Texas and 20 states filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration in March for canceling the Keystone XL Pipeline. The executive order halted the high-profile pipeline project, which included Canadian partners and immediately cut thousands of high-paying, blue-collar jobs across several states. Biden revoked the pipeline permit just hours after reciting the oath of office. Several state attorneys general suing Biden mentioned in their court motion that the power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce belongs to Congress, not the President. The Biden Administration has ignored several studies by the Obama Administration that concluded the Keystone XL Pipeline would boost the U.S. economy, create jobs and safely transport oil around the country without increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition to the pipeline lawsuit, 14 states have filed a court challenge to Biden’s ban on drilling on federal lands. In January, Biden signed Executive Order 14008 that halted new oil and gas leasing and the Interior Department halted new development on existing leases. The drilling ban also applies to offshore oil and gas leases. Like prior administration policies, and by executive fiat, Biden has abandoned middle-class jobs and placed our energy security in the hands of foreign countries.
The $2 trillion infrastructure bill proposed by Biden only includes six percent or $115 billion to modernize roads, highways and bridges, projects typically defined as infrastructure, and have a relationship to our energy independence. Add another $100 billion for Amtrak and road safety. The surprising fact is more money will be spent on electric cars than on roads, bridges, ports, airports and waterways combined. Items in the bill not typically associated with infrastructure include $400 billion for home-based care for the elderly and disabled, $35 billion for climate change R&D, $50 billion for a new department dedicated to monitoring domestic industrial capacity and $213 billion for home sustainability and public housing. There are more elements in the bill that do not meet the traditional infrastructure definition that are not listed here due to space limitations. Our energy ecosystem is tied to traditional infrastructure and it is poor public policy to spend tax dollars on projects that do not modernize our country’s infrastructure. Regarding the lawsuits, I’ll repeat what our good friend Mark Stansberry often mentions, “America needs America’s energy.”
The CEO of U.S. Energy Media, Emmanuel Sullivan is a technical writer who has built up his profile in the oil and gas industry. He lives and works in Houston, where he publishes Oilman and Oilwoman on a bimonthly basis, and Energies quarterly, distributing the magazine to energy thought leaders and professionals throughout the United States and around the world. At a time when technology is rapidly changing, he provides an invaluable service to oil & gas, and renewable energy executives, engineers, and managers, offering them both broad and specific looks at the topics that affect their livelihoods. Sullivan earned his BA in Communications at Thomas Edison State University and his MA in Professional Writing at Chatham University.
- Emmanuel Sullivanhttps://energiesmedia.com/author/emmanuel-sullivan/
- Emmanuel Sullivanhttps://energiesmedia.com/author/emmanuel-sullivan/
- Emmanuel Sullivanhttps://energiesmedia.com/author/emmanuel-sullivan/
- Emmanuel Sullivanhttps://energiesmedia.com/author/emmanuel-sullivan/
- Emmanuel Sullivanhttps://energiesmedia.com/author/emmanuel-sullivan/
- Emmanuel Sullivanhttps://energiesmedia.com/author/emmanuel-sullivan/
Oil and gas operations are commonly found in remote locations far from company headquarters. Now, it's possible to monitor pump operations, collate and analyze seismic data, and track employees around the world from almost anywhere. Whether employees are in the office or in the field, the internet and related applications enable a greater multidirectional flow of information – and control – than ever before.