The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> announced new rules for the oil and gas industry Saturday, requiring it to cut methane emissions by nearly 80% through 2038.
The U.S. committed to the new regulations on the oil and gas industry during the Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai where Vice President Kamala Harris also announced that the U.S. would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-announces-3-billion-for-green-projects-overseas-including-nearly-500m-for-gender-equity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spend $3 billion</a> in taxpayer dollars as a pledge to climate and “gender equity” funds.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan and White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi were also in Dubai to announce the new crackdown on methane emissions, saying the rule will help the Biden administration make the “progress we need to make.”
“From mobilizing billions in investment to plug orphaned wells, patch leaky pipes, and reclaim abandoned mines to setting strong standards that will cut pollution from the oil and gas sector, the Biden-Harris Administration is putting the full weight of the federal government into slashing harmful methane pollution,” Zaidi said in a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-finalizes-standards-slash-methane-pollution-combat-climate#:~:text=%E2%80%9CFrom%20mobilizing%20billions%20in%20investment,government%20into%20slashing%20harmful%20methane" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
Under the new rule, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will require oil and gas companies to end routine flaring of natural gas and capture gas instead of burning it, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/02/climate/cop28-methane-announcement-climate/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>. Flaring is the conventional method oil and gas companies have <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/gasflaringreduction/gas-flaring-explained" target="_blank" rel="noopener">used</a> for controlled burning of natural gas since the beginning of oil production around 160 years ago.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) said it supports regulation of methane emissions, but asked the EPA to modify its current plan, <a href="https://www.api.org/news-policy-and-issues/news/2023/02/13/api-urges-epa-to-finalize-its-methane-rule-with-modifications" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>, “we are concerned the proposed rule as drafted could create barriers to innovation and hamper U.S. energy production, which could lead to higher energy costs.&#8221;
The API also joined the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the American Exploration and Production Council in submitting comments to the EPA in October, warning that rule on methane emissions would “create a potentially significant financial impact” on the oil and gas industry, Just The News <a href="https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/despite-voluntary-gains-methane-reductions-epa-will-impose-more-regulations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Industry expert Tom Shepstone told Just The News that while seeking ways to reduce emissions can be good, the Biden administration is pursuing a more radical agenda.
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“I think we make a big mistake when we don&#8217;t recognize that the EPA, the Biden administration, and environmental groups, generally speaking — not all of them but a lot of them — are really about trying to get rid of fossil fuels,” Shepstone said.
Between 2018 and 2022, major oil and gas basins in the U.S. were already <a href="https://www.energyindepth.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Methane-Emissions-Decline-Top-Basins-2018-22.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reporting</a> large declines in methane emissions, from 18% to 77% decreases. But even with oil and gas companies working to decrease emissions, the Biden administration has now leveled more restrictions on the industry in back-to-back years after <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-strengthens-proposal-cut-methane-pollution-protect" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increasing</a> standards last year.

Pump jacks and gas flare

Biden Admin Finalizes Plan To Cut Oil And Gas Industry’s Methane Emissions By 80%

Biden Admin Finalizes Plan To Cut Oil And Gas Industry's Methane Emissions By 80%

Biden Administration

Energy

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Oil and Gas

U.S.

Republican senators slammed President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> after his administration announced it would ease sanctions on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/venezuela" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Venezuela</a> in exchange for “democratic developments” backed by socialist dictator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nicolas-maduro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nicolas Maduro</a>.
The Biden administration made the decision to remove the Trump-imposed sanctions on exports of crude oil and refined petroleum after Maduro gave concessions to the opposition Unitary Platform, agreeing to allow more transparency in the upcoming 2024 elections. The suspended sanctions mean that the U.S. will allow some Venezuelan oil and gas transactions and the trading of some sovereign bonds, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-maduro-elections-c8b8743d8c7628c3a4784ef80d4234cc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Associated Press. 
“Our ultimate goal with sanctions is to bring positive change in behavior,” a Biden official <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/18/biden-venezuela-oil-sanctions-nicolas-maduro-00121779" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “The United States government retains the authority to amend or revoke all authorizations should Maduro and his representatives fail to follow through on their commitments.”
The decision was criticized by Republicans who expressed doubts that Maduro would uphold his promises for transparent elections and hit Biden for restricting domestic oil production. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski called the decision “beyond absurd.”
“They’re easing up on the worst regimes in the world, giving them the revenues to stay in power and spread terror and corruption, while kneecapping environmentally responsible development in Alaska,” she said. 
Last month, the Biden administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/war-on-alaska-biden-admin-cancels-alaskan-oil-and-gas-leases-bans-drilling-on-millions-of-acres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> it would cancel oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve and move to ban drilling in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve. 
Republican Senator John Barrasso from Wyoming said that the move was meant to distract from the ongoing conflict in Israel.
“With Israel under attack, Biden is desperate for anything to mask the consequences of his reckless policies,” he said. “His latest gimmick is to ease sanctions on Nicolas Maduro’s brutal regime in Venezuela. America should never beg for oil from socialist dictators or terrorists.”
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The announcement also comes after Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) <a href="https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases/sen-cramer-colleagues-introduce-legislation-to-ban-oil-and-natural-gas-imports-from-iran-and-venezuela" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced a bill</a> that would ban the purchase of fossil fuels from Venezuela and Iran. 
“The idea of importing oil from our adversaries is a complete slap in the face of working Americans,” Cramer said. “We should be using and supporting American energy, and any reliance on our adversaries for something as critical as energy is an obvious threat to our national security.”
Gas prices have remained high since Biden took office as Saudi Arabia has cut oil production, and the war in Ukraine has hurt supply. At the same time, Biden has slashed approvals of new leases for gas and funneled billions toward a “transition” to green energy.
Meanwhile, thousands of illegal immigrants from Venezuela have been entering the U.S., with 50,000 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50000-venezuelans-illegally-crossed-u-s-border-last-month-shattering-previous-record" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crossing</a> into America in September.

