Oversight Republicans urge Democrats to cease oil and gas industry investigation, demand hearing on crisis

FIRST ON FOX - House Republicans on the Oversight and Reform Committee are sending a letter to Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., urging her to cease an investigation into the U.S. oil and gas industry as it relates to climate change.

Maloney and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., on Sept. 16 launched an investigation into the fossil fuel industry and sent letters to executives at ExxonMobil, BP America, Chevron, Shell Oil, American Petroleum Institute, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and later subpoenaed documents related to the industry's role in spreading disinformation about the role fossil fuels play in climate change.

"Since its inception, Committee Democrats’ investigation has been fraught with pre-determined conclusions, reckless accusations, and an abuse of Congress’ oversight authority," Republicans wrote in their letter. "The most egregious of these abuses is your decision to unilaterally issue subpoenas for documents that strike at the heart of protections offered by the First Amendment."

The Republican members including House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer, Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member Ralph Norman and other Oversight Republicans went on to highlight the increasing cost of gas for U.S. drivers and urged Committee Democrats to hold a hearing on rising energy prices.

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Republicans added that the oil and gas companies from which Democrats subpoenaed documents have already provided more than 200,000 pages of documents.

"The Committee on Oversight and Reform exists to provide the necessary oversight of federal government actions and policies to protect the American people and their taxpayer dollars," the authors of the letter wrote. "This Committee needs to act now and use its authority to address the most pressing issues facing the country. The American people look to our Committee to hold the government accountable for its actions."

Maloney said in statement to Fox News that she strongly supports "President Biden’s bold efforts to reduce gas prices and his economic policies that have led to a record 5.6 million jobs created—compared to more than 3 million jobs lost under President Trump. "

"We also must address the climate crisis, and I will not rest until we get to the bottom of the role of the fossil fuel industry in causing the crisis and promoting disinformation to block meaningful climate action," she said.

Maloney, Khanna and other Democrats have compared the fossil fuel industry to the tobacco industry, saying it has covered up information showing how the industry has impacted a "global climate crisis" that has become "increasingly dire."

"As worsening natural disasters linked to global warming devastate communities in the United States and globally, one of Congress’s top legislative priorities is combating the increasingly urgent crisis of a changing climate," the chairs said in a Sept. 16 statement.  "To do this, Congress must address pollution caused by the fossil fuel industry and curb troubling business practices that lead to disinformation on these issues."

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About two months after launching their investigation, President Biden on Nov. 17 called for the Federal Trade Commission to probe whether oil and gas companies are engaging in criminal conduct by profiting from artificially high prices at the pump, even as wholesale fuel costs decline.

BP, Shell, Chevron, and ExxonMobil reported nearly $2 trillion in profits over about 30 years, as Maloney and Khanna noted in a September press release.

Biden – under mounting political pressure with inflation at the highest rate in more than three decades – urged FTC Chair Lina Khan in a letter to investigate potential wrongdoing by the industry, alleging "mounting evidence of anti-consumer behavior" by the companies.

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"The bottom line is this: gasoline prices at the pump remain high, even though oil and gas companies' costs are declining," Biden said. "The Federal Trade Commission has authority to consider whether illegal conduct is costing families at the pump. I believe you should do so immediately."

Republicans have criticized a number of the president's decisions as they relate to energy and climate change, including his orders to cancel construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, increase royalty rates for oil and gas leases on federal land and waive sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream II pipeline.

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The Labor Department reported earlier this month that the consumer price index (CPI) climbed 6.2% year over year in October. The increase marked the largest annual gain since November 1990. Prices rose 0.9% month over month. 

Energy prices jumped 4.8% last month, and were up 30% over the past year. The October increase was largely the result of a 6.1% rise in the cost of gasoline. 

FOX Business' Megan Henney contributed to this report.