WASHINGTON, D.C. – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading energy and environmental advocate for families and businesses, expressed disappointment at the Biden Administration’s decision to cancel three offshore lease sales despite record high gasoline prices and 40-year high inflation.

The withdrawal of the sales puts at risk billions of dollars in funding for conservation and the environment. It purposefully disadvantages U.S. energy producers at a time when the world is witnessing what happens when nations curtail their own energy sectors and become reliant on unfriendly nations like Russia. American energy is being shipped to European allies that took far too aggressive steps to curb traditional fuels, which put them largely at the mercy of Russia’s whims.

“The Department of Interior’s claims that it cannot fulfill its legal obligation to hold lease sales is the bureaucratic equivalent of saying the dog ate my homework,” Consumer Energy Alliance President David Holt said. “It is becoming more and more apparent that our nation’s energy policy is fundamentally broken, and the White House’s latest maneuver is proof of that. This reckless course of action is a naked attempt to discourage investment into the clean, responsible American energy that we need right now.”

“Sadly, it is also an attack on families, farmers and small businesses because it will lower the supply of oil and gas, keeping gasoline prices and inflation high for a long time. This is no Putin price hike, this is a self-inflicted wound that is unnecessary, ill-conceived and irresponsible from both an energy and environmental perspective.”

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About Consumer Energy Alliance

Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading voice for sensible energy and environmental policies for consumers, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers, and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, we are committed to leading the nation’s dialogue around energy, its critical role in the economy, and how it supports the vital supply chains for the families and businesses that depend on them. CEA works daily to encourage communities across the nation to seek sensible, realistic, and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our nation’s energy needs.

Contact:
Bryson Hull
(202) 657-2855
bhull@consumerenergyalliance.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading energy and environmental advocate for families and businesses, today applauded two acts of bipartisanship urging the Biden Administration to issue a new five-year leasing plan as soon as possible, with at least two lease sales a year in the Outer Continental Shelf areas of the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.

Four Democratic Senators voted to approve Motions to Instruct language inserted into H.R. 4521 by Sen. John Barasso (R-WY). Separately, four House Democrats sent a letter to President Biden urging the Department of Interior’s immediate compliance with its statutory obligations to release a five-year plan on time, as required under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953.

“Common-sense bipartisanship used to be a hallmark of U.S. energy policy. Its return could not have come sooner in an era of near-record inflation, record gasoline prices, and amid the increased public realization that energy is a global commodity with world-shaping power,” CEA President David Holt said.

“We thank Senators Kyrsten Sinema, Joe Manchin, Mark Kelly and John Hickenlooper, and Representatives Vicente Gonzalez, Lizzie Fletcher, Sylvia Garcia and Henry Cuellar, for putting the needs of our nation over party demands in their support for a new five-year plan. This complements the bipartisan leadership shown by the Outer Continental Shelf Governors Coalition in their letter last month urging the same.”

“America is the world’s largest oil and gas producer, and as our success in helping our allies in Europe demonstrates, our energy security is critical for our global power and ability to respond effectively to crises,” Holt said. “It’s equally important to our economic security at home, since renewed, rapid U.S. energy production is the fastest route to lower the inflation and high prices that hurt families and small businesses more every day.”

“It has always been foolish to think we should hamper our own oil and gas industry, which works under the strictest environmental regime in the world and is responsible for helping deliver the largest emissions reductions in the world for 20 years,” he said. “We urge the Biden Administration to move quickly to get the five-year leasing plan out on time. That would go a long way toward making good on its assertion that it’s ‘doing all it can’ to lower prices, instead of the ineffectual half-measures we’ve seen so far.”

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About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading voice for sensible energy and environmental policies for consumers, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers, and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, we are committed to leading the nation’s dialogue around energy, its critical role in the economy, and how it supports the vital supply chains for the families and businesses that depend on them. CEA works daily to encourage communities across the nation to seek sensible, realistic, and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our nation’s energy needs.

Contact:
Bryson Hull
(202) 657-2855
bhull@consumerenergyalliance.org