President Maduro Speaks After Visiting China and Cuba

Republicans Slam Biden Admin For Suspending Sanctions On Venezuelan Oil

Executive

Joe Biden

Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela

World

Fifty years ago, the United States Congress established the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. At the time, the idea was to ensure that America would have a stable supply of energy in the event of a natural disaster or, more likely, in the case of a war in the Middle East. The reserve was like a fire extinguisher in a building that read, &#8220;break glass in case of emergency.&#8221; It was a last resort, to be used only if, somehow, the U.S. could neither generate its own energy, nor find oil for reasonable prices overseas.
When the Biden administration took control of the federal government a few years ago, all of that changed. For one thing, the Biden administration shut down existing drilling sites, and prevented new oil leases from being signed. Then, Joe Biden&#8217;s handlers used the strategic reserve to temporarily lower the price of gas in the weeks before the midterm elections. Nothing like that had ever happened in the history of this country. But the Biden administration insisted that this was necessary because war had broken out in Ukraine, and as a result, we needed to ban Russian oil imports. They told us, again and again, that this was a once-in-a-lifetime situation. They said it was precisely the kind of emergency that justified the use of the strategic reserve.
Less than two years later, it&#8217;s clear to everyone that the Biden administration was either lying or totally incompetent. That&#8217;s because, once again, we&#8217;re confronted with yet another war that no one saw coming, supposedly. This time, it&#8217;s a war in the Middle East — exactly the kind of conflict that Congress established the strategic reserve to deal with in the first place. So what&#8217;s the plan? What do we do now that we&#8217;ve tapped our emergency oil reserves, to the point that they&#8217;re at their lowest level in four decades?
It probably won&#8217;t surprise you to hear that no one in the Biden administration has an answer to that question. No one on the Right does, either. Instead, both political parties are now calling for U.S. military intervention in the Middle East that would deplete our oil supply even further. And when I say &#8220;military intervention,&#8221; I mean that Republicans are calling for all-out war with a nuclear power. 
Here&#8217;s Lindsey Graham the other day, explaining that we need to start bombing Iran&#8217;s oil refineries:
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A completely unhinged Lindsey Graham just called for retaliating against Hamas by blowing up Iran&#39;s oil refineries:
&quot;It&#39;s time to take the war to the Ayatollah&#39;s backyard.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/ARFvbB1r7D">pic.twitter.com/ARFvbB1r7D</a>
&mdash; Greg Price (@greg_price11) <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1711449555391148345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2023</a></blockquote>
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What would happen if the Pentagon did exactly what Lindsey Graham said, and started bombing Iran? Would the price of oil instantly increase by 500 percent? Would Iran retaliate, using the nuclear weapons that they probably have by now? Who knows. What we do know is that the end result for America would almost certainly be very bad. It is hard to imagine any scenario where any average American’s life is improved by blowing up Iran’s oil refineries. But Lindsey Graham doesn&#8217;t care — he doesn’t care about Americans at all. He’s an unhinged, reckless neocon who should have been run out of political office years ago. Yet like so many other neocons in both the Republican and Democrat Parties, he remains in place, constantly hatching new schemes to hurt this country and its people. 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1239-the-matt-walsh-show">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a>
Here&#8217;s the point where it becomes necessary to take ten steps back, and assess the situation from a distance. Pretend you&#8217;re the leader of the Communist Party of China. You&#8217;ve been looking for an opportunity to expand your borders for a very long time, with a particular eye towards Hong Kong and Taiwan. And then you see this. The government of the United States — supposedly the world&#8217;s preeminent superpower — is shutting down its own domestic energy production, at the same time it&#8217;s destroying its own domestic supply of petroleum.
Put two and two together, and the message from the Biden administration is pretty clear. That message is this: Our leaders have no idea what they&#8217;re doing. And, as if to emphasize that point, the Biden administration has stumbled over itself, repeatedly, since the invasion of Israel began over the weekend. The State Department <a href="https://twitter.com/WesleyHuntTX/status/1711506360968314995/photo/2">sent</a> not one, but two tweets out, telling Israel to sign a ceasefire without retaliating in any way for the attack on their homeland. One of those tweets was from Tony Blinken&#8217;s account. Both of these tweets were deleted within 24 hours, which really inspires confidence. 
Then, on Monday, to add insult to injury, Joe Biden&#8217;s account tweeted something about how he&#8217;s going to ban &#8220;junk fees&#8221; charged by airlines and concert venues. It&#8217;s the laziest possible form of voter engagement, and it&#8217;s one that Joe Biden&#8217;s handlers keep coming back to. &#8220;Vote for us, and Ticketmaster will be more upfront with its fees!&#8221; What an inspiring platform. And by the way, we all pay a significant amount of “junk fees” every day, courtesy of the IRS. Biden wants airlines to stop bilking us of every last cent, even while his own government does the same. Perhaps he should take the plank out of the government’s own eye before worrying about the speck in Ticketmaster&#8217;s. 
Again, our adversaries — in China and elsewhere — can see all of this. They see a nation that&#8217;s completely unprepared for a massive international crisis, up to and including the outbreak of World War III. The signs are everywhere. There&#8217;s really no way that anyone can deny it, at this point. We are an unserious nation, led by the most unserious people imaginable.
One of those unserious people happens to lead the Department of Interior. Here she was, just days before Hamas terrorists invaded Israel. Watch:
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To celebrate LGBT History Month, I joined outdoor advocate and climate movement icon <a href="https://twitter.com/pattiegonia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@pattiegonia</a> to discuss how places like <a href="https://twitter.com/StonewallNPS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StonewallNPS</a> help tell our country’s full and honest story. <a href="https://t.co/XSIGs1qz9z">pic.twitter.com/XSIGs1qz9z</a>
&mdash; Secretary Deb Haaland (@SecDebHaaland) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDebHaaland/status/1708897679898521725?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
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That&#8217;s the secretary of the Department of the Interior of the United States. She oversees all federal lands and natural resources in this country, including regulations concerning oil and gas leasing, for what that&#8217;s worth. She can&#8217;t be bothered with the prospect of war in the Middle East. Instead, she&#8217;s off having a conversation with a grown man dressed like some sort of cracked out, weirdly fetishized, female park ranger. We are on the brink of a potential global cataclysm, and the Department of Interior is chatting about “queer joy.”
To be fair, the Department of the Interior isn&#8217;t alone in that respect. Plenty of other U.S. government agencies and departments have been wasting their time with frivolous virtue signaling. They don&#8217;t care about keeping you safe, or preparing for World War III, or better yet working to actually avoid World War III. Instead, they&#8217;re fixated on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Just a few days ago, The Wall Street Journal ran a truly <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/us-military-unfit-recruits-weight-aa17996b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extraordinary piece</a> explaining how the U.S. military is overrun with so-called &#8220;skinny-fat&#8221; recruits.
According to the piece, &#8220;One problem the Army faces these days &#8230; is a high number of ‘skinny-fat’ recruits. These people don’t look out of shape but, indeed, are because of sedentary lifestyles that have left them with low muscle mass and frail bones and connective tissue. At Ft. Moore in Georgia, new soldiers are given calcium supplements to counter a recent uptick in broken feet and bones in the legs, according to several senior soldiers in charge of training.&#8221;
This is the state of the U.S. military, after years of purges in which so-called &#8220;vaccine skeptics&#8221; were removed from service. You&#8217;ve got a bunch of overweight slobs who are, &#8220;skinny fat.&#8221; These are the people standing between you and a foreign invasion force. How many &#8220;skinny fat&#8221; soldiers do you think they have in the Chinese army, exactly? Does anyone with a brain think the number is higher than zero?
If we lived in a serious country, we&#8217;d expel all the &#8220;skinny fat&#8221; troops from our military. We&#8217;d insist on some standards, and we&#8217;d do it fast. But we don&#8217;t live in a serious country, so instead, our government is preoccupying itself with social media feuds. The other day, the White House <a href="https://www.advocate.com/news/white-house-libs-of-tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">went after</a> the very popular account &#8220;Libs of TikTok.&#8221; Why? Because &#8220;Libs of TikTok&#8221; did what &#8220;Libs of TikTok&#8221; always does. She revealed what leftists — particularly leftists in power — are doing. She didn&#8217;t distort anything. She didn&#8217;t lie, she just held up a mirror.
In this particular case, Libs of TikTok held a mirror up to Tyler Cherry. He&#8217;s a communications official at the Department of the Interior — the same agency that interviewed the fetishist at Stonewall, which he just showed you. Libs of TikTok posted Tyler Cherry&#8217;s photo, along with his many deranged social media posts, in which he rants about Russiagate and compares police officers to &#8220;slave patrols.&#8221; Here&#8217;s what he looks like:
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This is the Communications Director for the Secretary of Interior: <a href="https://t.co/OVesFJXPtC">pic.twitter.com/OVesFJXPtC</a>
&mdash; Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChayaRaichik10/status/1709968317694476558?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Of course, it&#8217;s usually not polite to mock someone&#8217;s physical appearance. But at some point, you&#8217;re allowed to look at someone and form some common sense conclusions. You can tell what corrupt ideology they subscribe to. This is one of those cases. The fact that this person moonlights as an activist on social media is just more evidence that we&#8217;re led by deeply unserious people. When a man runs around dressed like this, it is a massive red flag pointing to all kinds of potential mental and emotional issues. Healthy, normal men don’t present themselves this way.
You may recall that a bunch of us Right-wing bigots jumped to similar conclusions about the Energy official Sam Brinton, We were condemned as homophobes. And a few months later, Brinton was fired and under arrest for stealing women’s luggage from the airport. You can indeed judge a book by its cover, it turns out.
Admittedly, if you&#8217;re approaching this from a distance, all of this might seem like social media drama. It might seem inconsequential. But it&#8217;s not. This is what your government is spending its time doing, as a second major war erupts under their watch in just two years. They&#8217;re worried about Libs of TikTok. They&#8217;re concerned with backing up their fetishist in the Department of the Interior. What this means is that, if World War III does break out at some point in the near future — which seems pretty likely, considering that we are led by a parade of morally corrupt circus clowns — then we are unprepared, to put it mildly. We aren&#8217;t simply incapable of handling the next global crisis, whether it&#8217;s an invasion of Taiwan or something even worse. Our leaders can&#8217;t even run their own Twitter accounts in a responsible and coherent fashion.
This isn&#8217;t just embarrassing. For the enemies of this country, it&#8217;s an opportunity. Let&#8217;s pray they don&#8217;t take advantage of it.
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Matt Walsh

