December 2, 2021 |
Wyoming is one of the many battlefronts in Washington’s war on American energy independence. The economic impacts of that war are impacting how state funds everything from schools to senior centers and mental health care services.
Although Wyoming has enjoyed a small revenue bump because of a rise in natural gas prices, the $2.3 billion budget proposal that Governor Mark Gordon has submitted to the legislature does not anticipate an economic recovery under Joe Biden’s administration.
Governor Gordon said this week that war on energy — and its impacts — on Wyoming will only worsen.
Last Friday, under the cover of Thanksgiving while Joe Biden was vacationing at a billionaire buddy’s million-dollar mansion, his administration launched another attack on the Cowboy state and the West. The Department of Interior quietly released its long-awaited report on federal oil and gas permitting. The report calls for increasing the cost of producing oil and gas in Wyoming by hiking royalty, removing more areas from leasing opportunities, and increasing the cost of bonding.
Governor Gordon, in a harshly worded statement this week, said none of the measures “are wise or necessary for Wyoming.” The governor said Biden’s energy policies are making the United States poorer and more dependent on our adversaries.
The price of gas at the pump has increased more than a dollar a gallon since Joe Biden took office in January. It’s likely to go up more. Wyoming Senator John Barrasso said the Interior Department’s call for higher fees to produce oil on American soil is “astonishing” while the White House begs OPEC and Russia to produce more oil to sell to America.
Barrass said U.S. oil production is down 2 million barrels a day from the peak under President Trump because of Biden’s war on American energy.
Senator Barrasso, like the governor, said the restrictions on energy production – from killing pipelines to stopping drilling — amounts to a war on American energy. While Wyoming absorbs casualties as a result, Governor Gordon said the White House energy policies will not advance the administration’s climate agenda.
