Press Releases

U.S. Congressman Garret Graves is leading legislation to confront the Biden Administration's most recent effort to restrict American energy production in the Gulf of Mexico – by pretending like it is a long-standing whale habitat. Graves’ bill, the “Requiring Integrity in Conservation Efforts (RICE) Act, advanced through the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee today.

Citing the need to protect critical habitat for the newly discovered Rice’s Whale, the Biden Administration has declared 11 million acres off-limits for energy development and production off the coast of Louisiana. However, much of the designated area is not Rice’s Whale habitat. Rather, this is an attempt to block American energy development through the inappropriate designation of whale habitat. The legislation will prohibit the Biden Administration from circumventing longstanding law and using the court system to regulate energy production across the entire Gulf of Mexico without any public notice, comment, or peer-reviewed science.

“The Biden Administration is constantly looking for more reasons to force Americans to rely on foreign energy. They have now teamed up with activists and lawyers in a coordinated effort to sidestep the rule of law and make up their own science. Our bill sends them back to the drawing board,” Graves said. “We introduced this legislation to ensure reliance on credible scientific evidence and to thwart this administration from applying this tactic again. This effort could ultimately impact everyone from south Louisiana’s ports to everyday anglers. Louisianians should only be concerned about too much rice when scooping another serving of gumbo or etouffee.”

“Legitimate whale habitat should be protected. Pretending that energy production areas are sensitive habitats solely to block energy production is just dishonest,” Graves said.
 

“The Biden administration has politicized well-intentioned laws and weaponized judicial remedies, bypassing rulemaking procedures in an attempt to shut off America’s energy sector in the Gulf of Mexico. To appease his anti-American energy allies and continue his war on American energy, President Biden broadly removed leasable acreage and made it impossible to produce offshore energy in the Gulf, leaving us more reliant on foreign energy. Representative Graves has been relentless in his efforts to undo these egregious stipulations, and H.R. 6008 will continue this work to ensure Biden follows the science and provides actual evidence for his environmental policies. It’s much-needed common sense that will unlock our resources and ensure access to some of the cleanest barrels of oil this world knows,” House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman said.