by your administration must include, at a minimum, eleven lease sales to take full advantage of our offshore energy resources. Additionally, it is imperative the leases scheduled under the new plan are not only held, but that such leases are actually issued in a timely manner and defended. A predictable leasing schedule will not only help reduce energy costs now for everyday Americans, but it will drive more investment into the energy sector and guarantee a steady flow of American energy into the future.

The American people have suffered long enough because of your destructive energy policies. We must do everything we can to avoid a future like the one we are seeing in Europe by increasing our investments in American energy, where we have the highest standards in the world. It is time to unleash our nation's vast energy resources and give the American people the relief that is desperately needed.