Congressman Dusty Johnson’s Weekly Column: APRIL FOOL’S—America’s Oil and Gas Dilemma

This week, President Biden announced a two-part plan to increase America’s oil supply. While the plan may appear good on paper, he is not fooling anyone.

Part one of the plan is to increase domestic oil production by imposing fees on companies that have unused approved permits. President Biden expressed frustration with companies not drilling, but obtaining a permit doesn’t mean they can drill immediately. Some leases are going through a complex regulatory process or are held up in litigation—Western Energy Alliance says they are currently defending 2,200 leases in court. And just because the permit has been approved doesn’t guarantee the well will produce oil and gas.

Part two of the plan is to release one million barrels of oil each day from our oil reserves for the next six months. The goal is to reduce gas prices in the medium-term while the administration attempts to re-bolster domestic energy production to the levels we saw under the Trump Administration. The Department of Energy plans to use the revenue from the oil released from reserves to restock the reserve in the future.

This dilemma becomes more complicated when you consider that our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is at its lowest level since 2002. Republicans even pushed to replenish the SPR in March 2020, when oil was at a much lower price, and Democrats opposed it.

Despite the Biden Administration’s calls for renewable energy plans in the past, the new plan seems focused on two options—oil and electric. I have been vocal about the need to utilize alternative energy sources such nuclear, biofuels, solar, wind, natural gas, and other traditional fuels to bolster our energy supply. Homegrown energy sources like biofuels have reduced our dependence on foreign oil – and they’re a lot cleaner, too. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has decreased our imports of gasoline by more than 80% and have helped cut our imports of crude oil by nearly 50%.

This week, I led a letter with 28 of my colleagues to President Biden, urging him to reinstate year-round availability of E-15 and uphold the RFS. A recent poll indicated 72% of Americans support increased availability of E-15, and 83% support increased renewable fuel production.

Implementing an all-of-the-above energy approach is crucial to cultivating a sustainable and reliable energy infrastructure. President Biden’s oil vs. electric proposals are setting our independence and economy back. He can say his plans are going to solve the problems, but they aren’t fooling me.

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