Alaska governor says Biden treats Venezuela better than his state: '2024 can't come soon enough'

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Alaska lawmakers urge Biden to approve oil project

Alaska State Sen. Donny Olson and State Rep. Josiah Patkotak on why they believe the oil project will benefit their state.

Alaska Republican Gov. Michael Dunleavy issued a scathing statement saying President Biden treats Venezuela better than his state after a leaked memo revealed the administration set the highest possible royalty fee for an oil and gas lease sale in Alaska because of "climate change," despite acknowledging a lower price would provide "greater energy security."

Dunleavy said "2024 can’t come soon enough" after the Biden administration faced backlash for the memo, including from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who accused it of pandering to environmental groups "at the expense of shoring up American energy security and keeping Americans safe."

"The war against AK & our people continues," Dunleavy tweeted late Friday. "The Biden administration won’t stop until it destroys the resource development that underpins revenue for our state."

"Venezuela gets better treatment by the administration than AK does," he added. "2024 can’t come soon enough."

Michael Dunleavy, governor of Alaska, speaks during an event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. on Thursday, July 16, 2020. (Getty Images)

Michael Dunleavy, governor of Alaska, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, U.S., on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (Tristan Wheelock/Bloomberg via Getty)

BIDEN ADMIN MAKES STUNNING ADMISSION ON CLIMATE AGENDA IN LEAKED INTERNAL MEMO

Former Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Amanda Lefton recommended late last year that, as part of its climate agenda, the Department of the Interior (DOI) move forward with higher royalty fees for an oil and gas lease sale spanning 958,202 acres in the Cook Inlet off the coast of Alaska, according to the memo obtained by Fox News Digital. DOI Assistant Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis ultimately signed off on the recommendation.

"If a Cook Inlet prospect would be developed, there would be additional government revenues and greater energy security for the State of Alaska, especially if development of natural gas resources in the Cook Inlet ameliorated the long-term supply challenges facing the Anchorage area," Lefton wrote in the memo. 

"Nevertheless, because of the serious challenges facing the Nation from climate change and the impact of [greenhouse gasses] from fossil fuels, BOEM is not recommending this option since it would not include an appropriate surcharge to account for those impacts," she continued.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the Homeland Security Department's 20th Anniversary ceremony in Washington, U.S., March 1, 2023.  (REUTERS/Leah Millis)

Lefton's specifically recommended the federal government charge drillers with a royalty fee of 18.75% as opposed to an alternative of 16.67% which she said would attract more bids and "be more likely to facilitate expeditious and orderly development of [offshore] resources." 

Daniel-Davis stated in her record of decision — published in November after she signed off on Lefton's recommendation — that she selected a fee of 18.75% "because this rate constitutes the most reasonable balancing of environmental and economic factors for the American public." She didn't mention the alternative would produce greater energy security as highlighted in the memo.

REPUBLICANS UNVEIL EFFORT TO BOOST ENERGY PRODUCTION, FAST-TRACK PERMITTING PROCESS

BOEM ultimately held the auction, known as Lease Sale 258, on Dec. 30. The sale garnered just one bid worth $63,983 for a single 2,304-acre tract, according to federal records. 

In May, the White House canceled Lease Sale 258, which had been proposed under the Trump administration, in an unexpected decision that was promptly criticized by the fossil fuel industry and Republican lawmakers. However, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) mandated that the administration reverse the decision and hold the sale by the end of 2022.

"The Department of the Interior mistakenly posted an internal memo making recommendations to Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, Laura Daniel Davis, on the Cook Inlet Oil and Gas Lease Sale 258 mandated by the Inflation Reduction Act," Manchin, who helped author the IRA, said in a statement Friday.

Sen. Joe Manchin speaks during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 17, 2023. (Screenshot/World Economic Forum)

"I am appalled by its contents, which make crystal clear that this administration is literally putting their radical climate agenda ahead of the needs of the people of Alaska and the United States," he continued.

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"The contents of this memo speak volumes - if this is what this Administration truly believes and is how they are going to make decisions, it is unacceptable," the West Virginia senator continued. "It’s a clear and intentional threat to energy security and the all-of-the above energy policy Congress has consistently reinforced."

"I will not support anyone who agrees with this type of misguided reasoning."

The White House didn't immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment on Dunleavy's tweet.