WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, issued the following statement slamming the Department of the Interior’s final rule to revise the Bureau of Land Management’s oil and gas leasing regulations. This rule imposes higher fees and royalties, dramatically raises bonding requirements, and severely limits the number of parcels offered at lease sales.

“As a candidate, Joe Biden recklessly threatened to end oil and natural gas production on federal lands. As president, he is doing all he can to make it economically impossible to produce energy on federal lands. The Bureau’s latest regulation imposes costs that go even beyond those mandated by the Democrats’ irresponsible Inflation Act. Less oil and natural gas from federal lands means fewer jobs for Americans and, almost certainly, more money to the Middle East, Venezuela, Russia, and Iran,” said Senator Barrasso.