Press Releases

Today, Members of the Western Caucus released the following statements after House Democrats pushed through three bills restricting American energy production:

Chairman Paul Gosar (AZ-04): "The United States is home to some of the richest energy sources in the world. Rather than relying on hostile regimes who hate America, we should be producing energy right here in our backyard. Today’s Left wants to lock up millions of acres of land and water from energy exploration which will put millions of Americans out of work, send energy prices skyrocketing, and harm our national security."

Republican Whip Steve Scalise (LA-01): "Conservative, free market solutions contribute to a cleaner environment and a vibrant economy. As we've seen in Louisiana, the energy industry can be an incredible asset to our economy and our beautiful natural resources. Energy exploration and development provides cheap energy, reliable jobs, and expands our international impact. These restrictive anti-energy bills only threaten our American energy renaissance."

Chief Regulatory Reform Officer Andy Biggs (AZ-05): "Our American energy independence is alive and well under the Trump administration because of the free-market policies that have allowed our oil and gas economy to flourish. We should not be surprised at the radical left’s continuous attempt to undo the policies that have brought significant economic opportunities to so many Americans across our land."

Chief Infrastructure and Forestry Officer Bruce Westerman (AR-04): "The U.S. is blessed with an abundance of natural resources. It is in our national interest to not only understand what resources are at our disposal, but to also be good stewards of those resources and use them in an environmentally-friendly manner. We should be using every tool at our disposal to produce the cleanest, cheapest and safest energy possible. These proposals would do nothing but slow the progress we’ve made over the years."

Congressman Kevin Brady (TX-08): "The anti-energy bills on the floor this week take aim at our nation’s ability to provide reliable, affordable energy for American families, consumers and manufacturers. Not only would these bills prevent the creation of millions of American jobs, we’d feel the effects in the Houston region especially hard. Curtailing offshore drilling activities would negatively impact the hundreds of thousands of Texans working in the oil and gas industry and would have adverse, long term consequences on our state’s economic well-being. Furthermore, these measures would threaten our national security by increasing our energy dependence on hostile foreign states." 

Congressman Jeff Duncan (SC-03): "An all-of-the-above energy matrix is necessary to further the American energy renaissance our nation is experiencing. U.S. energy exploration and production lowers electric costs for consumers, provides good paying jobs, safeguards national security, and keeps our country as a global energy leader. These proposals would halt all the progress made over the last two and a half years and push us towards foreign sources of energy."

Congressman Markwayne Mullin (OK-02): "We have an abundance of energy resources right here at home and we should be utilizing them in an ‘all of the above energy’ strategy. Millions of Americans rely on our energy industry for their livelihoods and to keep the lights on at a price they can afford. It also ensures that we are not dependent on foreign oil to meet our energy needs. These bills threaten to take all that away and I urge my colleagues to oppose them."

Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (AZ-08): "Energy is a critical driver of the American economy. The United States is not only on a path to energy independence, but to energy dominance. We cannot reach or even sustain our potential without large scale access to developing our energy resources. These three bills put our energy independence, quality of life, and national security at risk. Affordable and reliable energy can be produced right here at home. We should continue to do just that."

Congressman Pete Olson (TX-22): "American energy is synonymous with American security and these bills put both in peril. I say this both as a Texan who knows the disastrous effect these bills would have on the energy industry in my state, and as a veteran who understands the consequences on our military if these bills become law. Unlike most of this bill's supporters, I am a retired Naval aviator who has flown training missions over oceans both at home and around the world. We can protect our training areas for the men and women who are getting ready to do the job that I did for so many years without instituting blanket bans on energy production."

Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-08): "Sadly, the House Democrat majority prioritizes the position of wealthy environmental elites over developing our abundant natural resources, providing our workers with high-quality jobs, and securing our energy independence. Just like this assault on energy development, these very same coastal elites are working to halt mining, forestry, and the Line 3 Replacement Project in my district. I stand with President Trump and our workers in opposing these harmful bills."

