Arrington: Military should focus on mission objectives, not emissions

From day one, the Biden Administration has launched a whole-of-government assault on American oil and gas producers, the lifeblood of our economy and cornerstone of our national security. This unilateral attack has spiked prices at the pump and increased our reliance on foreign oil, undermining both our economic recovery and energy independence.

President Biden cancelled the Keystone XL Pipeline, halting 830,000 barrels per day of oil from Canada to U.S. refineries. His Bureau of Land Management has sat on over 4,800 pending applications for permits to drill. Biden has depleted our Strategic Petroleum Reserve by nearly half, while negotiating with Venezuela and Saudi Arabia for their oil. And his Administration continues to propose devastating anti-energy regulations drying up investments in pipeline infrastructure, gas terminals, and more.

One such regulation came out of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Council, comprised of the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and NASA. Last November, the FAR Council proposed an environmental rule requiring government contractors to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risk as well as set targets for reducing their emissions.

This proposed rule aims to steer businesses away from affordable and reliable energy to more expensive intermittent sources. If finalized, this rule would impose a costly and burdensome regulation on American small businesses and create higher prices for taxpayers. The rule severely limits the ability of the Department of Defense to procure gasoline, jet fuel, and other conventional fuels critical for operating military warcraft. Most importantly, the rule would distract from the government’s core mission of protecting Americans by placing perverse incentives on contractors that would diminish their focus from providing the best quality products for the safety and success of our troops.

By placating climate extremists, the Biden Administration is threatening our military readiness and jeopardizing our national security.

To ensure our military is focused on fighting our adversaries – not fending off climate activists – I introduced H.R. 3358, the Mission Not Emissions Act, to prohibit the Biden Administration’s climate rule from going into effect. My legislation allows American businesses to focus on providing the most cost-effective products and services without worrying about being caught in the crosshairs of an adversarial Administration waging war on American energy.

In July, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with my Missions Not Emissions legislation included in the package. I am proud of our efforts to refocus the military away from woke indoctrination to war fighting by reversing Biden’s extreme climate policies at the Pentagon. The mission of the military should be to fight and win wars, not advance the Left’s environmental agenda at the expense of our soldiers’ safety and our nation’s security.

I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure America's fighting force remains the best in the world and our nation remains safe, strong, and free.

Rep. Arrington is chairman of the House Budget Committee and Representative for the 19^th Congressional District of Texas.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Arrington: Military should focus on objectives, not emissions