Congress needs to undo Biden’s sweeping attack on offshore drilling

Today, President Joe Biden announced that he is blocking more than 625 million acres of US ocean from future offshore drilling. The two presidential memoranda cover “the entire U.S. East coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, and additional portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska.”

Under Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), Biden is withdrawing this massive area of ocean from new oil and gas lease sales. There is no expiration date on this withdrawal. So, until this action is rescinded in some fashion, it will remain in effect.

This last second unilateral action at the end of his term is a “perfect” bookend in Biden’s war on energy, pairing with his decision to shut down the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office.

The last thing the United States should be doing is tying our hands from meeting the nation’s energy needs. Yet this is precisely what Biden has done. About 80 percent of America’s energy needs are met through fossil fuels and this number itself doesn’t tell the whole story. It’s hard to think of any industry, including the renewable energy industry, which doesn’t rely on fossil fuels to some extent.

By limiting future supply of oil and natural gas, this action will inevitably drive-up prices and make the US more dependent on foreign sources, including unfriendly sources. And even if supplies are not immediately limited due to Biden’s blocking of future leases, the signal it sends to the market could have effects on prices in the short-term.

So, what should be done?

President-elect Donald Trump could try and revoke the withdrawal. In 2008, President George W. Bush rescinded limitations on drilling originally imposed by his father, President George H. W. Bush. In 2017, then-President Trump issued Executive Order 13795 that sought to revoke withdrawals imposed by President Barack Obama.

However, there is some legal question whether a president can revoke a withdrawal issued under Section 12(a) of the OCSLA. In 2019, a federal district court in Alaska vacated then-President Trump’s revocation of President Barack Obama’s withdrawals of US ocean from offshore drilling. However, the Ninth Circuit later vacated this district court opinion as it had become moot. The legal issue is far from resolved so revoking the withdrawal might still be a good option.

Ideally, Congress would address the issue, such as through reconciliation. One of the big challenges for Republicans and the incoming Trump administration is to undo the harm caused by Biden when it comes to energy. This new ban on future oil and gas lease sales is yet another thing to undo.

Legislators should immediately try and go after this latest attack on energy. In doing so, they will enable the country to better meet future energy needs, which as a result will improve energy affordability and our quality of life.

*This blog was changed from its original version since under the author’s current analysis, it is unclear if the Congressional Review Act can undo Biden’s action.