AFP Statement on OPEC’s Rejection of Desperate White House Lobbying Blitz

Oct 6, 2022 by AFP

Arlington, VA – In response to news that OPEC is planning to cut 2 million barrels of oil per day, rejecting the “desperate, last ditch” lobbying effort from the White House, AFP Vice President of Government Affairs Akash Chougule issued the following statement:

“The lengths this administration continues to go to avoid expanding American energy production is stunning. A little more than a month ago the White House was holding press conferences taking credit for falling gas prices and now they go hat-in-hand to OPEC to beg them not to cut production – and were denied. This is what happens when energy policy is driven by short-term politics rather than long-term energy and economic security. What could possibly justify choosing to be more reliant on OPEC than American workers and innovators in our energy industry?

“The vast majority of Americans – Democrat and Republican – support unleashing our own domestic energy resources, yet this administration refuses to budge. The White House is always ready to take a victory lap, but rarely ready to take responsibility. This embarrassment should be a wake-up call to stop catering to the far left and start listening to the millions of Americans calling for a commonsense, all-of-the-above energy policy so we don’t have to ‘panic’ when other countries cut production. Instead, it looks like President Biden is going to tap into our strategic reserve once again, weakening our ability to respond in an actual crisis in hopes it will cover up policy failures a few weeks before an election.”

Instead of continuing to drain our national reserve, we encourage the administration and Congress to pursue these affordable energy solutions that can make energy less expensive for everyone:

Prioritize reforms to reduce energy burdens, such as Sen. John Barrasso’s and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’s Strategic Production Response Act. This bill would make sure the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is not tapped as a solution for poor policy decisions and would lead to increased oil and gas production on federal lands.
Remove barriers to energy innovation, infrastructure, and environmental progress. The UNSHACKLE Act, sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee and Reps. Liz Cheney and Don Bacon, is a good first step to reforming and changing the National Environmental Policy Act. This bill would amend especially harmful provisions of NEPA, modernizing and reforming a law that was passed in 1970, when energy technology — and the world at large — was far different than today.
Reject the Paris Climate Agreement. In doing so, Congress can reclaim its constitutional role regarding treaty ratifications. Rep. Garret Graves’s Paris Transparency and Accountability Actwould require the president to “report to Congress before proposing new or revised actions under this agreement.”