These Are Serious Times And We Are Led By Unserious People

Department of Interior

Middle East

Readers Pass

U.S. Military

Republican presidential candidate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ron-desantis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ron DeSantis</a> unveiled his energy agenda during an event in Midland, Texas, on Wednesday, promising that his policies will bring back $2 gas and turn the United States into the world&#8217;s leading energy producer.
DeSantis made the announcement after previously rolling out his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/no-excuses-desantis-rolls-out-plan-to-shut-down-illegal-immigration-during-border-visit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plan</a> to deal with the border crisis in June, his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-unveils-plan-to-start-ripping-all-the-woke-out-of-the-military" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plan</a> to fix the U.S. military in July, and his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-releases-his-10-point-declaration-of-economic-independence-policy-platform" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plan</a> to make America economically independent in August.
DeSantis&#8217; energy plan — dubbed &#8220;Freedom to Fuel&#8221; — includes six core components, including: Restore American Energy Dominance, Save the American Automobile, Elevate Evidence Over Ideology, Reform Environmental Permitting and End Green Lawfare, Jump-Start Critical Mineral and Federal Land Development and Build the Most Efficient, Affordable, and Reliable Energy Grid in the World.
&#8220;We have it in our power to reverse the country&#8217;s decline and engineer an incredible comeback for the American people,&#8221; DeSantis said at a Permian Deep Rock Oil Company drilling site. &#8220;And one of the ways we need to do that is by achieving American energy dominance.&#8221;
DeSantis&#8217; plan calls for cutting Biden-era regulations that are holding back oil and gas production, scrapping global climate agendas, allowing the U.S. to export energy as a way of creating global stability, pursuing nuclear energy, reversing electric vehicle mandates, eliminating subsidies for electric vehicles, stopping California from setting national standards, eliminating ESG regulations, greenlighting mining for rare earth elements on federal land, oppose all policies that increase reliance on China, strengthen the national grid, and <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamDeSantis/status/1704511348279792074">more</a>.
DeSantis said that Biden&#8217;s policies have &#8220;exacerbated the inflation that so many families have been laboring under for these last few years&#8221; and destroyed billions of dollars of economic benefits for Americans.
&#8220;So here&#8217;s what&#8217;s happening. On January 20th, 2025, there&#8217;s going to be a new sheriff in town,&#8221; he said in his nearly 40-minute speech. &#8220;As your president, I will restore our freedom to fuel. I will ensure that the United States of America is the dominant energy producer in the entire world. I will ensure that this country does not have to rely on hostile nations for its energy needs ever again.&#8221;
He also stressed the importance of letting Americans choose the type of automobile that they want to drive and &#8220;saving the traditional American automobile.&#8221;
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&#8220;Our self-imposed handcuffs on oil, gas, and critical mineral extraction will be removed,&#8221; he added. &#8220;The days of rolling blackouts and unreliable grids will be finished. To every American outraged by rising gas prices under Biden, and they are rising, and I think nationally, it is coming close to $4 a gallon. Our target goal in 2025, we want that gas at $2 a gallon, we certainly will move in that direction if we implement all these policies.&#8221;
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Republican Presidential Candidate Ron DeSantis Campaigns In Texas

