Statement: Biden Issues Sweeping Ban on Offshore Oil & Gas Drilling in Final Days as President
With two weeks left in his Presidency, Joe Biden has announced a vast oil and gas drilling ban across much of the United States’ coastline. President Biden used the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which makes presidential orders permanent under the law, potentially curtailing any action President-elect Trump could take to reverse the drilling moratorium that covers 625 million acres.
Below is a statement that can be attributed to me, Craig Stevens, spokesman for the GAIN Coalition and former senior advisor to U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman:
“In the remaining days of his Presidency, Joe Biden has dealt another blow to the American energy industry. The same man who said he would “end fossil fuel” in 2019 is attempting to do just that, and hamstring President-elect Trump on the way out.
The U.S. has an abundance of natural resources at our disposal and banning the extraction of these efficient and reliable fuels jeopardizes our nation’s energy security. The incoming Trump administration has promised to unleash American energy dominance, but President Biden’s parting action aims to obstruct the incoming administration’s agenda.
Congress should reverse this decision, and the incoming Trump administration should remain committed to revitalizing domestic energy security as the world’s number on producer of oil and natural gas.”
