Oklahoma U.S. Sen. James Lankford is one of the co-sponsors of a bill to require the federal government to hold regular oil and gas lease sales in an effort to shore up U.S. energy security.
He joined Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines, who is the main author of the Supporting Made in America Energy Act. The bill would mandate that the Department of the Interior under leadership of Deb Haaland, holds at least four annual onshore oil and gas lease sales in the top seven producing states in addition to at least two annual offshore lease sales in both the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.
The seven states listed by the legislation as the top producing onshore states are Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Nevada and Alaska.
Daines contends his bill would reverse the Biden administration’s policies that have resulted in fewer fossil fuel lease sales on public lands and water.
“Now more than ever, energy security is national security,” Daines said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “As President Biden continues to push his out-of-touch and unrealistic green agenda on the American people, I’ll continue to push for policies that bolster made-in-America energy.”
Lankford joined other co-sponsors including Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Bill Cassidy, R-La., James Risch, R-Idaho, John Hoeven, R-Idaho, Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Roger Marshall, R-Kan.
The bill won the endorsement of the Western Energy Alliance where Kathleen Sgamma is the president.
“It’s unfortunate that clear statutory mandates from Congress, such as the straightforward requirement in the Mineral Leasing Act that the Interior Department hold quarterly lease sales, have been simply ignored by the Biden Administration,” she said.