DeSantis Proposes Plan He Says Will Achieve $2 Gas, Turn U.S. Into World’s Top Energy Producer

DeSantis Proposes Plan He Says Will Achieve $2 Gas, Turn U.S. Into World's Top Energy Producer

Gas Prices

Politics

Ron DeSantis

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> announced on Wednesday that it would be canceling oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve and move to ban drilling in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/alaska" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alaska&#8217;s</a> National Petroleum Reserve. 
The <a href="https://doi.gov/pressreleases/biden-harris-administration-takes-major-steps-protect-arctic-lands-and-wildlife-alaska" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> from the Department of the Interior means that seven leases for drilling given during the Trump administration will be rescinded and that 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve will be off limits for drilling if the proposed rule is approved. The leases <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-admin-axe-alaska-oil-gas-leases-backed-state-lawmakers-native-americans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were held</a> by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and encompassed 365,775 acres. 
“Alaska is home to many of America’s most breathtaking natural wonders and culturally significant areas. As the climate crisis warms the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the world, we have a responsibility to protect this treasured region for all ages,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. 
The announcement was opposed by top Alaskan officials, including Governor Mike Dunleavy and Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. 
“Today the Biden Administration announced that it is cancelling legally-issued oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge section designated for oil and gas development. The leases AIDEA holds in ANWR were properly acquired in a sale mandated by Congress,” Dunleavy <a href="https://twitter.com/GovDunleavy/status/1699520164356927930" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on X. “It’s clear that President Biden needs a refresher on the Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine. Federal agencies don’t get to rewrite laws, and that is exactly what the Department of the Interior is trying to do here.”
The governor added that Alaska would turn to the courts to challenge the Biden administration&#8217;s moves to cut down on oil production. Sullivan said Biden’s actions endangered the energy security of the U.S.
“This war on Alaska is devastating for not only Alaska but also the energy security of the nation. This unlawful cancellation of leases brings us to 55 executive orders and actions specifically targeting Alaska since President Biden assumed office,” Sullivan said. 
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This war on Alaska is devastating for not only Alaska but also the energy security of the nation. This unlawful cancellation of leases brings us to 55 executive orders and actions specifically targeting Alaska since President Biden assumed office. (1/2)<a href="https://t.co/FAEd6i6T9m">https://t.co/FAEd6i6T9m</a>
&mdash; Sen. Dan Sullivan (@SenDanSullivan) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenDanSullivan/status/1699500517574009053?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland <a href="https://doi.gov/pressreleases/biden-harris-administration-takes-major-steps-protect-arctic-lands-and-wildlife-alaska" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the decision was made to protect the environment.
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“With climate change warming the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the planet, we must do everything within our control to meet the highest standards of care to protect this fragile ecosystem,” Haaland said in a statement. “President Biden is delivering on the most ambitious climate and conservation agenda in history. The steps we are taking today further that commitment, based on the best available science and in recognition of the Indigenous Knowledge of the original stewards of this area, to safeguard our public lands for future generations.”
Despite the fact that Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/death-by-a-thousand-cuts-oil-executive-details-how-biden-is-a-drag-on-the-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">canceled</a> the Keystone XL pipeline expansion and aggressively pushed green energy, climate activists are still angry at Biden after he <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alaska-arctic-refuge-oil-gas-leases-interior-318dcc3f2d5b104a800bf3ba48e764b7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allowed</a> the Willow oil project in Alaska’s North Slope to go forward, which could end up yielding 180,000 gallons of oil per day. The decision to end the leases and block drilling comes as gas prices across the country remain high.

General Views Of The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

‘War On Alaska’: Biden Admin Cancels Alaskan Oil And Gas Leases, Bans Drilling On Millions Of Acres

Biden Admin Cancels Alaskan Oil And Gas Leases, Bans Drilling On Millions Of Acres

