Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement on the U.S. Department of the Interior’s announcement that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has reinstated 307 bids in the Gulf of Mexico from Lease Sale 257, as mandated by the Inflation Reduction Act, totaling $189,888,271 in bids and approximately 1.7 million acres leased.

“The Inflation Reduction Act requires the Department of the Interior to issue these offshore leases and I am pleased they have done so, bringing in nearly $190 million in bids. Our federal oil and gas leasing programs are critical to American energy security, and these offshore leases will provide the market signals necessary to help ease the pain Americans are feeling from record inflation and high energy prices. Our allies across the free world are also in desperate need of American oil and gas – which is among the cleanest produced in the world. I made sure the Inflation Reduction Act reinstated this lease sale to ensure we are able to provide our domestically produced energy, and I look forward to working with the Department of Interior and the entire Administration to continue implementing the Inflation Reduction Act policies to benefit all Americans.”