#ObamaOnEmpty: Gas Prices Up, Federal Energy Production Down

Nearly one-third of the nation’s drivers now fork out $4 or more for a gallon of gasoline, reports USA Today. The bad news has President Obama in full crisis-control mode, scrambling to deflect attention from his record of blocking energy production and promoting tax hikes that would drive prices higher.

Unfortunately for the president, new evidence from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows the Obama administrations anti-energy policies have led to a clear decrease in production on federal land. According to the House Natural Resources Committee, the data shows:

• [T]otal fossil fuel production (oil, natural gas and coal) dropped by 7 percent since President Obama took office and is down 13 percent since 2003.

• From 2010 to 2011, total federal oil and natural gas production is down 14 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

The EIA report undercuts the president’s all of the above rhetoric and his attempts to take credit for increased production on state and private lands (where the White House has limited control). As Charles Krauthammer writes, any current increase in production is the result of Clinton- and Bush-era permitting, and these increases have occurred in spite of [President Obamas] restrictive policies.

Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA) said, If President Obama is truly interested in an all-of-the-above energy plan, he should abandon his policies that are strangling American energy production and embrace the bipartisan energy legislation passed by the Republican-led House. The GOP all of the above approach removes government barriers to all forms of American energy production, stops policies that drive up gas prices, and would help create new jobs.

You can learn more at jobs.GOP.gov or by visiting the American Energy Initiative on Facebook.