public lands and more than 9,000 approved but unused permits to drill. Right now, oil and gas CEOs are sitting idle on 12 million acres of leased U.S. Enact a use-it-or-lose-it policy for unused federal oil and gas leases and permits.There are a number of existing bills in Congress that would authorize this, and the Biden administration called for it late last year. Direct the FTC to investigate any possible price gouging activity by the major oil and gas companies.Congress should enact the following three policies: But Congress can and must act right now to help families struggling with high gas prices and to hold accountable these oil and gas companies that are profiting off that pain. The United States needs to move to a 100 percent clean energy economy to ensure lower costs and true energy independence in the long term. For example, the CEO of Shell is on record admitting to profiteering off Russia’s war in Ukraine. But the truth is that they are flush with the cash that could be used to make those very investments-a fact they are not even trying to hide. Oil and gas corporations-and the trade groups they fund to lobby on their behalf-would have people believe that they need access to more places to drill, better market signals, and fewer regulations in order to make the investments needed to help lower prices. Congress must provide some relief to consumers-and hold oil companies accountable. Oil executives should not be able to profit off everyone else’s financial pain as their companies earn record profits. Gas prices are too high for families on tight budgets, but Congress can take action now-including directing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate price gouging, adopting a “use-it-or-lose-it” policy for drilling on public lands, and implementing a windfall profits tax-to help tackle high prices while reducing the United States’ reliance on volatile fossil energy markets and addressing ever-worsening climate change.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |