Political Quotes

“I would like to call the attention of my friend from Wyoming to a column today by Dana Milbank in The Washington Post. I think it is really worth reading in light of some of the things that have been said on the floor: Canceling the Keystone XL pipeline caused gas prices to rise? That has been said. Well, it is wrong. It was only 10 percent [finished] when Biden canceled it, and its owners didn't expect to open it until 2023 at the earliest. It had no measurable impact--maybe no impact--on current oil prices. [The assertion that] Biden halted new drilling on Federal lands? Wrong. After a temporary halt in new leases, Biden has outpaced Trump in new drilling permits for public lands. The Post has reported that publicly. As for Biden's ``shutdown of American energy,'' U.S. production has increased under Biden from 9.7 million barrels a day to 11.6 million barrels. The number of oil rigs operating was at 172 in July 2020, E&E News reports. Now, 519 are in operation. U.S. production is forecast to set a record next year. What's holding back oil production-- according to Mr. Milbank-- isn't government policy. U.S. producers still have 4,400 wells already approved and drilled that are not yet producing. They aren't drilling more because of a shortage of workers and equipment and, particularly, investors' greed-- which, I think, the Senator from Maine was alluding to.…”