Today, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., enlisted the State of Texas to sue the Biden Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over strict guidelines that seek to eliminate nearly all the United States natural gas and coal-fired power plant carbon emissions over the next two decades.
"This move by the Biden Administration is more than concerning – it has the power to potentially decimate Texas' robust oil and gas industry and rob Texas schoolchildren of billions of dollars in education funding," said Commissioner Buckingham. "With inflation skyrocketing, implementing this rule would put more Americans out of high-paying jobs and, most assuredly, increase consumers' energy costs. As the steward of 13 million acres of state-owned land in Texas, I will not allow this White House to take away funding for our school children and crush Texas' prosperous economy."
The oil and gas industry supports more than 2.5 million jobs statewide and generated more than $26 billion in state and local tax revenue in 2023. In addition to jobs and tax revenue, industry-generated income from royalties from oil and natural gas production, bonuses, and mineral land sales directly impacts funding for the Texas public education system, including universities, roads, first responders, and other essential services vital to the state’s overall well-being.
In a letter sent in March to the Biden Administration, Commissioner Buckingham emphasized the harm disrupting the oil and gas industry would cause hardworking Texans and the Permanent School Fund revenue stream for Texas school children.