Alaska

Department of the Interior

Price tags at the pump are close to an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gas-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all-time high</a> as drivers hit the road this Labor Day weekend.
The national average price tag for regular gas <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sat</a> at $3.83 a gallon as of Thursday, according to AAA, when many holiday travelers were expected to start their drives.
Thursday&#8217;s price is just under the Labor Day record set in 2012 of $3.84 a gallon, federal data dating back to 1990 <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/31/business/gas-prices-labor-day-weekend/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shows</a>.
Back on Memorial Day at the end of May, the national average price for regular gas was 25¢ lower at $3.58 a gallon. Just before the Fourth of July, when millions of drivers traveled for the holiday, the average price was even lower at $3.55 a gallon.
“This is abnormal. Prices normally fade towards the end of the summer,” John LaForge, head of real asset strategy at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/23/politics/fact-check-biden-gas-prices-unemployment-rate/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CNN.
Several factors have contributed to rising gas prices, including OPEC countries like Saudi Arabia <a href="https://apnews.com/article/opec-oil-prices-saudi-arabia-russia-8d70999cb8258aebc3edbfdfcae278b7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slashing</a> oil production earlier this summer. The Saudis cut oil production by one million barrels per day starting in July, which caused crude oil prices to jump.
In some states, gas prices are even higher than the national average.
Eleven states have average prices of over $4 a gallon or more, according to AAA, including California, Illinois, Washington, and Arizona.
Previously, the Biden administration has taken credit for the occasional dip in gas prices even as prices remained high and Americans struggled to keep up with the cost.
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A year ago in September, President Biden claimed falsely that the average gas price was down to less than $2.99 in 41 states and the District of Columbia. In fact, the average gas price at the time was only under $3.99, not $2.99.
After news outlets pointed out the error, the White House <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/23/politics/fact-check-biden-gas-prices-unemployment-rate/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">corrected</a> the official transcript of Biden&#8217;s remarks to read the correct figure of $3.99.
Critics have <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/biden-dragged-touting-gas-price-drop-americans-struggle-make-ends-meet-what-planet-on" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called on</a> Biden to take responsibility when gas prices rise, but the administration has not been eager to do so. Some have also pointed out that the national average gas price the day before Biden took office was $2.38 <a href="https://newsroom.aaa.com/2021/01/new-year-sees-gas-prices-steadily-increase/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to AAA, over a dollar less than Thursday&#8217;s $3.83 average.
With election season kicking into gear, gas prices will start to feature more prominently in the political conversation, especially the question of whether the Biden administration plays a role in keeping prices high.
Labor Day holiday travelers have already begun hitting the road. Thursday was expected to be the busiest day on the roads for the holiday weekend.
More than <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/labor-day-weekend-travel-best-times-to-hit-the-road-to-avoid-traffic/#:~:text=The%20Pennsylvania%20Turnpike%20is%20projecting,2.5%25%20increase%20from%20last%20year." target="_blank" rel="noopener">half</a> of all Americans are expected to travel for Labor Day this year, including millions by car. Experts say high gas prices will not deter holiday travelers.
&#8220;No matter how expensive gas prices are, when people decide to go on vacation, they just budget in the price of gas,&#8221; AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/labor-day-travel-idalia-impact/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CBS News.
&#8220;They&#8217;re gonna take that trip,&#8221; he said.
The demand for travel is partially a result of pandemic, with more people wanting to travel this summer now that more COVID restrictions are lifted, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/labor-day-travel-idalia-impact/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to analysts.

US-ECONOMY-GAS

Gas Prices Near All Time High This Labor Day

Biden

Economy

Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations” was published in 1776, the same year as the Declaration of Independence, and it was just as revolutionary. The work explains that in a free enterprise system the free choice of the consumer, like the corollary free vote of the citizen, would determine what products would be produced in the marketplace. Everyone in such a marketplace was free to produce, free to choose, and free to purchase for the benefit of the consumer and to the general benefit and prosperity of the whole society. Smith’s revolutionary work did away with the feudal system of having to have a tyrant’s favor to produce goods in the tyrant’s marketplace, for the despot’s “subjects.” There was no choice.
When Joe Biden took office in January 2021, he <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/biden-suspends-oil-and-gas-drilling-in-series-of.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">immediately attacked</a> our economy’s energy sector via executive orders, administrative regulations, and cutting off federal land leases for energy exploration and development. The effects of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/27/joe-biden-climate-change-executive-orders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">such an onslaught</a> were predictable. When you make energy costs higher, every product that is shipped from point A to point B will cost more. Every product produced in a plant that uses electricity will cost more. Every service facility, such as hospitals and schools, will cost more to operate.
So, it was predictable that the price of a barrel of oil, a gallon of gas, and home heating oil would all increase. Each of these costs rippled through the whole economy, creating a national rise in inflation of 12.7% in the first two years of Biden’s presidency.
It was equally predictable that the Democratic Party would blame the increases in costs on “evil” energy companies, and that they would generate a “Climate Bill” to finish the job of taking command and control of the energy sector to save our economy, having first imperiled it. However, there was one sensible Democratic Senator, who knew the bill would increase inflation further, so the original “Climate Bill” was sidelined.
In the original Climate Bill’s stead, just one year ago, came a Trojan horse called “The Inflation Reduction Act,” refashioned as a “gift” that would reduce costs across the economy for hard-working families. In fact, just as the Greeks fashioned a horse to get through the walls of Troy, which they could not breach by other means, the Democrats offered this act as a sales pitch, a fashionable vessel, that contained the same regulatory armies that created the country’s runaway inflation in the first place.
Why would one of America’s political parties do such a thing?
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-admits-inflation-reduction-act-less-inflation-originally-sold-americans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not passed to reduce inflation</a> nor was it written to reduce global warming. Its real function is to take control of America’s most vital economic sector, one that is literally at the crossroads of the wealth and prosperity of our country. The IRA functions as a means of transferring power through control of the energy sector to the administrative state, and it functions as a means of transferring wealth to the Democratic Party and their friends and business associates, through taxpayer-funded, stock market-supported, alternative energy business start-ups.
So, how do you do that?
You use the administrative state to regulate, tax, fine, and persecute the fossil fuels industry out of business while using taxpayer wealth to fund its alternative – the companies the administrative state and the Democratic Party favor – with regulations, grants, subsidies, and tax breaks.
Though sold as a simple bill designed to contain inflation, in reality, the IRA is a textbook example of how to perform a socialist takeover of an economic sector. And do note the diversionary title of the Inflation Reduction Act. If the real intent of the IRA had been written into the bill and had to gain the public’s approval to pass Congress, it would never have passed. Titled and sold as a means of curing the problem of inflation the Democratic Party itself created – it did pass.
So, what does it mean?
It means that, like the walls of Troy, the fossil fuel industry is under siege from a disguised, internal enemy. It means taxpayers will be looted of more wealth than the Trojans ever dreamed of, to the tune of $1.4 trillion and counting. It also means another kind of plundering – with government command and control comes higher consumer prices for everything. It means one political party in alliance with the administrative state will dictate which companies can produce what products. What is produced that is in any way related to the energy sector will need the favor of a new tyrant: The Democratic Party.
It means that the American consumer will have no choice in what materials are used to build their homes or what type of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ford-gets-9-2-billion-loan-from-biden-admin-for-ev-battery-factories-biggest-check-since-2009-bailouts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">car</a> they can buy, or what type of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-official-who-supports-gas-stove-crackdown-has-a-gas-stove-in-his-own-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stove</a> to use or what light bulb to choose. The American consumer will have as much choice as the Trojan slaves had after the war, when their masters dictated what they consumed.
But they say the world’s going to die! The planet’s burning and there is no way off! We must do something!
When choosing whether to believe a myth or follow the money – follow the money.
<a href="http://richardclyons.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Richard C. Lyons</a>, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/DNA-Democracy-Richard-C-Lyons/dp/0960072330/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YMZDE1WJACY&amp;keywords=dna+of+democracy&amp;qid=1682820028&amp;sprefix=dna+of+democracy,aps,147&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The DNA of Democracy: Volume I</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Acropolis-Richard-C-Lyons/dp/0997346299/ref=pd_bxgy_vft_none_img_sccl_1/133-3675306-0445253?pd_rd_w=2AzPK&amp;content-id=amzn1.sym.26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&amp;pf_rd_p=26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&amp;pf_rd_r=CXEQVEV308YHMA6RN7V2&amp;pd_rd_wg=Tfgw1&amp;pd_rd_r=5df3aa2a-5ee5-469c-99f9-21d371581b3f&amp;pd_rd_i=0997346299&amp;psc=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shadows of the Acropolis: Volume II</a>  is a third generation printer, whose early career centered on religious and special education publishing. Lyons has since engaged in literary pursuits as a poet, essayist, screenwriter and indie publisher.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Daily Wire.

