Biden’s drill plan ‘not serious’ plan, increased royalties passed on to consumers

Speaking on Fox Business Network’s “Evening Edit” show on Friday, Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) explained that President Joe Biden’s plan to resume the sale of oil and gas well leases on federal land while also collecting royalties , is a dubious plan that is “done for political ends.” And to “appease both sides.” Because the increased license fees are passed on to consumers.

Crawford said [relevant remarks begin around 00:50] “Well, the devil is in the details. This is not a serious proposal and it serves political purposes. Because he increased royalty number one by 6.25%. This is basically a tax code. So he taxes more than in the past. So he does that, and that gets passed on to the consumer. The other thing is that he dragged out the permitting process. Okay, you can put these leases up for sale. But the approval process will take so long that it will have very little, if any, impact on the price at the pump. And when they’re able to get the flow going again, you’ll see gas prices soar even higher. … It’s really being done to appease both sides.”