Biden Administration Announces Onshore Lease Sales, Raises Royalty Rate

Press Release

Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced that the Bureau of Land Management will post notices for lease sales, including approximately 173 parcels of public land, on Monday, April 18. House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement in response:

"Clearly the Biden administration is embarrassed about this decision because they're announcing it with zero warning late in the day on Good Friday. It's something they should've done more than a year ago; in fact, President Biden should never have made the incredibly irresponsible decision to halt onshore lease sales in the first place. Now with gas prices skyrocketing, the administration is finally coming to their senses and realizing that American energy must be our future. It's ridiculous that they continue giving American industries and workers whiplash and preventing much-needed energy revenues from stimulating the economy. Not only that, but they're also proudly proclaiming it's an 80 percent reduction from the total acreage nominated and arbitrarily raising the royalty rate 150 percent, which will ultimately increase costs for American consumers. I'm glad to see President Biden finally listening to what my Republican colleagues and I have been saying for months, but a partial reopening is not enough. The administration must immediately increase the offering and reopen offshore development as well. It's the only way we can permanently secure American energy independence."

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