Ranking Members Grijalva, Huffman, Ocasio-Cortez React to New 5-Year Offshore Oil & Gas Leasing Plan
Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), and Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) today issued the following statements on the U.S. Department of the Interior’s release of a five-year leasing plan for offshore oil and gas development. The plan includes a maximum of three potential offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, the lowest number possible to comply with the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that tie clean energy development to fossil fuel leasing.
“More fossil fuel development off our shores means more climate change, more coastal communities in harm’s way, and more time wasted on a dirty energy economy that should be left in the past,” Ranking Member Grijalva said. “While I’m glad to see the minimal number of lease sales, handcuffing clean energy development to continued oil and gas lease sales is a wrong against our climate future and the future generations who will inherit our shortcomings. I want to thank my Democratic colleagues for leading the way to right this wrong with CLEAN Energy NOW Acts and I urge Congress to pass this legislation.”
“Although I’m glad to see the administration implementing the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions to limit the number of mandated lease sales – as directed by climate champions – adding any new fossil fuel leases is an irresponsible plan, and it’s patently unnecessary. This five-year plan will lock us into decades of more drilling and throw us backwards in our climate goals necessary to preserve a habitable planet,” said Rep. Huffman. “We are not going to sacrifice the scenic, economic, tourism, cultural, and environmental values of our coastal regions at the altar of short-term profits for the fossil fuel industry. Scientists, advocates, and the public all agree that this a step in the wrong direction, and I hope the administration rethinks this misguided plan.”
“As we speak, my district and city are experiencing yet another instance of catastrophic flooding, and let’s be clear: these rising sea levels and climate disasters are inextricably linked to the profits that line the pockets of fossil fuel executives,” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said. “This past month, we saw the largest demonstration pressuring Biden since he took office and the largest climate mobilization since the start of the pandemic. While I am encouraged to see the Biden Administration holding the minimal number of fossil fuel leases, the time is NOW to phase off of fossil fuels entirely. I urge my colleagues in Congress to pass the CLEAN Energy NOW Acts.”
On July 26, 2023, Committee Vice Ranking Member Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Rep. Deborah Ross (D-N.C.) introduced the CLEAN Energy NOW Acts (H.R. 4916 and H.R. 4936, respectively) to repeal the provisions in the IRA that tie clean energy development to onshore and offshore fossil fuel leasing.
Read our fact sheet on the CLEAN Energy NOW Acts.
The IRA includes $369 billion for climate and clean energy, the biggest investment in history. However, the law’s provisions that tie clean energy development to onshore and offshore fossil fuel development increase harmful carbon pollution, put our climate future at risk, and exacerbate environmental injustices.
*Updated 9/29: Added a statement from Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
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