Nearly 100 Democrats ask Biden to end federal oil leasing amid record gas prices

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Alpha News

The Congressional Progressive Caucus, of which Rep. Ilhan Omar is a member, asked President Joe Biden to issue a series of bans on federal oil and gas leasing.

Thomas Catenacci

March 20, 2022

(Daily Caller News Foundation) — The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), a group of *97 left-wing lawmakers, urged President Joe Biden to declare a “climate emergency” and issue a series of bans on federal oil and gas leasing.

The requests were part of the CPC’s proposed agenda for executive action released Thursday that it would like to see the White House pursue moving forward. Democratic Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal is the caucus’ chair and Sen. Bernie Sanders is its sole member from the Senate.

“There is no people-centered agenda that doesn’t include aggressive, bold climate action and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels,” the caucus said in a fact sheet released along with the agenda. “While the executive branch has made progress, there is more to do to meet this moment and lower costs by transitioning to clean energy.”

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Sunrise Movement advocacy director Lauren Maunus added that Biden must “use the full powers of the presidency” to stop climate change and not alienate “his own base.”

However, the CPC’s agenda didn’t address the critical mineral supply chain or increased domestic mining, topics that experts and international energy groups have stressed. The U.S. has fallen behind on mineral production which is important for renewable energy technology.

China controlled about 55% of the world’s mining capacity and 85% of global mineral refining in 2020, a White House supply chain report from June concluded.

Energy Information Administration data also showed that the U.S. government subsidized the renewable energy industry far more than it did the fossil fuel industry, according to the Columbia Climate School. Fossil fuel industry groups have also argued that an oil export ban would shock the global market and benefit hostile actors such as Russia which would fill the gap.

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* 218 House Democrats.

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Biden administration resumes plans for oil and gas drilling on federal land

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233 days until Election day 2022. I'm sure this has nothing what-so-ever to do with this.