In yet another great self-owning moment by the Biden administration, the Department of the Interior made a boo-boo and accidentally released an internal memo that said the quiet part out loud.

Remember how the administration blocked the sale of new oil drilling leases, even as gas prices have soared and have never returned to January 2021 levels? When the administration first canceled the sale, even though they were legally obligated to hold it, the Department of the Interior claimed that there “wasn’t enough interest” in the targeted area where the leases would be sold, Alaska’s Cook Inlet. Eventually, they did have to hold the sale for Cook Inlet, known as Lease Sale 258, through a proviso in the Inflation Reduction Act, and got one bid. I wonder if the Biden administration’s attitude toward domestic oil production and Joe Biden’s own continued lies about those who have bought leases have anything to do with the reduced interest? And yes, Biden was telling lies when he claimed that 9,000 oil permits were going unused.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) revised the current number of approved applications for permits to drill (APD) — which oil and gas companies are required to file once they identify a deposit on a lease that can be tapped — down from an estimated 9,000 to less than 6,700. The BLM, a subagency of the Department of the Interior (DOI), blamed the revision on a Trump-era technical change that it hadn’t properly accounted for.”

“As of February 2023, companies have over 6,600 approved and unused drilling permits available on federal lands,” the BLM said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “This number has been updated to account for a reporting discrepancy resulting from a transition to a new database in mid-2020.”

The change suggests that President Joe Biden and administration officials had overstated the extent to which oil and gas companies have neglected producing on approved permits amid the global energy crisis last year.”

Even PolitiFact had to do a complete overhaul to their previous “rating,” though they won’t change their “mostly true” rating because “it was mostly true by the available data when we wrote it.” Nice try, but no. Team Biden has been lying about the number of permits available.

And now, the Department of the Interior has admitted – albeit accidentally – what is really at play here. “Climate change” ideology über alles! Even if it means sacrificing actual energy security for Alaska (via Cook Inlet) and the United States. And that means hiking the fees on those oil leases to discourage companies from bidding.

Former Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Amanda Lefton recommended late last year that, as part of its climate agenda, the Department of the Interior (DOI) move forward with higher royalty fees for an oil and gas lease sale spanning 958,202 acres in the Cook Inlet off the coast of Alaska, according to the memo obtained by Fox News Digital. DOI Assistant Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis ultimately signed off on the recommendation.”

“If a Cook Inlet prospect would be developed, there would be additional government revenues and greater energy security for the State of Alaska, especially if development of natural gas resources in the Cook Inlet ameliorated the long-term supply challenges facing the Anchorage area,” Lefton wrote in the memo.”

“Nevertheless, because of the serious challenges facing the Nation from climate change and the impact of [greenhouse gasses] from fossil fuels, BOEM is not recommending this option since it would not include an appropriate surcharge to account for those impacts,” she continued.”

Lefton’s specifically recommended the federal government charge drillers with a royalty fee of 18.75% as opposed to an alternative of 16.67% which she said would attract more bids and “be more likely to facilitate expeditious and orderly development of [offshore] resources.”

Daniel-Davis stated in her record of decision — published in November after she signed off on Lefton’s recommendation — that she selected a fee of 18.75% “because this rate constitutes the most reasonable balancing of environmental and economic factors for the American public.” She didn’t mention the alternative would produce greater energy security as highlighted in the memo.”

BOEM ultimately held the auction, known as Lease Sale 258, on Dec. 30. The sale garnered just one bid worth $63,983 for a single 2,304-acre tract, according to federal records.”

The person who is the most upset about this is apparently Senator Joe Manchin. Remember, Manchin put his political neck on the line for the Inflation Reduction Act, which has not played well in his home state of West Virginia. He justified his support for the IRA with this rationale:

“In addition to fighting inflation, we must stop pretending that there is only one way to combat global climate change or achieve American energy independence. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 addresses our nation’s energy and climate crisis by adopting commonsense solutions through strategic and historic investments that allow us to decarbonize while ensuring American energy is affordable, reliable, clean and secure. The need to balance all of these critical energy priorities is no longer open to debate given the energy threats we face.”

“I support a plan that will advance a realistic energy and climate policy that lowers prices today and strategically invests in the long game. As the super power of the world, it is vital we not undermine our super power status by removing dependable and affordable fossil fuel energy before new technologies are ready to reliably carry the load. This legislation ensures that the market will take the lead, rather than aspirational political agendas or unrealistic goals, in the energy transition that has been ongoing in our country. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 invests in the technologies needed for all fuel types – from hydrogen, nuclear, renewables, fossil fuels and energy storage – to be produced and used in the cleanest way possible. It is truly all of the above, which means this bill does not arbitrarily shut off our abundant fossil fuels. It invests heavily in technologies to help us reduce our domestic methane and carbon emissions and also helps decarbonize around the world as we displace dirtier products.”

“Let me make it clear, I will not vote to support policies that make the United States more dependent on foreign energy and supply chains or risk moving the country closer to the unstable and vulnerable European model of energy we are witnessing today. Most importantly, I am heartened by the bipartisan recognition that for America to achieve our energy and climate goals, it is critical we reform the broken permitting process. President Biden, Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi have committed to advancing a suite of commonsense permitting reforms this fall that will ensure all energy infrastructure, from transmission to pipelines and export facilities, can be efficiently and responsibly built to deliver energy safely around the country and to our allies.”

He is in some serious political jeopardy, and he knows it. This news – which basically shows that the Biden administration bureaucracy was undermining the intent of what he fought to get into the IRA (which climate change groups complained were “poison pills” in the bill) – did not make him happy.

“The Department of the Interior mistakenly posted an internal memo making recommendations to Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, Laura Daniel Davis, on the Cook Inlet Oil and Gas Lease Sale 258 mandated by the Inflation Reduction Act,” Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who helped author the IRA, said in a statement Friday.”

“I am appalled by its contents, which make crystal clear that this administration is literally putting their radical climate agenda ahead of the needs of the people of Alaska and the United States,” he continued.”

Manchin blasted the administration for ignoring Congress’ intent and seemingly pandering to environmental groups “at the expense of shoring up American energy security and keeping Americans safe.”

“The contents of this memo speak volumes – if this is what this Administration truly believes and is how they are going to make decisions, it is unacceptable,” the West Virginia senator continued. “It’s a clear and intentional threat to energy security and the all-of-the above energy policy Congress has consistently reinforced.”

“I will not support anyone who agrees with this type of misguided reasoning.”

Well, Joe, you made your bed, you get to lie in it now. You also have to appreciate that it is only through the sheer incompetence of this Biden administration that we are finding out just how desperate they are to go green. This administration will suck up to Saudi Arabia and schmooze with Venezuela for oil, but God forbid we ACKSHUALLY drill and find oil and natural gas ON OUR OWN LAND. This is NIMBYism of the highest order, in an attempt to pander to climate change activists within and without the administration, all to try and keep American hands “clean.” We will PAY for our oil indulgences, thank you very much! Can’t get our hands dirty!

The Biden administration is just run by the best people. Top. Men.

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