The below article is authored by Christi Craddick and was published in the National Review on August 26, 2022. For the completed article: EPA Oversteps Authority 

Just Weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had overstepped its authority in trying to control how America generates electricity, the Biden administration’s EPA is using the same playbook to bypass the states and force oil and gas out of the market entirely. This abuse of power — and its impact on American families — should concern all of us.

Biden is unilaterally changing policy to force his “Green New Deal” on states and the American people, one way or another. This is a president who, until recently, stated his intent to declare a “climate change emergency” so he could expand his powers to single-handedly impede the production of traditional forms of energy sources like oil, gas, and coal.

While he appears to have abandoned his “emergency,” his administration has made it clear that it will take every opportunity to hobble oil, gas, and coal — even as the current economy provides a clear picture of how high energy prices can impact the economy and family budgets. Recently, Biden’s own EPA chief, Michael Regan, discussed putting more regulations on energy producers to make energy more expensive, all to artificially make so-called clean energy look more competitive.

Worse yet, the Biden administration is making these plans in the midst of record-high inflation rates.

To his base, and to some who might not understand the repercussions, it sounds almost magical: impose regulations and the air will be cleaner and, overnight, the country will be powered by abundant, affordable “clean” electricity.

But that’s not real life. And the president is misleading us with half-truths and impossible promises.

While the green extreme pushes to mandate electric vehicles, left unsaid is that the electricity that powers them comes from somewhere, and that’s still largely oil, gas, and coal. They also call for increased use of batteries at the same time federal environmental regulations make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to build facilities to mine and refine materials. This pushes us ever further toward total dependence on China — the world’s top exporter of lithium batteries — and other foreign powers.

Biden’s environmental base has a strong list of demands, any one of which could completely destroy both the energy industry in the United States and the budgets of hardworking Americans coast to coast.

Among just a few of their priorities:

  • Banning import/export of fossil fuels
  • Prohibiting new lease sales
  • Banning infrastructure like pipelines and production facilities
  • Banning drilling and fracking
  • Mandating that the federal government stop using fossil fuels in government vehicles

This is all dangerous, costly, and unnecessary.

Want to continue to get all the insider oil and gas news? Become a PIOGA member and you’ll get access to The PIOGA Press monthly newsletter, the PIOGA eWeekly e-newsletter and many other member benefits. Click here to learn more and join today!