Nick Pope
Contributor
Forty-five GOP lawmakers are demanding answers from the Department of Energy (DOE) after a government watchdog group accused the agency of covering up a key study that would have interfered with one of the Biden-Harris administration’s most aggressive crackdowns on fossil fuels.
The lawmakers wrote to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Thursday to address a watchdog’s allegations that her agency conducted or drafted — and then quietly buried — a study on the emissions impacts of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports in 2023 before pausing approvals for certain LNG export terminals in January on the grounds that the agency needed to conduct such a review. Government Accountability and Oversight (GAO), the watchdog making the allegations, is suing the agency under public records law to obtain the thousands of pages DOE concedes may fit GAO’s specific request searching for the 2023 study that the agency allegedly buried because it was producing politically inconvenient conclusions, as first reported by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s attempt to conceal its findings on liquefied natural gas impacts is troubling. Despite evidence that U.S. LNG benefits both the economy and global energy security, the Department of Energy has imposed an indefinite ban on LNG exports to non-free trade agreement countries without legal justification,” Republican Texas Rep. August Pfluger, who led the letter, said in a statement shared with the DCNF. “The lack of transparency from DOE on existing studies, as well as the motivation behind the ongoing study, is unacceptable. The American people deserve accountability on the decision-making process surrounding our energy future.” (RELATED: Qatar Expanding Natural Gas Export Capacity After Biden Admin Paused New Hub Approvals)
DOE Letter re: LNG studies, GAO accusations by Nick Pope on Scribd
If GAO’s allegations are ultimately substantiated, the Biden-Harris administration effectively misled the public in an election year to set up a policy that hurts American geopolitical interests and disincentivizes investment in major energy projects. However, the deep-pocketed environmentalist lobby aligning with Democrats in the 2024 election cycle celebrated the policy.
The lawmakers’ letter specifically asks Granholm to clarify whether the agency conducted any analysis of LNG exports’ emissions impacts before the Jan. 26 announcement of the freeze on approvals for LNG export terminals seeking to ship gas to non-free trade agreement (FTA) countries. The legislators also asked Granholm to detail whether top DOE officials or White House personnel ever received updates about such an analysis, even if preliminary, in the first ten months of 2023, as well as whether the agency still intends to publish its findings in January 2025.
“DOE is in receipt of this letter and is reviewing it,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement shared with the DCNF. “DOE’s process to update the analyses that informs its review of applications to authorize exports of US natural gas to non-free trade agreement countries is well underway. When the updated analyses are ready, we will publish them for the public to review and provide comment.”
The lawmakers gave Granholm until Nov. 8 to respond to their inquiry. Republican Reps. Darrell Issa of California, Dan Crenshaw of Texas, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Lance Gooden of Texas and Buddy Carter of Georgia joined Pfluger as signatories, among others.
Notably, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee sent its own letter to Granholm on Wednesday demanding answers about the same exact issue.
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Won’t it be great when the implementation of crypto allows the people to see where their money actually goes?
Well we know where the money goes. In to the hands of the virtue signaling elite leftist hypocrites. Getting the brainwashed UI voters to see this is the challenge.
House oversight and accountability? When was the last time any of the democrats ( or RINOs) or agency heads were held accountable for any of their malfeasance, treason, insider trading and the list goes on and on. And if DT does win , these criminals have already laid their diabolical trap in the form of popping the economic bubble we are currently in.
100’s of billions of dollars annually to colleges, researchers and millions of recipients swamps the ability of the ability to stop the leviathan. Not to mention $1.6T a year in welfare+. I do not buy the tipping point hypothesis but we are past it if it exists for reigning in the federal govt. DJT did nothing on the budget last round. Republicans acquiesce on the budget for their beloved military spending. Thelma and Louise a headed for a cliff.
Correction to the headline:
In a Stunning and Surprising Move, GOP Members Arrange for Mock Hearings to Excoriate Biden Regime Flunkys in a Last Ditch Effort to Pander to Underclass to Get Re-Elected’
Add to the contents of the article:
Anonymous sources inside the GOP caucus told reporters ‘We don’t really go on the record as doing anything, we just want to let our constituency know that we care….um, about the elections.’
If GAO’s allegations are ultimately substantiated
The Republicans in Congress will write a strongly-worded letter and make some angry tweets.
Here’s a bit of recent color on the sanctions ====>
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russias-Arctic-LNG-2-Project-Put-on-Ice-With-No-Restart-Plans.html
No surprise at all here about the near-certainty of a coverup occurring under Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
Just look at her personally-approved, official government bio (at https://www.energy.gov/person/jennifer-m-granholm ): after the introductory sentence stating when she was sworn into her bureaucratic position as Secretary of Energy—with ZERO previous practical experience related to energy development or management, either fossil fuel based or renewable energy based—she has this as her next sentence:
“Secretary Granholm is leading DOE’s work to advance the cutting-edge clean energy technologies that will help America achieve President Biden’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 while creating millions of good-paying union clean energy jobs and building an equitable economy.”
With buzz phrases such as “leading DOE’s work to advance”, “cutting edge”, “clean energy”, “net-zero carbon emissions”, “millions of good-paying union clean energy jobs”, and “equitable economy”. All in a single sentence . . . GOOD GRIEF!
Have we yet seen those “millions of good-paying union clean energy jobs”? . . . don’t think so.
Have we yet seen a definition of what an “equitable economy” is? . . . don’t think so.
But Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are quite fine with this state of affairs.
It sums up her equitable belief very nicely: Every harebrain can “work to advance the cutting-edge clean energy technologies that will help America achieve President Biden’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 while creating millions of good-paying union clean energy jobs and building an equitable economy.”
Granholm as governor was able to push through renewable energy requirement percentage time lines.
The weak kneed republicans have never attempted to remove them.
One party shoves the knife in the other refuses to call a doctor.
Why are people so surprised when democrats say one thing but do another?
Their agenda is well known. If you follow their actions you can tell what they are up to.
They want to ban natural gas usage.
This depraved government “knew” that by blowing up Russia’s under sea gas pipe to Germany that they would “cripple” Russia’s ability to prosecute a war (it didn’t).
This same State Department “knew” that if Israel targeted Iran’s ability to move hydrocarbons that it would bring great harm to the US State Department’s favorite child’s ability to export terrorism.
They also know that throwing up impediments to the transfer of coal and oil to other countries that it would undermine the seller and buyer’s own GNP and ability to produce.
So why would they do all of these well known crippling “sanctions” to the hydrocarbon industry of We The People and other Western nations – Are they expecting prosperity and human flourishing or more of the same – economic destruction and penury?
I think Trump is going to win.
I dread what the lame ducks Dems will try to pull before the inauguration.
Our government is in bad shape, it is far far too big, it is far far too powerful, it is far far to secretive, it is dishonest and it needs to be cut drastically.
I don’t like political lawfare but in one respect it’s entirely deserved against Santos-
Landmark court case sees activist group sue gas giant Santos for allegedly misleading investors
To be a fossil fuel extractor and declare you’re going to try and achieve net-zero by whenever is patently ludicrous. As ludicrous as any investor actually taking such aims seriously and arguing in Court that any Santos investor is that stupid and deserves compensating for said stupidity.
Biden campaign promise, “This will be the most transparent administration in US history.””
So the vile political party that supported slavery, the Civil War, and Jim Crow laws hides crucial information beneficial to the whole of civilization, who’d of thunk?
From their political trajectory, it appears the democrats want to make most of the citizenry slaves. At least they are consistent – consistently evil.