In a controversial move, the Biden administration has introduced new regulations aimed squarely at western coal producers, further escalating its war on fossil fuels. Last Thursday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it would halt new coal leases in the Powder River Basin, the nation’s most productive coal region spanning southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming. This decision, described by the Washington Post as the “biggest step yet to end coal mining,” has sparked fierce backlash from industry advocates and political opponents alike.
Larry Behrens, spokesman for the energy nonprofit Power the Future, voiced strong opposition, highlighting the administration’s disregard for affordable and reliable energy. “This decision shows a president who holds nothing but contempt for affordable and reliable energy,” Behrens told The Federalist. “It’s also no surprise to see his environmental friends celebrate this terrible decision as their singular goal is to destroy private sector jobs in favor of more heavily subsidized energy failures.”
The economic impact of these policies is already being felt by American consumers. According to a Wall Street Journal analysis, U.S. power prices have outpaced annual inflation, with consumer costs up nearly 30 percent since President Joe Biden took office. A recent report from the House Oversight Committee linked Biden’s energy agenda to more than $1 trillion in regulatory costs and soaring gas prices, which reached a nationwide average of $5 per gallon in 2022.
Oversight Chairman James Comer of Kentucky criticized the administration’s aggressive stance against American-made energy. “The Biden Administration weaponized the power of the executive branch to wage a war against American-made energy production and cement in place radical, far-left energy policies that jeopardize domestic energy development, overload America’s power grid, and raise costs on all American consumers and businesses,” Comer stated.
President Biden has been steadfast in his commitment to phasing out fossil fuels, implementing a series of regulations that restrict access to tens of millions of acres of public land for energy production. Last month, the Department of the Interior imposed “maximum protections” on 13 million acres in the western Arctic and denied a permit for a road needed to mine an Alaskan copper deposit valued at $7.5 billion.
These actions have drawn sharp criticism from those who argue that the administration is sacrificing energy security and economic stability for ideological goals. As Behrens pointed out, Americans are bearing the brunt of these policies. “Every American should remember this decision next time the White House says they’re not responsible for high prices,” he remarked.
As the Biden administration continues to push forward with its aggressive environmental agenda, the debate over the future of American energy production is likely to intensify. The halt on new coal leases in the Powder River Basin is just the latest development in a broader strategy that could have long-lasting implications for the U.S. economy and energy landscape.
