AG Steve Marshall calls out Joe Biden for refusal to allow new domestic oil production

Attorney General Steve Marshall called out President Joe Biden for his continued refusal to lift his ban on the Keystone XL pipeline and grant new oil and gas leases on public lands.  Top Republicans have blamed Biden for the higher gas prices and for promoting climate change-fighting environmental measures that they said had hurt U.S. energy production domestically.

“Prior to President Biden’s entering office, America was a major exporter of oil and gas, yet today, we are witnessing in dramatic fashion the impact of the Biden administration’s 180-degree energy policy reversal from energy independence to dependence on foreign countries,” Marshall stated in a press release.

“Gas prices in January 2021, averaged $2.39 a gallon nationally. Today, they are at a historic high of $4.17 a gallon and rapidly rising. Over the last 12 months, President Biden has doubled down on his policy of limiting domestic fossil fuel production in favor of more expensive green energy. Incredibly, today, as Americans face a worldwide fuel shortage not seen in a generation—the very definition of a national energy emergency—the Biden administration continues to keep its foot squarely on the brakes of increased American energy production.”

Marshall criticized Biden for approaching oil-rich Venezuela and its socialist President Nicolás Maduro.

“Rather than demonstrating leadership and marshaling all of America’s energy resources to combat the effects of the ongoing world energy crisis, President Biden used his press conference today as a commercial for his costly and unproven green energy agenda, all the while he begs Saudi Arabia and communist Venezuela to bail us out by increasing their drilling.”

Even if the Biden Administration were to loosen environmental rules, it’s unlikely production could ramp up fast enough to ease currently spiking prices at the pump.

“I sued President Biden over his illegal reversals of oil and gas drilling permits on public lands as well as his blocking of construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The crisis in Ukraine underscores the seriousness of these efforts. My colleagues and I will not quit fighting until the Biden administration restores America’s energy independence; otherwise, our country will continue to be at the mercy of world oil supply disruptions resulting in ever-higher gas prices.”

According to Statista.com, the U.S. is home to the greatest number of oil and gas pipelines in the world. As of December 2020, there were 185 operational oil pipelines in the country and a further 34 under development. There are more than 200 oil pipelines running across the U.S., which is more than the number of pipelines in Russia, China, and Canada combined.