Congressman Roger Marshall (KS-01): "Prohibiting energy development would hinder President Trump’s Administrations ability to continue to enhance America’s energy security. We must protect and expand our ability to meet national energy needs for a more prosperous and secure future."

Background:

Today, House Democratic Members pushed through three bills permanently banning American energy production. 

H.R. 205: Amends the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to permanently extend the moratorium on oil and gas leasing in certain planning areas of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.

·         Energy development in the Gulf has successfully coexisted alongside tourism, fishing and defense activities for more than seven decades.

·         Offshore oil and gas development generated more than $3 billion for the U.S. Treasury and over $200 million for the Gulf States in fiscal year 2018, despite the current moratorium.

·         The bill would kill jobs and rob taxpayers of significant revenues that would flow to the U.S. Treasury and States. The bill would also harm investment for important programs that improve and protect the environment, while increasing our dependence on foreign oil imports. 

H.R. 1941: Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently ban offshore oil and leasing on both the Atlantic and Pacific planning areas.

·         The OCS is estimated to contain nearly 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 90 billion barrels of oil.

·         There is enough natural gas in the OCS to heat 100 million homes for 60 years and enough oil to replace current Persian Gulf imports for 59 years.

·         Unfortunately, many of these resources are not being utilized or even explored as 94% of the OCS is excluded from oil and gas leasing under the Obama Administration’s current 5-year plan.

·         In 2016, California purchased 108.3 million barrels of oil from Saudi Arabia, at $43.74 a barrel for average annual Brent Price. That is $4.7 billion transferred from consumers in California to the Saudi royal family.

·         Actively exploring all areas of the OCS to better understand available domestic resources will increase domestic supplies, lower prices for consumers, create jobs and decrease our dependence on volatile foreign sources from countries like Saudi Arabia and Russia, whose environmental and humanitarian standards are horrendous in comparison to the U.S.

H.R. 1146: Repeals Section 200001 of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act which authorized oil and gas production on 2,000 acres in the Section 1002 of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

·         ANWR consists of 19.64 million acres. The area in question, known as Section 1002 Area, encompasses 1.57 million acres and was set aside by Congress for potential oil and gas production. The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act authorized a small sliver in Section 1002 for oil and gas production.

·         The oil and gas sector in Alaska contributes nearly 90% of the State’s unrestricted General Fund and supports more than 110,000 jobs. 

·         Estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey believe Section 1002 contains more than 12 billion barrels of oil.

·         There is wide support for energy development in Section 1002 including Congressman Don Young and Alaska’s 2 Senators. In addition, the majority of Alaskans support it, every Alaskan Governor since 1980 has supported it, 100% of Alaska’s Congressional delegation since 1980 has supported it, and the Natives of the Village of Kaktovik, the Inupiat, the only tribe within Section 1002, support it.

Oil and gas revenues are the second largest income generator for the U.S. Treasury behind only taxes. Revenues from offshore energy production contribute to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) as well as coastal restoration, flood prevention and fund hurricane protection. Under the LWCF law, the fund is credited with receiving revenues totaling $900 million each year. Over the last 30 years, nearly all revenues deposited in the LWCF have been from Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas receipts.

The United States is a leader in energy production and has reduced more total carbon dioxide emissions than any other nation in the world due to our significantly stronger environmental protections. Recent innovation and technology improvements associated with fracking and horizontal drilling have allowed shale resources previously deemed uneconomical to be developed and are the main reason the U.S. was the world leader in carbon emissions reductions in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Chairman Paul Gosar offered multiple amendments to attempt to ensure these three bills won’t kill women, minority and tribal jobs. According to statistics published by the American Petroleum Institute, minorities will comprise one third of the total workforce in the oil and gas sector by 2030. Women already comprise more of the 15% oil and gas workforce. These are good-paying $90,000 jobs that hard-working families depend on.