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It's not been too many years back that we recall the late Robert Murray, founder and longtime leader of Murray Energy Corp., telling us of how then-President Barack Obama's administration was pushing the nation's large financial institutions to stop lending to energy companies -- particularly those companies that mined coal.
While that effort by the Obama Administration didn't immediately bear fruit, it seems that President Joe Biden and his administration are now back at the tree with the watering can. But this time it's not just coal mining that's in their sights; it's also oil and natural gas.
The revelation on the administration's latest war on sources of reliable energy that power the nation came from Politico, which reported that Secretary of State John Kerry has been pushing banks in the U.S. to focus more on climate change mitigation. Part of that effort is subtle pressure for banks to stop lending to companies that extract energy from the ground -- coal, oil and natural gas.
Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity is one of 15 state treasurers calling out the Biden Administration for its tactics.
By itself, a group of 15 state treasurers -- many from smaller, energy-rich states -- wouldn't have enough clout to make a difference. To swing the pendulum, though, the treasurers are threatening to pull their holdings -- a combined $600 billion in pension plans and other state assets -- from banks that succumb to the administration's tactics.
"These companies play a critical role in the economies of many hard-working, middle-class communities across Pennsylvania and the United States," Garrity said.
"They rely on and deserve access to capital from financial institutions, just like any other law-abiding American company. The federal government should not pick and choose which companies can do business with banks based on a political agenda.
"As a collective, we strongly oppose command-and-control economic policies that attempt to bend the free market to the political will of government officials. It is simply antithetical to our nation's position as a democracy and a capitalist economy for the Executive Branch to bully corporations into curtailing legal activities."
That's a strong stance, and one that Garrity and the other 14 treasurers need to stand firm on in the coming years.
Coercion from the White House should not be used to influence a bank's lending activities. But that's where it appears we are today.
We applaud Garrity for standing up against the continued federal energy overreach and urge her and other state treasurers to stand firm against Biden's growing big government machine.