The Biden administration released new guidelines on Thursday, December 14th requiring federal
employees to prioritize the use of electric vehicles, rail travel, and forms of public transit when engaging
in official business. This policy picks winners and losers in the transportation industry and interferes with
employees’ personal choice. This policy is also inefficient for taxpayers, as electric vehicles are generally
far more expensive than their gas-powered counterparts.
On Friday, December 15th, the Biden administration continued to advance its radical environmental
agenda by significantly decreasing the number of offshore oil and gas lease sales over the next five
years. The Department of the Interior’s five-year plan allows for only three Gulf of Mexico lease sales,
the smallest number ever distributed. Limiting access to this crucial national asset inevitably leads to
everyday Americans facing rising costs at the pump, a decrease in good-paying jobs, and a weak America
as countries like Russia, Iran, and China benefit from the advantages of energy production.
The Biden administration’s Department of Energy is now putting $530 million towards pushing its
climate agenda into state and local governments. This announcement, made on Monday, December
18th, seeks to change energy laws around the country to reflect strict standards. This push incentivizes
policies that would ban or limit new buildings from using natural gas and force them to adhere to an
unrealistic climate agenda.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service released guidelines on a Hydrogen
Production Credit, Friday, December 22nd. These new restrictions institute significant change in what
qualifies as “hydrogen power development” to receive large federal tax credits. As expected, these
regulations are supported by environmentalists and some green energy companies but are not
supported by business and clean power industry groups. In the end, these restrictions will discourage
investment, inflate the cost of hydrogen, and work against the low-carbon power sources that already
exist. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the new guidance will “stunt the growth of a critical industry
before it has even begun.”
