“Just Awful” – Manchin Blasts Biden Administration for Cancelling Energy Leases

May 13, 2022

Today, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Joe Manchin (D-WV) blasted the Interior Department’s decision to cancel massive federal energy lease sales in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. The lease for Cook Inlet in Alaska would put over a million acres of federal subsea areas into producers’ hands, with potential for oil and gas development for up to 40 years.

Manchin told Politico reporter Josh Siegel the decision was “just awful,” and that hiding behind the excuse of the courts was a “very lame excuse.”

Manchin would go on to say, “I am looking for security for our nation and reliability for the energy we need for our nation, and the administration seems to be going another way.”

This isn’t the first time that Manchin has had strong words for the Biden administration’s decisions on energy. In March, Manchin blasted the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for trying to ram through a policy that would have made building new natural gas infrastructure almost impossible. He called their rule “just beyond the pale” during a Senate hearing. The message was clear. FERC has since pulled back that final rule.

Power The Future is standing with Manchin as he stands up to Biden and his bureaucrats at the Department of Interior and at FERC. Sign our petition to let Senator Manchin know you are with him too!