Daines Slams Biden’s Energy Policies During Hearing
During last week’s U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee hearing, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., pressed Biden nominee Laura Daniel-Davis on the Biden administration’s failure to restart oil and gas leasing in Montana after a federal judge ruled last year that the Biden administration acted illegally. Daniel-Davis refused to commit to holding a lease sale this quarter.
“It’s February. No oil and gas lease sales have been conducted in Montana. It’s an unlawful action. It’s hurting local communities. It’s killing jobs. In fact, the court found that the leasing ban would cause irreparable injury to states including Montana,” Daines said. “The law is clear. The department must hold quarterly lease sales in each state where lands are available. That is the law. Yet, in Montana, all four quarterly lease sales were canceled last year, and a date has yet to be publicly set for this year. ”
In the hearing, Daines also pressed Daniel-Davis about the Biden administration’s authority to unilaterally lock up public lands and waterways under the guise of their ambiguous 30x30 initiative, calling out an effort from Democrats urging Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to unilaterally designate more Wilderness Study Areas in order to bypass Congress.
Daines, chair of the Senate Western Caucus, proposed the “Western Conservation Principles,” a blueprint for responsible, effective conservation supporting Montana and the West, as an alternative to the Biden administration’s 30x30 plan.
