The Biden Administration announced it will hold a congressionally mandated lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s 1002 Area, which was an area set aside in law for oil and gas. The sale is required by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump.
But the Interior Department, after canceling all of the lawfully allowed leases to date, has actually shut down all but one quarter of the 1002 area. The department will auction just 400,000 acres, which is the minimum required by the 2017 law, that mandated the department conduct two sales before the end of 2024.
During the Donald Trump Administration, there were nine leases issued, but the Biden Administration came into office and the president immediately suspended all nine in 2021.
Sen. Dan Sullivan said the Biden Administration is acting illegally: “But the most insulting aspect of BLM’s announcement today is the agency’s claim to have ‘consulted with Alaska Native Tribes and Corporations’ on this Record of Decision. Having spoken with the leaders of these entities, I can report that nothing is further from the truth. The Biden-Harris administration has never given any weight to the voices of the Alaska Native people in the region who strongly support responsible resource development in ANWR for the benefit of their communities—just like the Biden-Harris administration refused to even meet with Alaska Native leaders when promulgating their illegal NPR-A rule. Cancelling Alaska Native voices continues under the Biden-Harris administration, but don’t hold your breath for the mainstream media to write that story. The good news is we will soon be working with the Trump administration which, unlike Biden-Harris, has a proven traNickck record of responsible oil and gas production and Alaska resource development, and respects the voices of the Iñupiat people of the North Slope.”
Gov. Mike Dunleavy was equally miffed at the end run by the Biden Administration: “The Biden administration has cloaked its latest sanction on Alaska as a lease sale in ANWR. The truth is this lease sale is designed to fail. It limits exploration to the largest extent possible while trying to pass it off as following the law passed by Congress to offer leases that have a legitimate chance of success. The upside here is that in a matter of weeks the Trump administration will come into office and prioritize safe oil and gas development that provides stable and secure energy. Alaska’s four yearlong nightmare ends January 20th.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski did not offer her thoughts on the matter, offered thoughts on Tuesday afternoon in a statement: “For the past four years, Interior has done everything it can think of to undermine responsible development on the Coastal Plain, ignoring federal law and those who actually live on the North Slope to upend the reasonable program the Trump administration put in place in 2020. The ROD does not reflect statutory requirements, the preferences of most local residents, or the needs of our nation, but it’s a fitting finale for an administration that has routinely allowed Iran, Venezuela, and other adversaries to produce their resources, regardless of the consequences, while attempting to shut everything down in Alaska.”
Rep. Mary Peltola said nothing.
The Biden Administration is moving with legally questionable steps to hogtie the leases, as it has from Day One of the administration. For the Trump Administration to start over, it could take years to set up a lease framework for what would be an economically viable investment for companies.
When this Trash dies I will NOT lower my flags
I remember there IS one NATIVE grp that thinks they speak for all in one area in this drilling area.., who keeps in “tune” with this reteric of “no oil ..no drilling” AND Biden’s wishes. They think they speak for ALL of the area in this drilling area, which they don’t. I don’t think Biden doesn’t understand the majority of the Alaskans in the area DOES want the drilling to “LIVE”..
Reprehensible. Seems the deep state puppeteers are doing all they can, as fast as they can, to wreak havoc on our nation and destroy as much as possible before Trump sworn in.
The Democrats always do, Elizabeth, before an incoming Republican president.
Democrats and Deep State are two different entities. Deep State is composed of leading Dems, Republicans, Independent, foreign dignitaries and leaders in science, medicine, and energy.
Hey!! If ‘THE BIG GUY’ don’t get 10%, it ain’t gonna happen!!
With any luck jail time is coming for some government trash employees.
Never Forget(!!!) … This Biden dude is Lisa’s and Mary’s guy.
Thankfully, we got rid of Mary. Next, we need to get rid of Lisa!
Lisa doesn’t represent “ANY” conservative values // characteristics.
This is one reason why Feds shouldn’t own so much land in a state. It’s not much of a state then, is it?
My understanding is that less than 2% of the land in the largest state is in private hands.
I ask any astute legal/political observer to let us know if Trump will be able to reverse Biden’s nefarious executive orders and initiatives. Can we re-open drilling areas Biden has closed? Can we claw back student loan debt he has forfeited? Can we reverse Marxist actions Biden initiated without congress? I always understood such corrections were possible with a new president. Am I wrong?
Wayne: Not being all that astute (after all, I’m a conservative guy and few politicians listen to me), so take that into consideration as I try to work through your questions.
First, incoming President, former President Donald J. Trump will absolutely be able to reverse Joey the B’s last minute Executive Orders. How quickly and to what extent the reversal can be made depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to whether Donal Trump prioritizes alteration and reversal of the previous andministration’s executive actions. Some executive acts require sweating the decision through a process that might take awhile, e.g., the National Environmental Policy Act. Others can be undone on day one of the incoming President’s new term. Others, not so fast.
Secondly, can President Trump reopen areas the Biden’s administration closed to oil exploration and development? Yes, in general, provided there is underlying authorization in law granted by the Congress to open the federal land or offshore lands to exploration and development. If Congress has closed an area to drilling, the executive branch is barred from leasing under all circumstances.
Thirdly, can the federal government in a new administration “claw back” student loans that were forgiven? Maybe. This depend to a considerable degree on the underlying authorization from Congress to the executive branch regarding student loan forgiveness. This grant has multiple aspects and is not a simple binary yes or no. So, depending on which student loan program that is play, the new administration may have the ability to halt forgiveness but the practical issue is whether the administration will try and claw back loans forgiven by Joey and the gang during the time when President Biden was a lame duck.
I’ll leave to astute readers of MRA to answer the issue you raise about Marxism as I tend to view politics in our republic through the lens of old white guys like Jimmy Madison, Johnny Adams and Abraham Lincoln. You can have creepy pseudo-economists like Karl Marx for all I am concerned. The only competent Marx guys in my life are Groucho and his brothers and Louis, the fellow behind all those cool American-made tin plate toys and other fun objects we once played with as kids back when America really was more or less United. Not perfect, mind you, but somewhat united in the belief that we were bent on forming a more perfect union here on earth.
In summary, Wayno, you are not wrong.
Whether our newly elected President gets it right will depend will and skill. In administration of government reality based attention to detail and perseverance is significantly more important than rhetoric and messaging.
Time will tell if our next President has what it takes to get the obvious tasks that are necessary to make America great instead of the blubbery bureaucracy it has become.
Let’s see how serious Trump is concerning disassembling the administrative state, which is blatantly unconstitutional.
Cutting the entire Gordian knot of regulations not expressly enacted by congress would solve thousands of serious issues at one time, instead of chasing and smoking out of their deep bureaucratic dens millions of individual rats.
If Trump merely appoints new secretaries and commissioners to the agencies, the agencies will thwart changes until he’s gone.
When a known enemy screws you over, it isn’t a double-cross it’s an enemy doing what enemies do.
It was divided up before you got there.