Elon Musk and Oklahoma U.S. Sen. James Lankford have something in common—-each is focused on eliminating government waste. Each is also highly critical of what the Biden administration’s green new energy plan did to the nation’s energy industry.
Musk, of course, is in charge of DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency while Sen. Lankford is the author of his latest book about what he considers wasteful spending, inefficiencies, fraud, and improper payments by the U.S. government. He called his book “Federal Fumbles: A Playbook for DOGE.”
“Every time I talk with Oklahomans, they make it clear they want Washington to waste less and save more. My Federal Fumbles book is another edition of our playbook to cut waste and make government more efficient. This is the mandate that the American people voted to implement and we are committed to accomplish,” said Lankford.
The Federal Fumbles book begins with six examples of what the Senator calls “Energy Incompetence.”
The first is “Running on Fumes” in which Sen. Lankford points out how the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was drained by the Biden Administration “to try to control energy marakets and to cover their outrageous anti-energy policies.” He said now the SPR is “running on fumes” after being cut from 638.08 million barrels during the first Trump administration to 346.76b million barrels in the Biden administration.
“We must begin to use our resources here at home to refill the Reserve. We start that by undoing the Biden Administration’s radical climate change policies that put a stop to drilling.”
Number two on his Energy Incompetence headline was “Behind in the Rankings” in which the Senator said the U.S. ranks second to last in bringing a mine online, just ahead of Zambia. He explained it takes 29 years on average to get a mine up and running in the U.S. because “of the slow, costly, and uncertain permitting process.”
“The United States has incredible resources; however, the left has established rules and regulations to stop us from competing with the world,” said the Senator. “Congress and the Trump Administration should work together to pass legislation to allow quicker permitting and better access to our nation’s vast mineral resources and to update the critical minerals list.”
Number three on his Energy Incompetence list is “Stuck in the Backfield” in which the Senator attacks the Biden Administration’s effort to allocate $7.5 billion in 2021 to build half a million EV charging stations, a move he says left Americans wondering where all that money went. He named President Trump the MVP for ending all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs, but said the President’s “next step is to allow the free market to build EV charging stations, not the taxpayer. Tax dollars didn’t build gas stations, why are taxpayers buying EV stations?”
Fourth on Sen. Lankford’s list of Energy Incompetence was “Letting China Run Up the Score.” He explained the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit under the Biden-Era Inflation Reduction Act was intended to promote clean energy production in the U.S. but “Biden’s radical clean energy policies have let Chinese companies cash in on American tax dollars.” The senator pointed to a solar panel factory owned by a Chinese company which was built in Texas and could result in more than $1 billion in subsidies.
“Congress must repeal the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit,” implored the Senator.
The fifth category was called “Blitzing our own Team” and the Senator jumped on the Biden Administration’s EPA new regulations “straight out of the Green New Scam playbook” which targeted coal power plants and natural gas.
“America needs more reliable energy, not less. Under the Trump Administration, we must end all Green New Scam regulations and allow our immense energy resources to fuel the future,” said Lankford.
The last item raised on the Senator’s list of Energy Incompetence was what he called “Green New Scam Incompletion.” Lankford attacked the Biden Administration’s Department of Transportation and EPA regulation that requires two-thirds of all vehicles on the road to be electric by 2032.
“Even though the Biden Administration wanted to cut coal and natural gas electricity generation, the majority of EV charging stations are powered by coal and natural gas,” he claimed, but quickly indicated President Trump will be the MVP.
“President Trump has already paused all federeal funding apkpropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; however Congress must tackle the longo-term effects of this program by ending it once and for all.”