FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans introduced legislation Wednesday that they said would remove barriers slowing down oil and gas permitting on federal lands and, as a result, lead to lower gasoline prices for Americans.
The American Energy Act — which was introduced by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and cosponsored by 12 fellow Republicans — is designed to give energy companies increased certainty in the federal permitting process for oil and gas drilling in an effort to boost production and lower energy prices. Boebert said her bill would counter efforts from the Biden administration to introduce red tape and stifle production.
“The Biden administration is colluding with Green New Deal extremists to slow down energy leasing, clog up the bureaucratic pipeline, and threaten American energy producers with frivolous lawsuits,” Boebert said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
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“My American Energy Act cuts red tape to unleash American energy by extending the term of APDs from two years to four years to reduce unnecessary paperwork, ensuring agencies process permits under a valid existing lease regardless of any unrelated civil action, and by prohibiting activist judges from unilaterally vacating valid energy leases.”
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The legislation mainly focuses on ensuring that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an Interior Department subagency tasked with managing federal lands, approves applications for permits to drill (APD) in a timely fashion. Oil and gas companies are required to file an APD once they identify a deposit on a lease that can be tapped for resources.
The Biden administration has been accused of purposely delaying APDs in an effort to prevent fossil fuel extraction. According to BLM data, there were 4,896 pending APDs on federal lands and another 179 on Indian property as of Jan. 31.
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And, according to Boebert’s office, permitting times have increased from an average of 94 days in June 2019 to 182 days under the Biden administration last year. During fiscal year 2022, the BLM an average of 233 drilling permits per month while it approved 400 drilling permits per month in fiscal year 2020.
H/T Fox News (read more at FoxNews.com)
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