WASHINGTON, DC – With gasoline and diesel fuel inching upward by the day, AAA confirmed that on May 17, 2022, the U.S. hit an all-time high per gallon record with $4.52 for regular and $5.57 for diesel fuel.
Amid the skyrocketing prices, the Biden Administration canceled three offshore oil lease sales in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico last week. The action will effectively terminate drilling lease sales in offshore waters this year. Department of Interior spokesperson Melissa Schwartz, said the decision came from a mixture of reasons, including “lack of interest from oil companies and legal obstacles.”
Schwartz indicated that Alaska’s Cook Inlet lease “lacked industry interest,” and the two leases in the Gulf of Mexico were canceled “as a result of delays due to factors including conflicting court rulings that impacted work on these proposed lease sales.” When the announcement was made, the national average for a gallon of gas was $4.37.
Abandoning the lease sales aligns with Biden’s campaign promises to tackle climate change, harness fossil fuel production and usher in a zero-emissions U.S. by 2050. Climate activists are delighted, while fossil fuel advocates are dismayed.
Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican and member of the Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Jesse Waters, that the Biden Administration had their “boot on the neck” of domestic energy. The senator criticized Biden’s denial of responsibility for the 40-year high inflation and his energy policies. Kennedy emphasized that Biden promised not to be Bernie Sanders, “but who is he emulating? Bernie Sanders!” then continued, “He thinks he can run the greatest economy, the most powerful economy in human history without fossil fuels.” Kennedy pressed the fact that after 14-months, “Nothing is built, nothing is back, and nothing is better” in fact, many believe the country is going in the wrong direction.