President Biden Delivers Remarks On Bidenomics In Milwaukee

Why Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act Is A Socialist Trojan Horse

Biden Admin

Climate Change

Inflation Reduction Act

When challenged to explain why he has been unable to fulfill a campaign promise to crack down on drilling for oil and gas, President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> said the <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/bidens-oil-gas-moratorium-dealt-potentially-fatal-blow-federal-court">courts stormed in</a> and ruined his plans.
Stephanie Abrams, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel, asked the question during one of Biden&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/president-biden-finally-sits-down-for-an-in-person-interview-with-the-weather-channel">rare sit-down interviews</a>, this one taking place at the Grand Canyon.
“Let’s talk Gen Z, because they’re going to play a big role in the next presidential election, and many of them are angry about the 7,000 oil and gas permits you approved since you’ve been in office,&#8221; Abrams said. &#8220;You promised no new drilling on federal land or offshore. Can you tell Gen Z that you haven’t broken your promise?”
Biden, who is running a 2024 re-election campaign, replied, &#8220;Yes, because the courts overruled me. The courts said I couldn’t do it. I wanted to stop all drilling on the East Coast and the West Coast and in the Gulf. But I lost in court. But we&#8217;re still pushing — we&#8217;re still pushing really very hard!&#8221;
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&quot;You promised no new drilling on federal land or offshore. Can you tell Gen Z that you haven&#39;t broken your promise?&quot;
BIDEN: &quot;I wanted to stop ALL drilling &#8230; but I lost in court! But we&#39;re still pushing really very hard!&quot; <a href="https://t.co/cvnK1d819g">pic.twitter.com/cvnK1d819g</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1689223404908367872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Indeed, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/20/climate/biden-drilling-federal-lands.html">as noted by The New York Times last month</a>, Biden&#8217;s administration has been &#8220;compelled&#8221; by federal court decisions to continue selling drilling leases — outpacing the Trump administration during the same duration of time and leading to major oil and gas companies notching record profits in 2022.
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Karoline Leavitt, a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/karoline-leavitt-join-trump-super-pac-spokeswoman">spokeswoman</a> for the pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Inc., argued Biden&#8217;s comments about drilling could damage him politically ahead of a potential general election rematch against former President Donald Trump.
&#8220;How long until the White House walks back this radical position to save face for the general election?&#8221; she <a href="https://twitter.com/kleavittnh/status/1689241173540454400">said in a post to X</a>. &#8220;But Biden said it — he wants to stop ALL drilling, kill ALL energy jobs, and increase prices for ALL Americans. If he has 4 more years, he will! We need Trump!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
WEDNESDAY:<a href="https://twitter.com/StephanieAbrams?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StephanieAbrams</a> sits down for an exclusive interview with <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> to discuss our changing planet. Join us on air and on our TV app: <a href="https://t.co/Feaf8zT3Ip">https://t.co/Feaf8zT3Ip</a> <a href="https://t.co/3cFrsfVy6I">pic.twitter.com/3cFrsfVy6I</a>
&mdash; The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) <a href="https://twitter.com/weatherchannel/status/1689092919116865536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Biden also insisted that the private sector is &#8220;coming off the sidelines&#8221; by investing in renewable energy.
&#8220;They’ve invested $250 billion in alternative energy. They’re building solar facilities. They’re building — there&#8217;s electrolyzers to take hydrogen and turn it — I mean there’s so much going on. Finally, finally, no one can any longer deny that we don’t have a problem with climate change.”
The interview comes after a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/08/07/biden-white-house-climate-policy/">found</a> 57% percent of Americans disapprove of Biden&#8217;s handling of climate change.

