Trump’s Energy Chief Maps Out Plan to ‘Unleash America’s Balance Sheet’

HOUSTON—Americans are constantly reminded the nation is in debt—$36.5 trillion, at last count—and often told what their individual “share” of that liability is, nearly $110,000 each, at last count. But there’s a missing component to this frightening appraisal: the other side of the ledger, the assets every American also has a “share” in, the nation’s abundant natural resources. The Trump administration aims to square accounts and “unleash America’s balance sheet,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told energy industry leaders at CERAWeek by S&P Global at the Americas Hilton-Houston on March 12. “Our national assets far exceed the $36.5 trillion in debt,” he said, noting assets administered by the Department of Interior (DOI)—500 million acres of public land, 700 million acres of subsurface mineral rights, and 2.5 billion offshore acres—are long-mismanaged resources the Trump administration sees as debt-busting revenue generators....