Republican governors announce plans to ‘unleash American energy’

Republican governors announced a plan Monday to “unleash American energy.”

They also called on President Joe Biden to protect U.S. energy security after he said his administration had taken more than 200 actions against the oil and gas industry.

The governors unveiled their plan in front of the PBF Energy Chalmette refinery, located on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, led by Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry.

“American energy has done more than any other industry to lift more people out of poverty around the world than any other industry I know of,” Landry said.

He said governors know the needs of Americans better than anyone.

“What our voters are telling us is that inflation is eating into Americans’ pockets. Energy is one of the main drivers of this inflation,” Landry said. “The reason inflation is out of control is because of the federal government. If the federal government took its foot off the American energy sector, we could absolutely reduce the cost of everyday consumer goods.”

The Louisiana governor listed the president’s actions to “attack the industry” on his first day in office, including suspending new oil and gas leasing, canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, prioritizing foreign versus domestic energy and the publication of “agency rules and regulations at any given time.” at breakneck speed,” which put a dent in Americans’ pocketbooks and prioritized “government regulations over free market solutions.”

Joining Landry were Governors Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Doug Burgum of North Dakota, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.

“Americans are paying 40 percent more every time they fill up their gas tank, and Republican governors say one of the best ways to help Americans deal with all these rising costs is to support an ‘everything’ approach. the above’ of American energy production. ” Stitt said, similar to those implemented in Republican-led states.

“Oklahoma has the most affordable, reliable energy in the nation,” he said, because of its “comprehensive approach.” Oklahoma is the 6th largest producer of crude oil and natural gas, the third largest producer of wind-generated electricity, has among the lowest electricity prices for commercial and industrial consumers, and has reduced the carbon intensity of its production electricity by 61% over the last two decades, he says.

Stitt cited examples of the president’s “regulatory war on American energy,” including another new EPA emissions rule over which 25 attorneys general have filed a lawsuit.

“When you’re governor, you work for everyone,” Burgum said, including Republicans, independents and Democrats. “Right now, we have so many Americans who are struggling to put gas in their tank and food on the table.” Governors are “fighting for all Americans who have to pay more than they should,” he said, because of the Biden administration’s policies, under the cover of “a big lie that says, If we do all this, it will be good for the world.” environment.'”

The United States produces about 13 million barrels of oil per day, but could produce “15, 16, 18, 20 million barrels per day,” he said. “It wouldn’t just be energy independence, it would be energy dominance. We would sell that to our allies instead of them having to buy from our enemies,” which is what happened, he said.

The governors are part of a coalition of 21 governors who have called on the president to pursue “a comprehensive energy approach that will favor locally produced energy” instead of pursuing policies that benefit China.

Their solutions include ending regulatory excesses that restrict domestic energy production, including rolling back policies on the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines; increase sales of onshore and offshore leases for all forms of energy production, including in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve; expedite approval of federal drilling permits; remove the pause on LNG exports; overturning EPA rules; working with Congress to enact comprehensive licensing reform, among other things.