Interior secretary nominee Deb Haaland would not commit Tuesday to ending President Biden’s temporary pause on new oil and gas leasing on public lands and waters, ensuring the policy will be a major source of conflict with Republicans and the fossil fuel industry.
Haaland, carefully avoiding stating her own policy views in a confirmation hearing, reiterated that she would follow Biden’s agenda.
“I don’t believe it is a permanent ban,” Haaland said in response to questioning from Republicans on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who asked if she would advise Biden to extend the pause on new oil and gas leasing. “If confirmed, it is President Biden’s agenda, not my own, that I would be moving forward.”
Republicans from Western states reliant on funding from energy development on federal lands warn a permanent leasing pause would cost thousands of jobs and billions in revenues.
Biden, in his first weeks in office, issued an executive order pausing new oil and gas leases on public lands, while the administration reviews balancing fossil fuels with developing renewables as it seeks to reduce emissions to combat climate change. The administration did not provide a timeline for when the pause would end.
The pause does not affect permits to drill on existing leases, Haaland reiterated, adding that “thousands” of leases and permits are still moving forward.
Haaland cited the temporary nature of Biden’s leasing pause executive order when addressing the potential job losses in the oil and gas industry, saying, “I feel like in the short term, hopefully, their jobs have not been affected.”
She repeated Biden’s promise to create millions of new jobs in developing clean energy, building new infrastructure, and plugging abandoned oil and gas wells.
But during the campaign, Biden promised to ban new oil and gas leasing, not just pause it.
Haaland is a former member of Congress from New Mexico, the state with the nation’s most oil production on federal lands, putting her in a tricky position as she implements Biden’s leasing pause.
Last year, the state was the top recipient of federal energy revenues. They accounted for $800 million of New Mexico’s budget.
Three GOP senators from Western states, including top energy committee Republican John Barrasso of Wyoming, have already come out against Haaland because of her past statements of opposition to fossil fuel development and her attachment to Biden’s agenda.
Barrasso Tuesday said Biden’s policy would take a “sledgehammer” to Western state economies and “robs our children” of education funding.
The Energy committee’s top Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who could be a key centrist swing vote, has not stated a position on Haaland as he seeks assurances on her fossil fuel positions.
Haaland in 2019 said she is “wholeheartedly against fracking and drilling on public lands.”
On Tuesday, Haaland sought to moderate her positions, acknowledging, “there’s no question that fossil energy does and will continue to play a major role in America for years to come.”
“I know how important oil and gas revenues are to critical services. We must also recognize that the energy industry is innovating, and our climate challenge must be addressed,” Haaland said.
Haaland added she is committed to helping achieve Biden’s goal of reaching net-zero emissions across the economy by 2050 but suggested fossil fuels could play a role in the future if equipped with new technologies such as carbon capture.
“We will absolutely rely on the fossil energy,” Haaland said. “But at the same time, we can move forward with the technology and innovation as well.” Technology development “won’t happen overnight,” she added.
Her assurances did not persuade Republicans who have vowed to oppose her, including Sen. Steve Daines of Montana.
“The track record and ideology in the past will perpetuate more divisiveness and will certainly harm Montana’s economy,” said Daines, who suggested Haaland would be wrong to follow “blindly” the Biden administration’s policies on fossil fuels.
Haaland’s supporters noted that she moved bills on a bipartisan basis in Congress when she chaired a subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee that oversees national parks and public lands.
“She will listen to you,” said Rep. Don Young, a Republican from Alaska, a major oil-producing state, who introduced Haaland at her hearing. “She will reach across the aisle. It’s my job to convince her she’s not always right and her job to convince me I’m not always right.”
Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington noted the heightened attention on Haaland’s nomination. Biden’s other environmental nominees have moved forward in committee votes with bipartisan support.
“Your nomination is this proxy fight over the future of fossil fuels,” Cantwell said.
