Republicans Rep. Jodey Arrington and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas introduced a new bill Wednesday that would override President Joe Biden’s lame duck decision to ban future offshore oil and gas leasing across large swaths of America’s oceans.
Arrington and Cruz will each introduce a version of the bill in their respective chambers to neuter Biden’s January 6 designation of 625 million acres of offshore territory as off limits to future oil and gas activity. The White House boasted that the conservation action cemented Biden’s legacy on climate and energy policy, while critics — including President-elect Donald Trump — characterized the move as inappropriate, aggressive and intended to fluster Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” agenda.
Specifically, the bill would ensure that Biden’s official declaration “shall have no force or effect” if passed and enacted. The acreage covered by Biden’s conservation decree includes large swaths of waters off the East Coast and West Coast, as well as parts of the Gulf of Mexico and the Bering Sea off the Alaskan Coast.
“In the final hours of his presidency, President Biden finished off four years of self-inflicted disasters by continuing his all-out assault on domestic energy production,” Arrington said in a statement about the bill. “Banning oil and gas production on millions of acres of offshore waters takes direct aim at American energy producers, threatening national security, and empowering adversaries like Russia, all just to take one last bow for the woke and climate obsessed mob. Senator Cruz and I are fighting to repeal this dangerous policy, unleash American energy, and ensure a clear path for President Trump’s America First agenda on day one.”
Trump has promised to scrap the Biden action himself upon taking office next week, though experts disagree as to whether he has the legal authority to do so given that the law Biden invoked does not explicitly provide presidents the ability to rescind prior designations. Some analysts, like Daren Bakst of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, have argued that legislation is likely the best answer to the Biden offshore drilling ban.
“President Biden’s ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling is an attack on American energy independence, jobs, and national security,” Cruz said in a statement. “His action is a gift to our adversaries and once again confirms that this President prioritizes green special interest over the livelihood of American energy workers. Today, I am introducing legislation to overturn this executive order. Under President Trump, we achieved energy dominance and I am committed to leading the fight to restore it and protect Texas jobs.”
The offshore leasing ban was one of several major policy decisions made by the Biden administration in between the 2024 election and Trump’s inauguration. Others include issuing a blanket pardon for Hunter Biden, commuting the death sentences of murderers on federal death row, finalizing massive loan packages for green energy companies and imposing new sanctions against the Russian energy sector.
Featured Image Credit: U.S. Department of State
