![Why Is Biden Halting Oil and Gas Sales?](http://townsquare.media/site/180/files/2020/11/oil-rig-1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Why Is Biden Halting Oil and Gas Sales?
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden shut down oil and gas sales from the nation’s vast public reserves over worries about climate change. Now the administration has to figure out what do with that multi-billion dollar program without crushing a significant sector of the U.S. economy. On the campaign trail, Biden pledged to end leasing and new drilling permits for public lands and waters. The leasing ban announced Jan. 27 is only temporary, and it’s unclear how much legal authority the government has to stop drilling on about 23 million acres previously sold.
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