Following the Biden Administration’s string of executive orders, 17 Republican governors issued a joint letter calling for President Biden to withdraw Executive Order 14008. They say the Order “kills good-paying jobs across the country and threatens America’s energy independence and national security.”
“Local economies are still trying to recover from shutdowns related COVID,” the Republican Governors Association stated in an email sent to Sapulpa Times on Monday morning. “This order does little other than place an unnecessary burden on working families when they can least afford it.”
The bulk of the letter calls on President Biden to recognize the needs of the workforce that the nation’s energy sector provides, as well the benefit it provides overall to the country’s energy independence: “There are many parts of our country where energy is more than a utility bill or tank of gas—it’s a job-creating industry that provides good careers and steady paychecks to families in rural areas and small towns,” the letter states.
The recent surge in oil and natural gas provided jobs and wealth in an economy that these governors say sorely needed it while the nation faced lockdowns and furloughs during the COVID-19 pandemic. They say the order will “drastically hinder the ability of the oil and gas industry to recover, both onshore and offshore, as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic subside.”
Oklahoma sits squarely in the crosshairs of the Presidents order, due to the important role our state plays in the oil and gas industry, but these governors believe the Order will also hurt all states that have large tracts of federal land, saying that Biden is “chasing away capital investment for long-term economic growth and undermining public services, public conservation, public safety, public education, and more.”
Aside from the direct impact the Order makes directly upon the states, it’s also estimated to spike American residential energy costs by $1.7 billion per year.
Signatories to the letter include Governors Mark Gordon (WY), Kay Ivey (AL), Mike Dunleavy (AK), Doug Ducey (AZ), Asa Hutchinson (AR), Brad Little (ID), Eric Holcomb (IN), Tate Reeves (MS), Mike Parson (MO), Greg Gianforte (MT), Pete Ricketts (NE), Doug Burgum (ND), Kevin Stitt (OK), Kristi Noem (SD), Bill Lee (TN), Greg Abbott (TX), Spencer Cox (UT).
