WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — On Friday, July 12, Texas Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill that would counter President Joe Biden's rule on oil and gas production, according to a press release on Cruz's website.
The bill seeks to reverse a decision issued by the Fish & Wildlife Service to list the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species.
"In Texas, this final rule will undermine the utilization of land for oil and gas production in the Permian Basin and increase energy costs for American consumers," the press release stated.
When Senator Cruz introduced the bill, below is what he said:
“The Biden administration has used the federal government to suppress American energy production at the exact time when the country and indeed the world needs access to affordable American energy. This disastrous rule threatens American jobs and undermines the production of energy in the Permian Basin. I call on the Senate to expeditiously take up and pass my legislation to reverse it.” - Ted Cruz, Texas Senator
Representative August Pfluger has already introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives that is very similar to what Senator Cruz introduced on Friday.
“Listing the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species is another effort by the Biden Administration to shut down drilling in the Permian Basin," Pfluger said in the press release. "Our Congressional Review Act is President Biden's attempt to use a lizard as a weapon against the oil & gas industry. We will not allow the President to take control of private property and kill energy jobs in the Permian Basin.”
When introducing the legislation, Senator Cruz was joined by Texas Senator John Cornyn, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis and Utah Senator Mike Lee.
On July 1, a press release stated that the Railroad Commission of Texas commissioners voted unanimously in an open meeting requesting the Texas Attorney General's office to challenge the ruling on listing the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered.
