[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S4361]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Energy

  Mr. President, now on one final matter, across the country, the end 
of summer gave working families gas prices near alltime highs, beyond 
just a seasonal swing.
  Last week, Washington Democrats opened a new front in their war on 
affordable and abundant American energy. The Biden administration 
announced the withdrawal of more than 13 million acres in the National 
Petroleum Reserve from oil and gas leasing and canceled--canceled--
seven oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. 
The President calls this move a necessary step to ``meet the urgency of 
the climate crisis,'' but any serious observer would call it bad news 
for families trying to make ends meet.
  Last fiscal year, under President Biden's stranglehold, the number of 
new Federal acres leased plummeted. Comparing the first 30 months of 
each administration, onshore leasing is down from 67 sales under the 
previous administration to a mere 9 sales under President Biden--67 
sales down to 9 under this administration.
  Meanwhile, the Biden administration has let a 5-year plan for 
offshore energy production--required by law--to expire over a year ago 
with no new plan in sight. In other words, there are no new offshore 
energy leases in the hopper.
  Now, Congress has exercised its authority and forced the President to 
reinstate an offshore lease it had already canceled, but in response, 
his administration put 6 million acres of the sale off limits to oil 
and gas exploration.
  Senate Democrats have been more than willing to tow the party line. 
Last year, every single one of our Democratic colleagues voted against 
Senator Barrasso's effort to require dependable onshore leasing, and 
every single one voted against Senator Kennedy's measure to restore 
certainty to offshore leasing.
  Freezing the development of clean and reliable energy here at home 
does nothing more than kick production of more expensive and less 
reliable fuels into overdrive overseas. You can guarantee fuels won't 
be climate-conscious or environmentally sound when they come from 
hostile regimes overseas.
  The cost of Washington Democrats' shortsighted obsession is measured 
in higher costs at the pump, higher home heating and cooling bills, and 
greater reliance on foreign energy.
  By outsourcing our energy policy to the radical environmentalists, 
the Biden administration is literally outsourcing America's energy 
security. Our Nation really deserves better.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.