03.30.23

Hoeven Calls for Greater U.S. Domestic Energy Production, Outlines Bills to Reduce Delays in Energy Project Approvals

WASHINGTON – During remarks delivered on the floor of the U.S. Senate this week, Senator John Hoeven outlined the harmful impact of President Biden’s policies on the U.S. energy industry, which have resulted in higher prices for American consumers and made the nation less energy secure.

“We’ve got to find a way to press back on the Biden administration’s harmful policies that have caused energy prices to increase and have fueled inflation across our entire economy. Gas prices today are at $3.46 nationally, up 45 percent since President Biden took office,” said Hoeven. “Residential electricity prices have spiked 25 percent during the same period, and natural gas prices are up more than 50 percent. What’s causing this? Clearly, it is the Biden administration’s policies. They have spent the past two years curtailing U.S. energy production in pursuit of this Green New Deal.” 

“It started day one, with his cancelling of the Keystone XL pipeline, and it’s continued with the moratorium he’s put on federal oil and gas leases shortly thereafter. President Biden, along with Democrat members of Congress, then passed a partisan bill that levied $739 billion in new taxes – including a new tax on natural gas and higher fees and royalty rates on federal energy production.

“Now, the Biden administration is doubling down with an onslaught of regulatory overreach specifically designed to make American energy production more expensive. This includes the ‘Waters of the U.S.’ regulation, which absolutely impacts everybody across this country. It’s a fundamental property rights issue.

“The United States is fortunate to have abundant and affordable reserves of coal, oil and gas, and these resources are one of our nation’s greatest strengths and assets, and nobody has better environmental stewardship than the U.S. in producing energy. Thanks to the shale revolution, the U.S. became the world’s largest oil and gas producer, and we’ve been able to do it while simultaneously reducing emissions. By once again encouraging domestic production, and by streamlining energy project approvals to get energy to market, we can unleash America’s full energy potential to increase supply and bring down costs for hardworking families.”

During his remarks, Hoeven outlined legislation he is advancing to expand U.S. domestic energy production and streamline the approval process for projects needed to get energy to market, including the: 

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Mineral Spacing Act, which would remove the BLM permitting requirement when the federal government:
    • Owns less than half of the mineral rights in a drilling spacing unit.
    • Has no surface rights in the impacted area.
    • Doing so would remove duplicative regulations and better respect the rights of private mineral holders. 
  • North American Energy Act, a bill to prevent unnecessary delays for important cross-border energy projects, such as pipelines and electrical transmission lines.
  • Promoting Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Projects Act, legislation that would streamline and set deadlines for multi-agency National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews of natural gas projects needed to get energy to market.

The senator’s full remarks can be viewed here.

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