With the Fourth of July holiday weekend quickly approaching and summer travel in full swing, many American families are struggling to pay the exorbitant prices at the pump. While President Biden continues to urge energy producers and refiners to increase their supply of gas and oil, his policies are the main reason production has faced obstacles.
Fittingly put by former Democratic Congressman Harold Ford Jr. in the Wall Street Journal:
“The president should unwind the bureaucratic hurdles to the federal permitting process that his administration installed. They made the regulatory environment so restrictive and unpredictable that construction of new U.S. energy infrastructure has ground to a halt.”
The administration’s rhetoric and actions have significantly affected energy production, causing anxious investors to second-guess whether they should put their money into projects that have a high likelihood of being blocked. President Biden and other federal officials have been quite vocal about their desire to use this moment as an opportunity to stop U.S. “dependence” on fossil fuels and move to more renewable energy.
Rather than begging oil producers to do the impossible and increase production, or forcing the country to move to renewable energy at the expense of American families, President Biden should reverse course and encourage greater supply:
- Make the federal permitting process less restrictive;
- Approve pipeline permits
- Expand oil and gas leases on federal land;
- Expedite the creation and implementation of a new five-year offshore leasing plan.
The solution is simple. Stop maligning United States energy producers and work to collaborate with the private sector to develop a robust supply of affordable domestic energy. President Biden has these solutions in his back pocket. It is time to use them.