Biden blasted by business, energy groups over drilling ban
President Biden's last-minute move to restrict oil and gas production on his way out of the White House before President-elect Trump takes office was met with swift condemnation from business and energy groups.
With just two weeks left in the Oval Office, Biden issued an executive action Monday that bans new drilling and further oil and natural gas development on more than 625 million acres of U.S. coastal and offshore waters.
Biden invoked the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, meaning Trump could be limited in his ability to revoke the action, and Congress might need to intervene to grant Trump authority to place federal waters back into development.
"My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs," Biden said in a statement. "It is not worth the risks. As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we are transitioning to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren."
Following the announcement, business and energy groups warned the move would be destructive to Americans and the economy, and urged the incoming administration and Congress to reverse it.
"Well, the American people certainly didn't vote for less energy development in the United States," American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers told FOX Business' "Morning with Maria" in reaction to the news. "In fact, energy was on the ballot during this election, and energy won."
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Sommers added that the action is "not what America voted for, and I'm calling today on the United States Congress to lift this new moratorium, because it's going to harm consumers and it's going to undermine American energy security."
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce was also quick to call on Congress and the incoming administration to "use all available tools to reverse" Biden's move.
"Restricting U.S. energy production is a bad idea," Christopher Guith, senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber's Global Energy Institute said in a statement.
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"Americans want and need affordable, reliable, homegrown energy," Guith said, noting that "President Biden’s own Department of Interior concluded that banning offshore leasing would increase global greenhouse gas emissions."
"Energy produced in America under strict environmental standards can be used here at home or exported to allies abroad, which is better for the climate, global security and our economy," he added.
Alfredo Ortiz, CEO of Job Creators Network, issued a sharp rebuke of Biden's offshore drilling restrictions.
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"President Biden is concluding his term the same way he started it: by putting the concerns of radical environmentalists ahead of the American people," Ortiz told FOX Business. "In stark contrast, President Trump will pursue a ‘drill, baby, drill’ energy policy that will reduce inflation, help small businesses, and make America affordable again."
FOX News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.