President Biden reinstated the largest oil and gas lease sale in US history, essentially highlighting the need for an environmental overhaul, by signing the Inflation Reduction Act into law on Tuesday. While the Inflation Reduction Act includes several green energy provisions opposed by the fossil fuel industry, the bill also directs the Department of the Interior (DOI) to take a number of steps to boost fossil fuel production on federal lands and waters . The legislation specifically requires DOI to reinstate Lease Sale 257, a massive offshore oil and gas sale spanning 80.8 million acres throughout the Gulf of Mexico, within 30 days of enactment. “There should be no questions about the issuance of leases from the Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 257,” National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito said in a statement to FOX Business on Tuesday. “The legislation is clear and mandatory.” “Congress has acted, the leases must be issued and the lawsuit must be dismissed,” he continued. BIDEN ADMINISTRATION UNVEILS OIL AND GAS DRILLING PLANS, REVEALING TRUMP ERA CONTEXT By signing the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden reinstated Lease Sale 257, the largest oil and gas lease sale in US history. (Getty Images/iStock) In November, the DOI held the lease sale that brought in more than $191 million in bids for 308 releases from fossil fuel companies despite criticism from several prominent Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups. But a federal court blocked the sale in January, ruling in favor of a coalition led by Friends of the Earth and the Sierra Club that argued the Biden administration failed to properly analyze the sale’s climate impacts. The Biden administration chose not to appeal the court’s ruling in March. The American Petroleum Institute (API), a group representing large parts of the fossil fuel industry, intervened and appealed on behalf of the companies involved in the sale. The case remains before a federal appeals board. CLIMATE WARRIOR DEMS SILENT ON MANCHIN BILL’S OIL AND GAS LEASING PROVISIONS “While the reinstatement of lease sale 257 is a positive step forward for American energy leadership, the legislation as a whole falls far short of addressing America’s long-term energy needs,” said Frank Macchiarola, senior vice president for policy, economics and API regulatory affairs. FOX Business in a statement. API and several other industry groups wrote a letter to House leadership last week urging them to reconsider the legislation. The groups took particular issue with the minimum corporate tax, natural gas tax and crude oil tax included in the bill. House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., and other Democratic lawmakers who have criticized fossil fuel leasing voted in favor of the inflation-reduction bill. (Bonnie Cash/Pool/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images) In addition, several prominent Democrats who previously criticized the new fossil fuel lease on federal lands and waters voted for the Inflation Reduction Act despite their criticism of Lease Sale 257. “After this disastrous lease sale was rightfully revoked, the Biden administration had a clear choice to make,” said House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz. 257. “Would they appeal the decision and continue to defend the previous administration’s climate denial and massive giveaways to the fossil fuel industry? Or would they accept the decision, follow federal environmental law, and take this rare opportunity to redefine the Home Office’s offshore leasing program with climate science?’ “Fortunately, management made the right decision.” CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS The deflation law also requires the Biden administration to carry out three offshore lease sales it canceled in May and tie the new renewable energy lease to the mandatory onshore oil and gas lease. The DOI declined to comment.
