Ms. Boebert’s Restoring American Energy Dominance Act seeks to nullify the BLM’s damaging leasing rule and prevent the Biden administration from pursuing any similar policies. If signed into law, the bill would benefit American consumers and small businesses—and national security—by ensuring that our American energy resources remain accessible to safe extraction and, therefore, affordable.
One of the most striking aspects of the rule is a substantial increase in bonding requirements for drilling operators. A bonding requirement is like a security deposit that companies pay to the government. Currently, the minimum bond for an individual lease is $10,000, while a statewide bond covering all of a company’s leases tops out at $25,000. The bureau’s rule would dramatically raise those minimum levels to $150,000 per lease and $500,000 for a statewide bond.
In addition to the problematic bonding requirements, the BLM rule proposes vague “preference criteria” that could be used to restrict leasing arbitrarily across wide swaths of federal lands containing oil and gas reserves. That would allow Washington bureaucrats to shut off access to energy-rich lands based on subjective judgments under the pretext of saving the environment.
Leases could even be denied if there is no preexisting production infrastructure in the area, creating a catch-22 for exploration and discovery.
If finalized and implemented, the rule would reduce the supply of energy and raise energy costs for Americans.
The anti-fossil fuel policies of the Biden administration are steering America toward the same destiny.
Through innovative techniques such as horizontal drilling and hydrofracturing, America has vastly increased domestic oil and natural gas production. At a time of economic uncertainty and turmoil around the world, America should be doubling down on the major competitive advantage provided by our energy abundance—not squandering it at our own expense.
The Restoring American Energy Dominance Act would preserve America’s ability to produce oil and natural gas, benefiting the American economy and global allies alike.