House Repub­li­cans pass ener­gy bills meant to pro­vide con­trast with Biden

The House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives vot­ed to approve two ener­gy bills Wednes­day, the first in a tranche of the of six ener­gy-focused bills the Repub­li­can-led cham­ber will bring for a vote this week as they seek to present vot­ers with an alter­na­tive to the Biden administration’s poli­cies, which they say restrict oil and gas pro­duc­tion and threat­en ener­gy secu­ri­ty.
Mem­bers vot­ed 229 to 118 to approve H.R. 1121, the Pro­tect­ing Amer­i­can Ener­gy Act.
That bill, intro­duced by Rep. Jeff Dun­can (R‑S.C.), would pro­hib­it a mora­to­ri­um of the use of hydraulic frack­ing.
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While run­ning for pres­i­dent in 2020, then-can­di­date Joe Biden vowed to ban all new drilling on fed­er­al lands—but in his first three years in office, he has sparked fierce crit­i­cism from envi­ron­men­tal groups for con­tin­u­ing to announce new lease sales, includ­ing allow­ing the mas­sive Cono­coPhillips’ Wil­low pro­jec …