Biden Laments How Desire To ‘Stop All Drilling’ Got Blocked In Court

Biden Laments How Desire To 'Stop All Drilling' Got Blocked In Court

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gas-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gas prices</a> have jumped up to an eight-month high across the U.S. as some analysts say they will continue to get higher. 
The average price for a gallon of regular gas on Friday hit $3.73, while the price for a gallon of diesel hit $3.97, <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com">according</a> to AAA. The highest prices ever recorded by AAA were last summer when the cost of a regular gallon hit $5.01 and diesel hit $5.81. On Thursday, gas reached its most expensive prices since November 22. 
Prices have jumped over 20 cents in the past week in Iowa, Florida, and Indiana, while 16 states have seen jumps of at least 15 cents, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/gas-prices-are-going-highest-cost-gallon-november-rcna96703" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to NBC News. The high was first reached on Thursday and continued into Friday.
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BREAKING: The average price of gasoline in the US has risen to its highest level of 2023 at $3.687/gal.
&mdash; Patrick De Haan ⛽️📊 (@GasBuddyGuy) <a href="https://twitter.com/GasBuddyGuy/status/1684706185155424257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Analysts have suggested that decreased oil production and refinery outages have contributed to the increase in prices. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oil-prices-saudi-arabia-russia-production-cuts-ef462b2e9cc229cc1215f9c8a0bab3c2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it would be decreasing oil production by a million barrels a day for both July and August to aid “the stability and balance of oil markets.” In the wake of the cuts, the price of a barrel of oil has increased to over $80. 
Gas Buddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/gasoline-prices-hit-8-month-high-7b940f67" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Barron’s that some refineries in Texas and Louisiana have faced issues over the summer.
“There’s no magic formula to determine the exact impact on gas prices, since factors such as refineries make that relationship more murky,&#8221; he told Barron’s. “We were paying well over $4 a gallon when oil prices were $100 [a barrel], but again, refining capacity has been really the elephant in the room that has caused gas prices to have less of a direct relationship with oil since Covid shut down a significant amount of refinery capacity.”
On Thursday, De Haan said that gas prices might approach an average of about $4 a gallon.
“On our current trajectory, it seems the national average could rise to $3.85/gal, and we could even get close to $4/gal on the first potential of a storm aiming for the Gulf,” he <a href="https://twitter.com/GasBuddyGuy/status/1684664492410466304" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> on Twitter. 
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When President Joe Biden took office, the national average price of gasoline was $2.38 per gallon, according to the <a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&amp;s=EMM_EPMR_PTE_NUS_DPG&amp;f=W">Energy Information Administration</a>, and increased to $3.53 per gallon by the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Biden administration has consistently blamed gas prices on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the president has faced criticism over his energy policies, in particular his pulling of approval for the Keystone Pipeline and limiting of oil drilling on federal lands.

Gas Stations As Biden Says Gas Tax Pause Would Give Families ‘Bit of Relief’

Gas Prices Across U.S. Rise To Eight-Month High

Average Price Of Gas Rises To Eight-Month High

Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-manchin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Manchin</a> (D-WV) is poised to score a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oil-and-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">natural gas</a> pipeline victory with the bipartisan <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/debt-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill to raise the debt ceiling</a>.
A provision in the <a href="https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20230529/BILLS-118hrPIH-fiscalresponsibility.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023</a>, which arose out of negotiations between the White House and Speaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kevin-mccarthy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin McCarthy</a> (R-CA), aims to expedite the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), which stretches over 300 miles from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/west-virginia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">West Virginia</a> to southern Virginia.
&#8220;Last summer, I introduced legislation to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline. I am pleased Speaker McCarthy and his leadership team see the tremendous value in completing the MVP to increase domestic energy production and drive down costs across America and especially in West Virginia,&#8221; <a href="https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/icymi-manchin-secures-mvp-in-debt-ceiling-agreement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Manchin said</a> in a statement.
&#8220;I am proud to have fought for this critical project and to have secured the bipartisan support necessary to get it across the finish line,&#8221; he added.
Under the debt ceiling legislation, federal agencies are directed to authorize outstanding permits for the pipeline. The bill also dictates that no court shall have jurisdiction to review their actions. Any challenges to this provision would be decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a shift away from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit that has issued a ruling <a href="https://www.wboy.com/news/west-virginia/mountain-valley-pipelines-water-permit-blocked-by-federal-court/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">holding up constriction</a> of the pipeline.
The MVP website says total project work for the pipeline was <a href="https://www.mountainvalleypipeline.info/overview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">about 94% complete</a> as of spring 2023.
The White House agreed to include the pipeline language in the bill to make good on a commitment to accelerate energy infrastructure permitting as part of an arrangement with Manchin to secure his support for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-signs-740-billion-inflation-reduction-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">last year&#8217;s Inflation Reduction Act</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/05/31/debt-deal-mountain-valley-pipeline/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to The Washington Post</a>. &#8220;It was going to move forward with or without this bill,&#8221; White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday.
Environmental groups are unhappy with the MVP provision being tucked into the debt ceiling bill.
“The Sierra Club calls on Congress to reject this deal and swiftly pass a clean bill,&#8221; Sierra Club executive director Ben Jealous <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2023/05/sierra-club-calls-congress-reject-bad-debt-limit-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a statement</a>. &#8220;Any deal that attempts to expedite the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline, that rolls back bedrock environmental protections, and makes life harder for workers and families already struggling is a bad deal for the country.&#8221;
The bill is expected to get a full House vote Wednesday evening, and if it passes, the legislation will head to the Senate for approval. But there is some opposition to the MVP provision among lawmakers, including Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who plans to offer an amendment to remove it, according to his office.
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“Senator Kaine is extremely disappointed by the provision of the bill to greenlight the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline in Virginia, bypassing the normal judicial and administrative review process every other energy project has to go through,” a Kaine spokesperson <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4026806-manchin-pipeline-in-debt-ceiling-deal-prompts-democratic-pushback/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told The Hill</a>.
&#8220;This provision is completely unrelated to the debt ceiling matter,&#8221; the spokesperson added. &#8220;He plans to file an amendment to remove this harmful Mountain Valley Pipeline provision.&#8221;

