WASHINGTON—Yesterday, the Biden Administration issued final sale notices for new oil and gas leases, which include important reforms supported by Congresswoman Katie Porter that would protect taxpayers. Porter, Chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight, released the following statement.

“I applaud the Biden Administration for modernizing onshore royalty rates for new oil and gas leases, as I proposed in my Ending Taxpayer Welfare for Oil and Gas Companies Act last year. Our outdated royalty rate hadn’t been raised in over 100 years, which meant that taxpayers weren’t getting a fair return from fossil fuel companies that drill on our public lands.

“As families in Orange County and across the country feel the squeeze of high gas prices, I remain committed to conducting rigorous oversight of oil companies, which hoard thousands of unused federal drilling permits and millions of unused acres of federal land. I will stand up against attempts to use inflation as an excuse to price gouge consumers at the pump or to roll back environmental protections.”

Last year, Congresswoman Porter introduced the Ending Taxpayer Welfare for Oil and Gas Companies Act, which includes the same raised royalty rate that the Biden Administration is now implementing. In a hearing, she called out oil companies for pushing for more federal leases when they are already sitting on 13.9 million unused acres. She has helped introduce legislation that would provide relief to families facing high gas prices by taking aim at Big Oil’s record profits.

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