President Biden's 'Build Back Better' Agenda a Threat to America's Energy Industry

“This is the time to heal in America. I will work to be a President who seeks not to divide but unify.”” – President Joseph Biden

An already broken promise from our newly elected President.

With the stroke of his pen, President Joe Biden is using his executive authority to enact a laundry list of liberal policies. In fact, President Biden has enacted nearly more executive orders in his first two weeks in office than President Franklin Roosevelt did in his first month- President Roosevelt holds the record at 30. President Biden has signed 28.

Unilaterally bypassing our democratic process isn’t the way to unify our country. And targeting America’s energy industry during an economic crisis is no way to ensure these workers come back stronger and healthier.

Within the first two weeks of his presidency, President Biden has cancelled the permit to construct the Keystone XL pipeline; placed a moratorium on new mining, oil and gas leasing and permitting on federal lands; and has misguidedly rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement.

The President’s actions revoking the permit to construct the Keystone XL pipeline and enforcing a moratorium on new mining and oil and gas leasing on federal lands will have severe economic repercussions. The Keystone XL pipeline would have employed tens of thousands of American workers while safely moving crude oil produced by our Canadian ally to U.S. refineries along the Gulf Coast. The leasing of federal land for the development of natural resources provides reliable revenue for states, municipalities, schools, and key community programs across the West. As for the Paris Climate Agreement, the action taken by President Biden does nothing to enforce greenhouse gas reductions by other participants-U.S. emissions have declined by 10% between 2005 and 2018 while global energy-related emissions have increased by 24%.

Simply put, the Biden Administration is moving forward with its partisan energy agenda at the cost of American jobs and community development.

To defend America’s energy industry, I’ve cosponsored legislation to authorize the construction and operation of the Keystone XL pipeline as well as legislation to promote the construction of energy infrastructure across the borders of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. My efforts to protect the livelihoods of America’s energy workers will continue throughout my time in Congress as my colleagues and I work to ensure our energy industry remains strong.

The American energy renaissance ushered in an era of prosperity and independence. It demonstrated that there are more effective and less burdensome solutions to provide cleaner, more affordable energy through innovation, research, and technology instead of a bureaucratic one-size-fits-all approach. Most importantly, the American energy renaissance proved that reliable, cost-effective energy produced and moved in America creates jobs, lowers the cost of gas and electricity for families, and advances American interests on the world stage.

On the campaign trail, President Biden spoke of unifying a fractured country that is reeling from the health and economic effects of COVID-19-promising the economic opportunities tied to energy development would not be eliminated by his Administration. Unfortunately, President Biden’s actions don’t reflect his rhetoric.

As COVID-19 continues to cause severe economic damage and anxiety, now is not the time to hinder families who are already struggling to make ends meet. As President Biden stated on the campaign trail, we must work to support our pandemic stricken country, and that includes the families and workers who rely on the immediate impacts of America’s energy industry.