Sen. Joe Manchin

Debt Ceiling Bill Would Give Manchin A Gas Pipeline Win

Congress

Debt Ceiling

Joe Manchin

Natural gas

West Virginia

David Bahnsen, the founder and chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group, will prompt <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/exxonmobil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ExxonMobil</a> at the company’s annual shareholder meeting to fully embrace the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/oil-and-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fossil fuel</a> sector and disregard activists who push for <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decarbonization</a>.
The oil and gas behemoth’s annual meeting on Wednesday will feature a number of shareholder <a href="https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/_d1e4ab5f254a314903d16c85853eb81c/exxonmobil/db/2301/22049/proxy_statement/2023-Proxy-Statement.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolutions</a> that urge the company to report carbon emissions, pursue net zero emissions within the next few decades, or otherwise pivot away from primary business interests. Another resolution submitted by Bahnsen would ask the firm to establish a “Board Committee on Decarbonization Risk” to evaluate “responses to calls for ExxonMobil decarbonization on activist-established timelines” and detail possible impacts if such policies are pursued.
“Claims about the need for decarbonization at all, but especially by some activist-generated date certain, are based on a long series of assumptions that are either counterfactual or insufficiently examined,” the supporting statement for the resolution remarks. “If decarbonization is neither required nor technologically feasible, ExxonMobil will lose significant markets and revenues to private equity firms and less clean-producing state actors, thus harming shareholders while also harming the environment.”
Opponents of a managed transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wall-street-journal-blasts-joe-biden-john-kerry-for-pushing-self-destructive-green-energy-policies-while-china-burns-more-coal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that increased carbon emissions from China, as well as India and other developing countries, are outpacing emissions declines in the West. “ExxonMobil’s decarbonization will be meaningless if other countries do not follow the same decarbonization schedules, and there is abundant evidence that they will not,” the resolution from Bahnsen added.
Bahnsen said his intention is to remove politics from the company rather than advance separate political goals within the firm. “I do not use my influence as an investor to pull companies into various political or social causes, as is often done with these shareholder resolutions,” he commented. “I come here as a friend, not a critic, and I invite the company to do something which shareholder activists never do: to defend the business that you as a company are in. I believe that oil and gas resources have vastly increased the standard of living for the human race, and that our company has been part of that.”
ExxonMobil is a frequent target of the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as ESG, proponents of which contend that corporate power should be leveraged to achieve certain social goals. Skeptics of the movement say the philosophy risks distracting from or subverting obligations to maximize profits.
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Even as a considerable number of investors support executives using financial power to achieve certain objectives, a clear majority would prefer political neutrality and the sole emphasis on profits, according to an exclusive <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-by-two-to-one-margin-investors-reject-woke-companies-pushing-political-causes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> from The Daily Wire released last year. Bahnsen said the “silent majority” of shareholders would appreciate efforts from ExxonMobil to clarify the risks associated with decarbonization.
Bahnsen filed another shareholder resolution at JPMorgan Chase earlier this month after the company moved to end <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hedge-fund-manager-will-confront-jpmorgan-chase-shareholders-on-moves-to-de-bank-conservative-and-religious-groups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ties</a> with several entities with conservative or religious objectives. The investment bank filed a <a href="https://adfmedia.org/press-release/jpmorgan-chase-loses-sec-challenge-must-allow-shareholders-consider-viewpoint" target="_blank" rel="noopener">motion</a> with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year to exclude the resolution from the shareholder ballot, a move which the agency rejected.

Exxon Mobil

Portfolio Manager Will Encourage Major Oil Company To Ignore Activists, Embrace Fossil Fuel Sector

Portfolio Manager Will Encourage ExxonMobil To Ignore Activists, Embrace Fossil Fuels

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Anyone familiar with domestic energy policy knows the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is critical to our nation. But it seems Joe Biden saw the acronym S-P-R and thought, “Strategic Political Reserve.”
The Louisiana- and Texas-based series of subterranean, artificial caverns were created by Congress in 1975 as a response to OPEC’s oil embargoes in 1973-74. The caverns have a capacity for up to 714 million barrels of oil, equivalent to just over a month’s worth of daily U.S. imports. Think of it as a “break glass only in emergency” option, except with oil.
As of this month, however, the SPR held only 362 million barrels, a decrease of an incredible 34% of the reserve’s totals from just a year ago. That’s 550 million fewer barrels for those keeping track. Why the precipitous drop? Politics.
To offset the disgust from the American public over record-high gas prices that threatened household budgets for travel, food, transportation, and leisure from the end of 2021 and through last summer, President Biden directed sales of 260 million barrels from the SPR. These draw-downs – designed to increase supply and lower prices – were hailed as sound economic policy by those on the Left, and a threat to national energy security by Biden’s critics.
On second thought, with his approval at a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-BIDEN/POLL/nmopagnqapa/">dismal 38% last summer</a>, perhaps Biden thought SPR stands for “Sneaky Poll Rescue?”
Much like the administration&#8217;s outright disasters at the southern border, in Afghanistan, or the decimation of domestic energy independence, the draw-down plan was anything but successful. Sure, gas prices dropped, but so did consumer confidence in the administration, especially after it was revealed that one million barrels of SPR were sold to China. With the U.S. heavily dependent on Chinese-dominated supply chains for everything from pharmaceuticals to defense technologies, it made little sense to rational Americans to weaken our oil reserves while meeting Communist China&#8217;s energy needs.
Facing intense scrutiny, the Energy Department then announced that it would begin refilling the SPR once prices stabilized in the $65-72 per barrel range. It’s worth noting that president Trump proposed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-could-refill-strategic-oil-reserve-at-80-per-barrel-democrats-blocked-trump-when-oil-was-24">refilling the SPR</a> back when oil was $24 per barrel, but the Democrats blocked it.
To date, none of the promised repurchases have taken place, thanks to the continued bungling of the administration. This week, however, Biden’s Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/us-department-energy-announces-purchases-strategic-petroleum-reserve#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20The%20Department%20of%20Energy%20(DOE,the%20Big%20Hill%20SPR%20site.">announced the department</a> would try again. In a statement they said they plan to “repurchase up to three million barrels of crude at a lower price than the over $94 per barrel price it was sold for in 2022, while strengthening energy security by providing certainty to the industry in a way that helps encourage near-term supply.”
Only a Biden apologist would find their stance truthful or convincing. Record-high prices brought about by Biden’s eco-driven energy policies now bring a higher cost to the U.S. as it seeks to refill the Reserve. The refill cost in 2023 will be nearly triple that of the historical average cost to fill the SPR and over two times higher than the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/ceser/spr-quick-facts">average price per barrel</a> ($29.70).
Assuming the administration can find sellers willing to sell oil, and the repurchasing process goes smoothly, it will still only replenish less than 2% of what it drew down. At this rate, we may have to wait for the inauguration of the 58th President before we finish the job Joe Biden started.
It is another perfect example of the long-term damage Team Biden has inflicted on America. He was only supposed to break the glass in case of emergency, but instead Joe Biden has broken so much more.
Rick Whitbeck is the Alaska State Director for Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs and opportunities. Contact him at Rick@PowerTheFuture.com and follow him on Twitter @PTFAlaska.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Rise in gasoline prices concept with double exposure of digital screen with financial chart graphs and oil pumps on a field.

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve Isn’t Joe Biden’s Political Reservoir

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve Isn’t Joe Biden's Political Reservoir

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