A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION, Calling on President Joe Biden and the United States Congress to prevent the enactment of energy policies that negatively impact the State of South Dakota.
WHEREAS, the United States should pursue a national energy strategy that prioritizes the immediate and future energy needs of its citizens; and
WHEREAS, fossil fuels provide reliable and affordable energy to hundreds of millions of Americans and will continue to play a critical role in meeting our future energy needs; and
WHEREAS, fossil fuels are essential to the well-being of South Dakotans, providing heat and air conditioning for our homes, powering our businesses, fueling our transportation, providing jobs, and feeding our families; and
WHEREAS, recent technological innovations have allowed the United States to become the leading producer of oil and gas in the world, and a net exporter of oil for the first time in decades, thereby significantly reducing our dependence on foreign energy; and
WHEREAS, energy security is essential to national security; and
WHEREAS, energy policies that prioritize unreliable, politically favored industries have led to higher energy prices and rolling blackouts in states like California; and
WHEREAS, recent extreme weather events in South Dakota and across the nation have highlighted the importance of a reliable electrical grid for the health and safety of Americans, and the need to further develop our domestic fossil fuel resources; and
WHEREAS, the Biden Administration has enacted policies that threaten energy security, including Executive Order 14008, which bans new oil and gas development on federal lands and waters, and Executive Order 13990, which cancels the Keystone XL Pipeline project; and
WHEREAS, these policies threaten to create energy bottlenecks, raise energy prices for all consumers, eliminate jobs, reduce the integrity and reliability of our electrical grid, and will make the United States more dependent on foreign energy:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the House of Representatives of the Ninety-Sixth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the Senate concurring therein, that the Legislature of the State of South Dakota herby urges President Joe Biden the and the United States Congress to pursue energy policies that ensure Americans have continued access to reliable and affordable energy, including fossil fuels; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Legislature urges President Joe Biden and Congress to stop enacting policies that prioritize unreliable, politically favored energy sources at the expense of fossil fuels; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Legislature urges President Joe Biden to revoke Executive Order 14008 and Executive Order 13990; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Legislature encourages President Joe Biden and Congress to promote the responsible development of our domestic fossil fuel resources, and to work with states and the private sector to develop energy policies based on consensus and cooperation.
Adopted by the House of Representatives, February 24, 2021
Concurred in by the Senate, March 3, 2021
_____________________ _____________________ Spencer Gosch Patricia Miller Speaker of the House Chief Clerk
_____________________ _____________________ Larry Rhoden Kay Johnson President of the Senate Secretary of the Senate