Who’s Hoarding America’s Oil? Opponents of domestic energy production constantly say that America “uses 25% of the world’s oil, but only has 3% of the world’s oil reserves.” This talking point is misleading, at best, and its trumpeters get away with it because the federal government has made it illegal to explore for and expand our reserves. We will never increase our oil reserves if we can never look. A huge amount of acres are owned by the federal government off our shores and onshore, principally in the western states, but instead of addressing that problem and helping to bring down energy prices, politicians have been making up stories and trying to fool Americans with wild allegations. The truth is, over 96% of the lands that belong to the taxpayer haven’t even been leased by the government so that energy exploration might occur. Consumers are paying for this failure at the pump and in utility bills. Some are even paying for it with their jobs. But instead of opening new areas to energy exploration and production, some in Congress have taken to diversionary tactics. Take, for example, the mysterious “68 million acres” myth....