Calling Attention to the Energy Crisis

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. BICE of Oklahoma. Madam Speaker, the anti-energy policies of the Biden administration have targeted oil and gas production and eliminated American energy independence. Since day one, the Biden administration has embarked on an agenda of regulatory overreach.

Something you might have heard from the White House press secretary recently is that there are 9,000 untapped drilling permits that companies are not using. While this is in part true, they are being dishonest and purposefully leaving out crucial context and factors that cause companies to wait to drill those wells.

For starters, many of the wells produced predominantly natural gas, not oil. In addition, drilling can't begin overnight as leases can take months or years before companies actively drill.

Furthermore, the Federal permit to drill is not the only government approval required. Rights-of-way can take years to acquire before companies can access leases. Most companies cannot drill before pipelines are in place, and the delayed approvals have resulted in companies developing drilling access at much slower rates.

This administration is taking up to three times the amount of time to approve Federal permits than the Trump administration, and that is if they approve them at all. The American people are tired of the Democrats' blame-shifting while they ignore the real causes of crushing gas prices.

We must unleash American energy and lower gas prices domestically. In addition, restoring American production will remove Putin's control of the energy market and end his leverage over Europe.

To solve the crisis, President Biden must immediately end the Federal freeze on all new oil and gas projects, fast-track pending LNG export permits, expedite approval of all pipeline and energy development, and stop the regulatory assault on American energy development and financing.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source