Credit: BLM

October 18, 2021 - Last week, Congressman Kevin McCarthy and Congresswoman Carol Miller (WV-03) urged President Biden to reverse his anti-American oil and natural gas production polices. Rather than negotiating with energy-producing foreign countries – which will not look out for America’s best interests – to increase production to meet the United States’ energy needs, Biden should focus on increasing America’s energy independence.  

Signed by 145 House Republicans, the letter follows the Biden Administration’s recent requests of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and 10 other oil-exporting nations, known collectively as OPEC+, encouraging increased foreign oil production to combat the Biden Administration-created inflation that American consumers are experiencing at the pump. OPEC+ rebuffed these requests and did not increase production.
 
You can read highlights of the letter below, or in its entirety here.
 
"Your assessment that increasing oil supply is necessary to reduce prices at the pump is valid, and we agree with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan who said that rising gasoline costs will 'risk harming the ongoing global recovery.' However, we disagree with your Administration’s efforts to decrease access to American energy resources while soliciting OPEC+ nations to increase production of their resources...

"It is not in America’s interest to rely on these nations for energy. Instead, eliminating barriers to American-produced oil and natural gas and its infrastructure will increase American economic and job growth, enhance national and energy security, and lower energy prices for American families...

"Unfortunately, your recent request of OPEC+ is consistent with a number of anti-American energy policies that your Administration and congressional Democrats are pushing, including: cancelling the Keystone XL pipeline; proposing to ban domestic fracking; declaring a moratorium on oil and natural gas leases on Federal lands and waters; and changing tax law to harm domestic production. 

"In other words, a key objective of your Administration is to prohibit American energy resources from being used to lower energy costs for American consumers...In effect, these various actions will result in dependence on OPEC+ nations to meet our, and the world’s, energy needs."
Source: Congressman Kevin McCarthy