Machine Parts

President Obama told listeners during his weekly address that American energy is booming under his Administration. The reality is, however, that the private sector delivered the economic benefits America is enjoying from energy production—and the Administration’s policies are stunting that growth. The President highlighted that domestic oil production surpassed imports for the first time since 1995; that we’re producing more energy from wind, solar, and other renewables; and that government efficiency programs are putting people to work and saving American families money. But much of the growth we’ve seen in oil and natural gas production as a result of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are occurring on private lands—out of the Administration’s excessive and onerous regulatory reach. The Bakken, Marcellus, Niobrara, Eagle Ford, Permian, and Haynesville shale formations, which lie primarily on private and state-owned lands, accounted for 90 pe...