Last week President Biden delivered remarks on his Administration’s actions to reduce the impact of energy prices and lower gas prices at the pump for American families. Chamber Cornerstone member the American Petroleum Institute responded, clarifying a number of points in POTUS’ remarks.

“Despite portrayals of producers stockpiling unused permits, a greater share of federal leases are producing natural gas and oil than any other time in the past two decades,” API said on Twitter. They also pointed out that, “With a record percentage of onshore federal leases producing oil and gas, the Administration is slowing the pace of drilling permit approvals. The monthly amount of permits approved by BLM for natural gas and oil wells in January plunged 85 percent compared to approvals in April 2020.”

Said API President and CEO Mike Sommers, “There are many factors behind rising energy costs, from geopolitical volatility and supply chain constraints to policy uncertainty, and the American people deserve real solutions. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was put in place to reduce the impact of significant supply chain disruptions, and while today’s release may provide some short-term relief, it is far from a long-term solution to the economic pain Americans are feeling at the pump.”

The NC Chamber shares the view that today’s problems require long-term solutions, not just short-term relief.