Barrasso: The Secretary’s Claim that Our Oil & Gas Leasing Program is “Fundamentally Broken” is Fundamentally Wrong

April 5, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), issued the following statement in response to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland saying the Department of the Interior’s oil and gas program is “fundamentally broken.” 

“Americans want affordable, reliable, and safe energy. The Secretary of the Interior’s claim that our oil and gas leasing program is ‘fundamentally broken’ is fundamentally wrong,” said Barrasso. “The Biden administration continues to attack American oil and natural gas jobs. American energy independence makes us stronger and safer. Secretary Haaland’s actions will make us more dependent on Russia and the Middle East. In her home state of New Mexico, oil and gas production supports tens of thousands of jobs and provides the state with about one-third of its budget. In Wyoming, energy production on federal lands pays for essential services like K-12 public schools. The Biden administration already killed the Keystone Pipeline. Now, they want to throw even more oil and gas workers out of their jobs, while raising energy bills for American families.”

 

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