Protecting Jobs, Economic Opportunities, and National Security for All Americans by Ensuring Appropriate Support of Innovative Technologies for Using Our Domestic Natural Resources
| Citation | 85 FR 70039 |
| Record Number | 2020-24601 |
| Published date | 04 November 2020 |
| Section | Presidential Documents |
| Court | Executive Office Of The President |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 214 (Wednesday, November 4, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 214 (Wednesday, November 4, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 70039-70042]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24601] Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 214 / Wednesday, November 4, 2020 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 70039]]
Memorandum of October 31, 2020
Protecting Jobs, Economic Opportunities, and
National Security for All Americans by Ensuring
Appropriate Support of Innovative Technologies for
Using Our Domestic Natural Resources
Memorandum for the Secretary of State[,] the Secretary
of the Treasury[,] the Secretary of Defense[,] the
Attorney General[,] the Secretary of the Interior[,]
the Secretary of Agriculture[,] the Secretary of
Commerce[,] the Secretary of Labor[,] the Secretary of
Transportation[,] the Secretary of Energy[,] the United
States Trade Representative[,] the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency[,] the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget[,] the Assistant to the
President for National Security Affairs[,] the
Assistant to the President for Economic Policy[,] the
Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers[,] the
Director of the Office of Science and Technology
Policy[,] the Chairman of the Council on Environmental
Quality[, and] the Administrator of the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, I hereby direct the following:
Section 1. Purpose. This memorandum sets forth policies
related to protecting American jobs, economic
opportunities, and national security by ensuring
appropriate support of hydraulic fracturing and other
innovative technologies for the use of domestic natural
resources, including energy resources. In support of
these policies, this memorandum directs certain
officials to assess the potential effects of efforts to
ban or restrict the use of such technologies.
Sec. 2. Background. Our country has been favored with
abundant land, wildlife, and natural resources.
Americans have rightly seen this abundance as both an
opportunity and a responsibility. Our blessings have
rightly been a great source of national pride and
gratitude. As we enjoy these bounties, we are also
bound by a responsibility of stewardship to use,
protect, and preserve them for future generations.
Among the greatest of our blessings are our energy
resources, which all too often we take for granted. Our
Nation has untold potential to deliver energy to
provide us with the necessities--light, heat, cold,
food, and water, to say nothing of modern
telecommunications--for our daily lives at home and at
work, and our travel from place to place. Reliable,
affordable energy is essential for running our homes,
businesses, farms, factories, health care facilities,
and schools, and is critical to every sector of our
economy, including our energy-intensive and trade-
exposed industries. Access to dependable, inexpensive
sources of energy is a cornerstone of our well-being,
of our economic strength and global competitiveness,
and of our national security.
One of the great success stories of our time has been
the development of hydraulic fracturing (often known as
``fracking'') and other technologies to facilitate the
extraction of natural resources from the earth.
Hydraulic fracturing is a process that provides access
to reservoirs of natural gas and petroleum by opening
rocks deep underground. When coupled with horizontal
drilling and other new technologies, fracking has
opened up new sources of inexpensive, reliable,
abundant energy for our country. It has also produced
jobs and economic opportunities for many Americans.
[[Page 70040]]
In a report issued in October 2019, the Council of
Economic Advisers (CEA) estimated that by lowering
energy prices, the use of fracking and other
innovations had saved United States consumers $203
billion per year, or $2,500 in annual savings for a
family of four. These savings disproportionately
benefit low-income households, which spend a larger
share of their income on energy bills, representing 6.8
percent of income for the poorest fifth of households
compared to 1.3 percent for the richest fifth of
households. The CEA estimated that greater productivity
had reduced the domestic price of natural gas by 63
percent as of 2018; had led to a 45 percent decrease in
the wholesale price of electricity; and had reduced the
global price of oil by 10 percent as of 2019.
The transformation wrought by technologies such as
fracking is not only the result of America's natural
abundance and Americans' capacity for scientific
discovery and practical invention. It is also a
testament to our Nation's greatest resource: our
hardworking men and women. Energy workers have
dedicated their lives to an industry that is essential
to the modern world, and their labors have demonstrated
their talent, perseverance, and courage. Even in the
midst of this unprecedented pandemic, essential energy
workers have continued to ensure that our Nation has
the energy that it needs to survive and to flourish. We
owe these workers our gratitude. We also owe them
appropriate respect and support for their careers,
their livelihoods, and their families.
It should be emphasized that technologies such as
fracking--when used lawfully and responsibly, with
appropriate attention to environmental, health, and
safety protections--are vital not just to our domestic
prosperity but also to our national security. Shortly
after I entered office, I issued Executive Order 13783
of March 28, 2017 (Promoting Energy Independence and
Economic Growth), which directed an immediate review of
all agency actions that potentially burdened the
development or use of domestic energy resources. That
order also rescinded certain actions of the previous
Administration that, in my judgment, were not
consistent with the national interest and the Nation's
geopolitical security. As a result of new technologies
and my Administration's continued push for energy
independence, our country recently became a net energy
exporter for the first time since 1952, as well as the
leading producer of oil and natural gas in the world.
We are no longer beholden to foreign countries upon
which we had depended for decades for the survival of
our way of life. This achievement is a great
accomplishment for our country, which should not be
taken for granted.
