‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Is More Than a Rallying Cry

• Check out TEA’s new website for the latest in energy news and opinion — sorting out Common Sense from the Nonsense.
• TEA column: ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ is a great idea. Let’s codify it into law.
• Developer chosen for Alaska LNG project.
• Lawmakers push EV tax in highway bill talks.
• These nuclear companies are leading the race to build small reactors.
• Elon Musk makes parties flip scripts on Tesla, EVs.
• Trump orders GOP donor’s oil company to leave Venezuela.
• Zeldin closing EPA museum to save taxpayer dollars.
• Policies, not price gouging, to blame for Calif. soaring gas prices.
• Pa. coal plant replaced by natural gas-powered data center.
• Alaska Gov. Dunleavy pushing for Asia LNG deal.
• Natural gas immune to tariff sell-off, for now.

The issue: This editorial from a Massachusetts newspaper makes so much sense: A proposed natural gas pipeline is receiving a more favorable reception among Democratic leaders.

Why it matters: Why are they suddenly changing their tune after years of staunch opposition? Because the proposed Constitution Pipeline would instantly relieve pressure on consumers in the Northeast, who are paying 40% more than the national average for electricity, according to federal data.

Bowing to increased pressure from constituents fed up with higher utility bills, and worried that renewable energy — often touted as a cheaper and greener alternative — hasn’t materialized fast enough, some of the region’s Democratic governors appear willing to hear President Trump out on the project.

Consider:

• The Marcellus Shale is one of the largest and lowest cost natural gas fields in the world. It spreads across parts of Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland and Virginia. It is the largest shale-sourced natural gas-producing formation in the country, and could supply U.S. consumers’ energy needs for hundreds of years.
• In New York, where regulators played a key role in initially killing the pipeline, Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke with Trump this month at the White House about the possibility of reviving it.
• In Connecticut, which has aggressive goals for moving its power grid off hydrocarbons, Gov. Ned Lamont recently met with senior Trump administration officials about bringing more gas into the state.

These notable shifts in attitude coincide with Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s call for expediting the permitting process for the 124-mile pipeline from the natural-gas rich Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania to a hub of smaller pipelines near Albany, N.Y.

That’s why TEA’s mantra of “Build, Baby, Build” is so important. Natural gas will power the next generation of American innovation, but it’s going to require investment in new energy infrastructure like pipelines and LNG terminals to make it happen faster.

The Northeast obviously would be a great place to begin. We encourage those elected officials to put their partisan ideology aside and do what’s right for families and business owners.

Bottom line: New Englanders are a victim of their political leaders, whose anti-fossil fuel policies have driven up electricity rates for years. The common sense solution is to build a pipeline and bring in low-cost natural gas to the region.

The issue: This story falsely suggests that President Trump is sabotaging his “Drill, Baby, Drill” agenda. In fact, nothing is further from the truth. The anonymous industry execs who are saying this are flat-out wrong.

Why it matters: Trump is undoing the damage that his predecessor Joe Biden caused in the last four years, including the LNG export pause, an EV mandate, a natural gas tax, stopping lease sales, etc. The story points out: “No matter the technology, when the government picks energy winners, consumers lose.”

How ironic since TEA has said that for the past four years. Where was this criticism when President Biden was doing everything in his power to put domestic oil and gas out of business?

We strongly disagree that “‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ is nothing short of a myth and a populist rallying cry,” as one respondent to their survey suggested. It is a reality.

Consider: The president’s actions killing the EV mandate, opening up oil and gas leases and repealing the oppressive natural gas tax are reasons for optimism for consumers and energy producers alike.

• It’s also worth noting that the administration is clawing back taxpayer money that Biden was giving away like candy to their preferred environmental groups.
  • The Department of Energy canceled two climate grants awarded to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a left-wing climate think tank that has pushed for heavy restrictions on gas stoves and that has collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party government.
  • Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin said that federal authorities are looking into an ‘insane’ scrapped $2 billion grant to a group linked to Stacey Abrams, the two-time Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia.
  • The EPA canceled $20 billion in greenhouse gas reduction fund grants that were transferred to a “green bank.”

Trump’s swift and aggressive actions have resulted in short-term uncertainty in the market. But we are confident that it will stabilize once Biden’s failed agenda is fully eliminated.

Bottom line: Anonymous sources throwing cold water on the drill, baby, drill agenda should be disregarded. In less than 100 days, Trump’s team has kept their promise to roll back Biden’s green agenda and create a better environment for American producers. The best is yet to come!

Hearing On AI Technology: On Wednesday, April 9, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will have a hearing on “Converting Energy into Intelligence: the Future of AI Technology, Human Discovery, and American Global Competitiveness.”

“There was a mandate from the voters to unleash American energy. President Trump’s decision to drill and sell American oil and natural gas will have a ripple effect—the price of goods, services, and food will drop for consumers across the country.”

—Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on X.