Biden wants Congress to slap fees on oil companies not using drilling permits on public lands

President Biden wants Congress to impose fees on oil companies fees for not using using their permits for drilling on public land, the White House said Thursday.

"Today, President Biden is calling on Congress to make companies pay fees on wells from their leases that they haven’t used in years and on acres of public lands that they are hoarding without producing," the White House said. "Companies that are producing from their leased acres and existing wells will not face higher fees. But companies that continue to sit on non-producing acres will have to choose whether to start producing or pay a fee for each idled well and unused acre."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked at about the same time at the White House release whether she agrees with that idea.

"When the president makes a statement I will comment on his statement. OK?," she said. "So, thank you for very much for your advanced knowledge of it but I don't have that so I won't comment on it."

The White House in the released also accused such oil companies of "hoarding" and said the fee idea was part of a two-step plan to ease the cost of petroleum by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Pelosi later repeated her previous statement about unused drilling permits.

"We have always said use it or lose it," Pelosi said on Thursday.