Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) sponsored a motion to instruct (MTI) Senate conferees on H.R. 4521, the United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, to force the Biden Administration to immediately develop a five-year offshore oil and gas leasing plan that includes a minimum of ten region-wide oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska regions. This unconstructive MTI is not only contradictory to our necessity to act on climate change and protect coastal communities and wildlife, but it also circumvents the careful and participatory statutory process in developing the five-year plan. The oil and gas industry has already stockpiled millions of acres of unused leases, and new leases that are sold would not start producing for years or decades, thus having no impact on current oil prices. On May 4, the Senate approved the Barrasso MTI by a vote of 53-44 (Senate roll call vote 148). NO IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE.