Business groups call on Biden to strengthen U.S. energy production

A coalition of state and local Chambers of Commerce, including the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as well as more than a dozen trade associations, are calling on President Joe Biden’s administration to remove barriers to greater domestic energy production.

More than 200 Chambers representing 47 states, and 14 national associations sent a letter to Biden asking that his administration end the ban on new offshore oil and natural gas exploration on federal lands and waters, restore cancelled lease sales and adopt a 5-year plan for offshore oil and gas development so the country can fully leverage its energy potential.

“With analysts predicting a return to high oil and natural gas prices this fall and winter, businesses are bracing for even more pressure,” Marty Durbin, president of the U.S. Chamber’s Global Energy Institute, said. “While we recognize that policies supporting increased production won’t solve our challenges overnight, it will send important market signals that could help unlock investment, helping avoid long term supply shortages and elevated prices.”

The group said mixed signals from the Administration regarding domestic energy production are complicating investments in refining capacity, exploration and production.

The letter comes after the Administration missed the deadline to finalize a new Five-Year plan for offshore oil and gas development, the group said. The U.S. Department of Interior’s proposed plan includes an option for zero lease sales, effectively banning new offshore energy production. Additionally, the group wrote, the department has failed to maintain the onshore leasing schedule required by law.

“The world needs safe, affordable energy and thankfully America has plenty of it. It’s time to get America back in the game and the perfect place to start is the Gulf of Mexico,” Louisiana Association of Business and Industry President and CEO Stephen Waguespack said. “We know that producers along the Gulf Coast supply nearly 15 percent of our nation’s oil production, over 2 percent of our nation’s natural gas production and are capable of doing so much more. We need the Administration and Congress to stop tying the hands of our domestic energy producers at a time in which energy prices are rising and inflation remains at historic levels. ”