Mr. President,

President Biden has wasted no time embarking on his crusade to hamstring American energy production. On day one of his presidency, he halted all new oil and gas lease sales on federal land. Now, Americans are paying the price. Across the nation, people struggle to fill their gas tanks as prices climb to over $5 a gallon. But, Mr. President, there’s apparently no need to worry. According to the President, Americans’ pain at the pump is merely part of an energy “transition.” It’s important to note that this is a transition away from affordable, reliable, fossil fuels. It’s not that high gas prices are a problem to be fixed, rather, high gas prices are the solution. The President is getting the results he wants.

Despite this being part of the plan, it didn't take long for the President to realize how unpopular high gas prices are. Now, he’s trying to take credit for a slight reduction in gas prices. First, by no means is this reduction sufficient. Second, we can't attribute that reduction to the President's policies.

To be clear, placing a moratorium on the sale of oil and gas leases is outside the President’s authority. If the President actually possessed that authority, he wouldn’t have attempted to portray this as a temporary pause. It’s clear this is a thinly veiled attempt to enact the most radical climate policies our country has ever seen.

Our suspicions were confirmed when Gina McCarthy, the President’s climate advisor, said during an interview, “President Biden remains absolutely committed to not moving forward with additional drilling on public lands.” So much for a temporary moratorium. Confused as to whether Ms. McCarthy’s statement represented the administration’s policy, I asked Interior Secretary Deb Haaland whether it was indeed their intention to indefinitely pause the sale of all federal oil and gas leases. She responded, “I don’t know.” “I don’t know,” Mr. President, is not an acceptable answer to the Utah communities who rely on those oil and gas leases. “I don’t know” is not an acceptable answer to Americans paying over $5 for a gallon of gas.

The American people cannot endure President Biden’s clear-as-mud policies any longer. I’ve introduced legislation to re-affirm that under the Mineral Leasing Act, the President absolutely does not have the authority to hold the country’s domestic energy production hostage. Their continued efforts are coming at the expense of struggling families. The Biden administration is fighting in court for Presidential authority to enact sweeping changes to American energy policy on a whim. While I believe the courts will arrive at the same conclusion, we can act now to ensure citizens and companies receive the certainty they deserve. We can end this crusade today and get to work securing American energy independence for generations to come.