President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20th, will have a huge task ahead of him: restoring common sense and soundness to federal energy policy. The past four years in this area could more accurately be characterized as a series of policy imprudence. An irrational scam is more important than a consistent and productive set of policies. Four years of bad policies—policies based primarily on vile crony capitalist principles—have seriously damaged America’s energy security levels.
There is no question that it will take the full four years of President Trump’s second term to clean up this mess that President Joe Biden and his appointees have left behind. But the new president could take some quick actions to jump-start the process as part of his first 100-day agenda. (Related: David Bossie: Why Trump is right about the Panama Canal and Greenland)
With all due respect, here is a list of 10 common sense actions President Trump can take immediately to restore America’s energy security.
1 — Revoke Biden’s ridiculous authorization.”pause” About LNG export infrastructure. Of all of Biden’s energy policy frauds, this was perhaps the most heinous and unjust. Let’s stop it now and get this growing American industry back on track.
2 — Suspend U.S. participation in the Paris Climate Agreement and future annual COP meetings sponsored by the United Nations. Stop spending federal funds related to any goals or commitments related to any of these wasteful processes.
3 — Terminate the service Office of the Senior Advisor He would appoint John Podesta, currently in charge of international climate policy, as the president for international climate policy, also known as the “climate envoy,” and eliminate his budget.
4 — Fair play to the turnaround, Trump should issue his own “pause” on permits and subsidies given to Biden’s pets. offshore wind generator. A moratorium would be justified by the need for a truly thorough study of the potential impacts of these large-scale developments on marine mammals, seabirds, and commercial fisheries. Invoke the “precautionary principle” that has been ignored by Biden regulators in connection with these costly and potentially deadly projects.
5 — Directs the Department of the Interior to immediately and aggressively restart moribund oil and gas leasing programs on federal lands and waters. Directs the Interior Department’s Inspector General to investigate the operation of these programs during the Biden era for possible criminal activity.
6 — Form an interagency task force to recommend ways the executive branch of government can act to streamline the permitting process for energy projects without requiring Congressional action. Congress has proven time and time again that it is incapable of passing legislation in this area.
7 — Immediately suspend all green energy subsidies pending full compliance review. This includes: IRA or the Infrastructure Act of 2021. This review should also include proposed reforms to the eligibility requirements for these subsidy programs, given the high rate of bankruptcy filings by unsustainable companies benefiting from these subsidies.
8 — In light of the Supreme Court decision recent resignation Secretary Chevron has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to consider the rationale for regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide, also known as “plant food,” as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.
9 — Orders an interagency review of the U.S. power grid and transmission infrastructure related to national security concerns. The potential for large tech companies to lock up generation assets for their own specific needs (AI, data centers, etc.) and deny generation capacity that would otherwise be dedicated to the public grid is currently expanding. Focus specifically on trends.
10 — Given recent reports that Biden regulators are funneling billions of dollars in IRA and other green energy funds to NGOs to fund anti-fossil fuel propaganda, legal actions, and other abuses of the legal system. , orders the immediate freezing of all such activities. Expenditures pending formal review.
In reality, this list could include hundreds of high-priority items for the new administration to address. Such is the damage done to America’s energy security by the outgoing administration.
But if he can do these 10 things at the beginning of his second term, he will be off to a good start and put the country on the path to recovery. We wish Mr. Trump and his appointees the best of luck in restoring America’s energy security.
David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, specializing in public policy and communications.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news distribution service, is available free of charge to legitimate news publishers with large audiences. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and DCNF affiliation. If you have any questions about our guidelines or our partnership, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
