06.22.22

Hoeven: President Biden Needs to Empower U.S. Domestic Energy Production, Gas Tax Suspension A Gimmick

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today issued the following statement after President Biden proposed suspending the federal gas tax for 3 months. 

“Energy prices are at historic levels, with the average price of gas reaching $5 per gallon across the nation this month. Prices have more than doubled over the first two years of the Biden administration, and the Biden proposal to suspend the federal gas tax does not address the underlying problem, does not provide adequate relief to Americans and would undermine the long-term sustainability of the Highway Trust Fund,” said Hoeven. “President Biden needs to reverse course on his harmful environmental policies and work with us to empower U.S. domestic energy production. That means unlocking our vast taxpayer-owned oil and gas resources on federal land and supporting the construction of pipelines and other facilities that are needed to get energy to market. That’s how we can ensure energy and economic security for our nation and bring down inflation.”

Hoeven has been working to push back on the Biden administration’s burdensome regulations on energy development and unlock the potential of America’s abundant energy resources, including its coal, oil and natural gas reserves. To this end, Hoeven is working to pass legislation like his American Energy Independence from Russia Act, which would take immediate action to increase U.S. energy production, including: 

  • Authorizing the construction and operation of the Keystone XL pipeline.
  • Removing regulatory hurdles to increase liquefied natural gas exports.
  • Prohibiting any presidential moratoria on new energy leases.
  • Requiring the U.S. Department of the Interior to hold a minimum of 4 oil and natural gas lease sales in each state with land available for leasing in fiscal year 2022.
  • Prohibiting the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy from drawdowns of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) until the Secretary of the Interior issues a plan to increase oil and gas production on federal lands and waters.   

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