Murkowski says Biden needs to take firm action to increase energy production: 'Let's not just talk'

Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Friday there are "important" indicators coming from the Biden administration that it may be open to relaxing its energy policies – but that it needs to follow through for there to be a real boost in production.

"A statement from the Energy Secretary saying produce more right now is a good first step," Murkowski, R-Alaska, said. "But they need to remember that the reason… we're not producing more right now is because this administration has sent the wrong signal for a year and three months. They've sent a signal that is exactly contrary to that."

Murkowski added: "And so if you're the investor, if you're the producer, you're looking at this and saying alright, "Is this… just one secretary who made a statement today? I mean, if I move out on this, are they really gonna get a stick with the program here? How risky is this?'"

Murkowski was referring to a comment from Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm Wednesday at the CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference. 

In her remarks, Granholm said that the U.S. is on a "war footing" on energy because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and spiking energy prices. She asked the conference ballroom full of energy executives to "start producing more right now." 

"In this moment of crisis, we need more supply," Granholm said.