[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 987 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 987

  Denouncing the harmful, anti-American energy policies of the Biden 
                administration, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 31, 2024

Mr. Newhouse (for himself, Ms. Boebert, Mr. Nehls, Mr. McClintock, Mr. 
 Meuser, Mr. Donalds, Mr. Carey, Mr. Zinke, Mr. Fallon, Mr. Issa, Mr. 
Armstrong, Ms. Stefanik, Mr. Williams of Texas, Mr. Moylan, Mrs. Miller 
    of West Virginia, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, Mr. Womack, and Mr. 
Fulcher) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Denouncing the harmful, anti-American energy policies of the Biden 
                administration, and for other purposes.

Whereas President Joe Biden and his administration have proposed and finalized 
        regulations that increase the cost of energy for domestic consumers, 
        hamper domestic production of energy, and increase reliance on foreign 
        adversaries for energy needs;
Whereas then-candidate Joe Biden is quoted as saying, ``I will end fossil 
        fuels.'';
Whereas decreasing domestic production of fossil fuels does not prevent the 
        fuels from being produced globally, but instead increases the United 
        States reliance on other countries for its energy needs;
Whereas the United States is reliant on China and other foreign adversaries for 
        many of the minerals necessary for renewable energy development;
Whereas the Biden administration has blocked domestic mineral development 
        despite the massive increase in demand for these minerals;
Whereas the United States became the global leader in liquified natural gas 
        exports for the first time in 2023;
Whereas, on January 26, 2024, the Biden administration announced guidance that 
        would prohibit liquified natural gas exports and permitting for export 
        facilities under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b);
Whereas, under President Biden, gasoline prices reached a record-breaking high 
        in 2022, with prices soaring to a nationwide average of over $4 a gallon 
        and nearly $5 for diesel;
Whereas gas prices have increased due to President Biden's policies, affecting 
        families and small businesses who struggle to make ends meet;
Whereas, in May 2023, it was calculated that nearly 20,000,000 households in the 
        United States were behind on their utility bills because of rising 
        energy prices;
Whereas energy prices increased roughly 37.2 percent in President Biden's first 
        26 months in office, which is the largest increase of any of the last 7 
        Presidents;
Whereas President Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in 
        office, preventing over 11,000 jobs, hundreds of thousands of barrels of 
        oil per day, and millions in revenue;
Whereas the Biden administration illegally canceled leases in the Arctic 
        National Wildlife Refuge, even though the leases were mandated under the 
        Tax Cuts and Jobs Act;
Whereas the Biden administration added extraction restrictions to 13,000,000 
        acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska;
Whereas the Biden administration canceled 3 proposed lease sales in the Gulf of 
        Mexico;
Whereas President Trump held 9 offshore lease sales and President Obama held 20;
Whereas the Biden administration has proposed numerous antifossil fuel policies 
        that restrict Federal land development causing companies to cease 
        investment in research, development, and exploration;
Whereas the Biden administration implemented a 20-year mining moratorium on 
        225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota;
Whereas the Biden administration continues to restrict mineral extraction in 
        areas including Chaco Canyon, Black Hills National Forest, and the 
        Thompson Divide;
Whereas, in 2022, more than one-third of Americans say they reduced or skipped 
        basic expenses, such as medicine or food, to pay an energy bill;
Whereas President Biden issued Executive Order 14008 on his first day in office, 
        which halted all new oil and natural gas leasing on Federal lands, 
        violating the Mineral Leasing Act, which requires the Department of the 
        Interior to hold quarterly lease sales;
Whereas the Biden administration did not hold an onshore lease sale until June 
        2022, and the first sale excluded nearly 80 percent of eligible lands 
        while instituting a 50-percent royalty increase;
Whereas, in fiscal year 2022, the first full fiscal year of the Biden 
        administration, the Bureau of Land Management approved an average of 233 
        drilling permits per month;
Whereas, in contrast, the Bureau of Land Management was approving nearly 400 
        drilling permits monthly in fiscal year 2020;
Whereas the Biden administration has held only 18 lease sales over 36 months in 
        office;
Whereas the Biden administration has leased roughly 232,000 acres bringing in 
        roughly $180,000,000 in Federal funding, approximately one-tenth of the 
        acreage and revenue secured by the Trump administration;
Whereas, over the same time period, the Trump administration had held 82 lease 
        sales, leasing 3,700,000 acres and bringing in over $1,700,000,000 for 
        taxpayers.
Whereas the Bureau of Land Management proposed a rule titled ``Waste Prevention, 
        Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation'' (87 Fed. 
        Reg. 73588) which aims to further regulate natural gas emissions from 
        oil and natural gas production on Federal lands;
Whereas the Bureau of Land Management issued Instructional Memoranda that 
        restrict the rights of existing leaseholders, ignore statutory mandates, 
        and will limit acreage in future sales;
Whereas the Biden administration proposed the rule titled ``Conservation and 
        Landscape Health'' (88 Fed. Reg. 19583) that would illegally elevate 
        conservation as a multiple use under the Federal Land Management Policy 
        Act of 1976;
Whereas the Biden administration has proposed a rule titled ``Fluid Mineral 
        Leases and Leasing Process'' (88. Fed. Reg. 47562) that would establish 
        preference criteria to limit oil and gas leasing on Federal lands, while 
        increasing royalty and bonding rates for oil and gas producers on 
        Federal lands; and
Whereas the Biden administration proposed numerous supplemental environmental 
        impact statements for resource management plans across Western States 
        that would lock up millions of acres of Federal lands from resource 
        development: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) denounces the harmful anti-American energy policies of 
        the Biden administration;
            (2) denounces the irrational and unpredictable Federal 
        lands policies of the Biden administration;
            (3) condemns the energy crisis plaguing families, 
        businesses, and Americans around the country that has been 
        caused by the Biden administration; and
            (4) encourages the domestic production of reliable and 
        affordable energy generation sources.
                                 <all>