SARASOTA, Fla. — As most of the United States deals with rising energy costs and record-breaking gas prices due in part to supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine, one Florida congressman is introducing a plan to make the nation less dependent on foreign sources.
In a news conference Monday, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) unveiled an eight-point plan aimed at increasing domestic production of various energy sources. Some of the key components of the plan include expanding domestic drilling on federal lands and encouraging investments in nuclear and alternative energy.
However, one of the largest proposals in Buchanan's strategy would be restarting construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. President Biden had halted the project on his first day in office due to concerns over its potential environmental impact. Those who opposed the pipeline said the specific type of oil (oil-sands crude from Alberta, Canada) that would have been transported through the pipeline uses more energy to extract.
Buchanan, and many supporters of the project, said the decision to terminate the pipeline put "America's energy security at risk." The extension of the pipeline had the potential to create jobs and boost America's own oil supply, Buchanan added.
Another Biden decision Buchanan is hoping to reverse is the moratorium on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The president placed the moratorium on his first day in office over environmental concerns.
The administration ordered a new environmental review was needed to address possible legal flaws in the drilling program approved by the Trump administration under a 2017 law enacted by Congress. That review found "defects" in the previous decision-making process.
The remote, 19.6 million-acre refuge is home to polar bears, caribou, snowy owls and other wildlife, including migrating birds from six continents.
“We aren’t going to become energy independent overnight but if Congress and the White House begin taking rational steps to promote domestic energy production, we can bulletproof ourselves from enemies like Russia, Iran and Venezuela,” Buchanan said in the news release. “The first step is for the Biden administration to stop trying to crush the American oil industry and start incentivizing more domestic production.”
The remaining points in Buchanan's plan include:
- Approving existing oil and gas leases on federal lands.
- Expanding natural gas and liquid natural gas production and exports.
- Prohibiting the U.S. from buying oil from countries like Russia, Venezuela and Iran.
- Expanding nuclear energy production.
- Investing in solar energy storage.