Capitol Republicans came out on Wednesday against President Biden’s latest energy policies, claiming that his efforts to combat the climate crisis are killing American jobs.
Biden signed new executive actions to eliminate federal subsidies for oil and other fossil fuels and to stop new oil and gas lease contracts on federal land and waters. Its action on Wednesday also pledges to conserve at least 30% of federal land and waters by 2030 and to double renewable wind energy production by 2030.
“It is a total attack on the oil and gas industry – the 10 million people who work in the industry in the United States [and] the 2 million Texans, “Republican Representative August Pfluger told Fox News.
Previously, Biden said he would replace the approximately 645,000 federal government vehicles with a fleet of fully electric federal vehicles. And on his first day in office, Biden revoked approval of the Keystone XL pipeline and pipeline project for environmental reasons and pledged to return to the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
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Pfluger is a veteran of the Air Force and was a national security adviser to former President Trump. Its Texas district includes the Permian Basin, an oil producer. He criticized Biden’s “big hype” in the Oval Office to issue orders that will cost jobs, raise energy prices and take a big step back into American energy independence.
“Energy security is synonymous with national security,” said Pfluger. “This is weakening our national security. I mean, for the first time in decades, we were independent of energy in late 2019, early 2020. And when you export more than it matters and you don’t depend on foreign countries for your own needs of energy, this is a national security lever. “
August Pfluger is the newly elected congressman from Texas’ 11th congressional district. (Marisa Schultz / Fox News)
GOP Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., Said that “in less than a week” the Biden administration risked the United States’ position as a world leader in energy production and a major exporter of oil and natural gas.
“Threatening the livelihood of millions of working families during a global pandemic is beyond destructive and, instead of giving in to its radical base, President Biden must consider the devastating consequences that the elimination of American energy will have on working families and our security. national, “said Scalise.
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Congresswoman Liz Cheney and Senator John Barrasso, both Republicans from Wyoming, detonated Biden’s moratorium on new oil and gas leases and permits on federal land as a blow to Wyoming’s economy and national security.
Barrasso also interrogated Jennifer Granholm, a nominee for Biden’s Energy Secretary, during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
“The last Democratic government has entered a regulatory wave to slow or stop energy production,” said Barrasso. “I will not sit idly by … while the Biden administration imposes policies that threaten the economy of Wyoming and the blood of so many people in my state.”
Former Governor Jennifer Granholm, D-Mich., Witness before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee during a hearing to examine her appointment as Secretary of Energy, Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at the Capitol in Washington. (Jim Watson / Pool via AP)
((Jim Watson / Pool via AP))
He asked Granholm if she defends her previous statement to do everything possible to “keep fossil fuels in the ground”.
Granholm highlighted the importance of developing technologies to make fossil fuels cleaner and reduce greenhouse gases, such as carbon capture sequestration.
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“If we want to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, we cannot do this without coal, oil and gas being part of the mix,” added Granholm.
Granholm and the Biden administration said they are committed to ensuring that well-paid jobs are sent to each state and that no workers are left behind during the transition to more renewable energy sources.
In implementing the executive actions, the Biden government said the United States cannot wait any longer to face the climate crisis and argued that the transition to renewable energy and cleaner technologies will also bring new employment opportunities.
White House domestic climate adviser Gina McCarthy said the Biden administration plans to invest in communities “to make people understand that we are not trying to take jobs. Remember that when we talk about climate change, people will eventually think in jobs “
White House Domestic Climate Advisor, Gina McCarthy
Biden on Wednesday also emphasized the issue of jobs at the White House.
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“Today is the climate day at the White House, which means that today is the day of work at the White House,” said Biden on Wednesday before signing the executive actions.
“In my opinion, we have already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis and we cannot wait any longer. It is time to act,” said Biden. “Just as we need a unified national response to COVID-19, we desperately need a unified national response to the climate crisis, because there is a climate crisis.
But Pfluger of Texas said Biden’s actions do not take into account the immediate impact of job losses from the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline and state government services that are financed by oil and gas revenues, especially in New Mexico.
“They said they were going to do that,” said Pfluger of Biden’s team. “And they did not come with a slow approach. It was an overwhelming attack on our energy industry, which is an attack on national security.”
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.