“Largest Ever” Lease Sale Flop Further Disproves Republican Tax Scam Claim

Anchorage, AK -- Yesterday, what the Trump administration had billed the “Largest Ever” lease sale for fossil fuel development on public lands, covering 10.3 million acres, generated minimal interest. Only seven bids were made, covering less than 1% of the proposed sale.

This comes as some members of Congress are seeking to pass a massive tax bill which opens up the Arctic Refuge to drilling, claiming that it will raise at least $1 billion in revenue. To reach that revenue estimate, every single acre of the Arctic Refuge’s coastal plain would have to be leased at $1,333 per acre. Yet the highest bid at the most recent Arctic lease sale was a mere $14.99 per acre. Republicans’ plan is predicated on oil companies paying exorbitant amounts to drill in the Arctic Refuge in order to fulfill their claim that the bill will be deficit neutral.

In response, Sierra Club Lands Protection Director Athan Manuel released the following statement:

“In spite of all their boisterous rhetoric and claims, Congressional Republicans can’t get around the facts. The ‘largest lease sale ever’ fell flat, just like the tax scam that’s being forced on the public. It’s abundantly clear to economists, environmentalists, and the overwhelming majority of the American people that this tax scam is a farce and merely a giveaway to corporate polluters and their campaign donors. Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski, and company will continue to lie and deceive, but facts are a funny thing and will always catch up with you.”