House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) released the following statement today after a federal judge ordered a halt to a Biden Administration decision to reduce the acreage of Lease Sale 261 and impose additional restrictions on operations as part of a back room deal with radical environment extremists:
“I applaud the Court for correctly deciding that the Biden Administration violated the law and circumvented Congress in their latest attempt to shut down energy exploration and production in the Gulf.
“In a back room deal with radical anti-American energy extremists, the Biden Administration not only put nearly 20 percent of our nation’s domestically-produced oil and gas at risk, but also acted illegally in disregarding federal law, failing to seek proper input from the public, and completely dismissing the significant impact this would have on funding for coastal restoration in Louisiana and other Gulf coast states.
“This decision is a victory for the rule of law and for American families and small businesses who are sick and tired of secret deals between this Administration and radical special interest groups determined to make America beholden to foreign countries for our energy.”
This ruling comes after Leader Scalise led a letter to federal agencies in August demanding information behind the agreement and questioning the legality of this decision.
The full text of the letter can be found here.