Now that we have achieved a dominant position in energy
production, powerful voices in the United States,
echoed by countries such as China and Russia, are
clamoring for policies that would undermine that
position, forgetting the very real costs and risks of
energy dependence. Some of these voices call for using
legislative or regulatory mechanisms to ban, or sharply
restrict, the use of fracking and other technologies.
In my view, such proposals are not responsible and
would be harmful to the economic and national security
of the United States.
Sec. 3. Policy. It is the policy of the Federal
Government to aggressively protect and enhance American
jobs, economic opportunities, and national security for
all Americans by ensuring appropriate support of
innovative technologies for using our domestic natural
resources more efficiently and responsibly, including
environmental protection and restoration technologies.
Before taking actions that may jeopardize such
innovation, responsible officials should carefully
consider the impacts on American citizens.
Sec. 4. Assessing the Domestic and Economic Impacts of
Undermining Hydraulic Fracturing and Other
Technologies. (a) Within 70 days of the date of this
memorandum, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation
with the United States Trade Representative, shall
submit a report to the President, through the Assistant
to the President for Economic Policy (who shall act in
coordination with the Assistant to the President for
National Security Affairs), assessing:
[[Page 70041]]
(i) the economic impacts of prohibiting, or sharply restricting, the use of
hydraulic fracturing and other technologies, including the following:
(A) any loss of jobs, wages, benefits, and other economic opportunities
by Americans who work in or are indirectly benefited by the energy industry
and other industries (including mining for sand and other minerals);
(B) any increases in energy prices (including the prices of gasoline,
electricity, heating, and air conditioning) for Americans (including senior
citizens and other persons on fixed incomes) and businesses;
(C) any decreases in property values and in the royalties and other
revenues that are currently available to private property owners; and
(D) any decreases in tax revenues, impact fees, royalties, and other
revenues currently available to the Federal Government, to State and local
governments, and to civic institutions (including public schools, trade and
vocational schools, community colleges, and other educational and training
institutions; hospitals; and medical clinics);
(ii) the trade impacts of prohibiting, or sharply restricting, the use of
hydraulic fracturing and other technologies, including impacts on United
States exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other energy products, as
well as exports of other commodities that may be affected by increases in
transportation costs; and
(iii) such other domestic or economic impacts as the Secretary of Energy
deems appropriate.
(b) In preparing the report described in subsection
(a) of this section, the Secretary of Energy and the
United States Trade Representative shall consult with
the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of the
Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary
of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of
Transportation, the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Chairman of CEA, the Chairman of
the Council on Environmental Quality, and such other
officials as the Secretary of Energy and the United
States Trade Representative deem appropriate.
Sec. 5. Assessing the National Security Impacts of
Undermining Hydraulic Fracturing and Other
Technologies. Within 70 days of the date of this
memorandum, the Secretary of Energy shall submit a
report to the President, through the Assistant to the
President for National Security Affairs (who shall act
in coordination with the Assistant to the President for
Economic Policy), assessing the national security
impacts of prohibiting, or sharply restricting, the use
of hydraulic fracturing and other technologies. This
report shall include an assessment of potential impacts
on Russian and Chinese energy production, consumption,
and trade activities, and on the energy security of
United States allies, that may be attributable to
changes in United States exports of LNG and other
energy products. In preparing this report, the
Secretary of Energy shall consult with the Secretary of
State, the Secretary of Defense, the United States
Trade Representative, and such other officials as the
Secretary of Energy deems appropriate. This report may
be combined, as appropriate, with the report required
by section 4 of this memorandum, in which case the
combined report shall be submitted to the President
through the Assistant to the President for National
Security Affairs and the Assistant to the President for
Economic Policy.
Sec. 6. Reinforcing Executive Order 13211. (a)
Executive Order 13211 of May 18, 2001 (Actions
Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use) provides that agencies
``shall prepare'' detailed Statements of Energy Effects
when undertaking certain agency actions that are likely
to have a significant adverse impact on the supply,
distribution, or use of energy. Such Statements ``shall
describe'' ``any adverse effects on energy supply,
distribution, or use (including a shortfall in supply,
price increases, and increased use of foreign supplies)
should the proposal be implemented'' and ``reasonable
alternatives to the action with adverse energy effects
and the expected effects of such alternatives on energy
supply,
[[Page 70042]]
distribution, and use.'' In order to enhance compliance
with Executive Order 13211, I direct the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), through the
Administrator of the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), to review the record of
compliance with that order by agencies (as defined in
that order) and to provide new guidance, as
appropriate, concerning the implementation of and
compliance with that order.
(b) Within 30 days of the date of this memorandum,
the Director of OMB shall, as appropriate, identify for
the President, through the Assistant to the President
for Economic Policy (who shall act in coordination with
the Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs), agencies on which the Administrator of OIRA
intends to focus attention to ensure robust compliance
with Executive Order 13211.
Sec. 7. Definition. For purposes of this memorandum,
the terms ``hydraulic fracturing'' and ``fracking''
shall have the meaning assigned to ``hydraulic
fracturing'' in 40 C.F.R. 60.5430.
Sec. 8. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this
memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise
affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent
with applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.
(d) The Secretary of Energy is hereby authorized
and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal
Register.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, October 31, 2020
[FR Doc. 2020-24601
Filed 11-3-20; 8:45 am]
Billing code 6450-01-P
