WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito joined some Senate colleagues to introduce a bill that would prevent the president and other officials from blocking energy or mineral leasing and permitting on federal lands and waters without Congressional approval.
On January 28, Capito (R-W.Va.), Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and other introduced the Protecting our Wealth of Energy Resources (POWER) Act of 2021. It would prohibit the president or his secretaries of the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) from such actions.
“The Biden administration continues to sidestep Congress and enact Executive Orders that kill American jobs and attack our natural gas and oil industries," said Capito, a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee. "As our country continues to battle COVID-19, actions like this further deplete energy sectors in need of relief, and put our energy independence in jeopardy.
McKinley
"This legislation creates a needed check on the Executive Branch, and makes certain that decisions like this are subject to debate in Congress and not rashly signed into action. We must continue to advocate for the families across America who are at risk of losing their livelihood and income in the middle of a pandemic."
In addition to Capito and Lummis, The POWER Act is cosponsored by Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (Miss.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) Pat Toomey (R-Penn.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). A U.S. House of Representatives companion version of the bill is being sponsored by Representative Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.), and co-sponsored by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), among others.
Earlier in the day, Capito expressed concern about Biden's recent climate executive orders while speaking on the Senate floor.
On January 27, Biden signed several Executive Orders aimed at climate change. These followed several climate-related executive orders he signed in his first few days in office, including rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate, and revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline.
The latest directs the Secretary of the Interior to pause on entering into new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or offshore waters as well as launches a review of all existing leasing and permitting practices related to fossil fuel development on public lands and waters. It directs federal agencies to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies. It also establishes an Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization, to be co-chaired by the National Climate Advisor and the Director of the National Economic Council, and directs federal agencies to coordinate efforts to assist coal, oil and natural gas, and power plant communities.
“In his first actions, President Biden managed to kill thousands of jobs and paralyze America’s energy industry," Capito said. "His order yesterday put a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands. This is an economic, energy, and national security disaster in my view.
"This order moves America from energy independence back to relying on foreign sources for fuel. And a lot of times these are the countries who have much laxer environmental policies than we have right here in the United States.”
She said Biden's moves remind her of President Barack Obama's "empty promises."
“So, my skepticism when I hear this administration talk about giving industry time to transition and give workers clean energy jobs, that’s where I found myself thinking ‘I’m in Back to the Future. I’ve heard this before,'" Capito said. "I vividly remember the empty promises of the past. This is a deeply personal issue for me because I’ve lived through this. I’ve seen this playbook before. So, back to the future: The Obama administration said the very same things to West Virginians. In fact, I remember the same people saying those same things. I remember the utterly unachievable regulatory requirements that Gina McCarthy created in her positions at the EPA that decimated my state.
"I remember the thousands of jobs lost — and still lost — and the hopelessness and the succeeding opioid epidemic that followed. I remember begging the Obama EPA to come to West Virginia to see how these regulations — with no time to transition — were destroying more of our state’s economy. They were destroying families. They didn’t really seem to care. The only response I got in one of my hearing was that they’d come to Pittsburgh. Well, that’s not coming to West Virginia.”
Capito also said several of Biden's nominees have been tasked with addressing climate issues.
"They’re going to be tripping over each other before you even consider those avoiding the Senate confirmation process all of this together," she said. "A whole host of other czars who aren’t accountable to Congress. So, who is really going to be making decisions? I think from yesterday’s press conference it’s pretty clear what the answer to that question could probably be. Will this Cabinet actually wield any power – or will the decisions be made in the White House – in an effort to avoid public and congressional scrutiny? The American people really need to know.”
Capito said she wants to be part of the solution.
"I am not a climate denier," she said. "We all need to take care of our planet. We must be good stewards of our earth and water. We know it’s the right thing to do.
"We can address climate change together though innovation and technology. We already have new markets for coal — carbon products. We know investing in carbon capture utilization and storage is critical for a lot of reasons. It’s a win-win on both sides. We know new technologies are progressing every day."
She said lawmakers have worked on the issue in a bipartisan way.
"But, I am very concerned that President Biden’s climate Executive Order yesterday really alienated key players in the conversation," Capito said. "I don’t think that’s the way to build unity. Here we go, back to the future, picking winners and losers. That’s pitting American jobs against one another.
"That can create and will create resentment across the country. I urge President Biden, let’s tackle our climate challenges together.”
On January 27, Capito also was critical of Biden's climate plans.
“The Biden administration signals with these Executive Orders that America is heading backwards from energy independence toward reliance on foreign sources," she said. "This is an economic, energy, and national security disaster rolled into one.
"While depriving communities of much-needed revenue and job opportunities during a pandemic, the administration’s moratorium is another step closer towards what we know is Gina McCarthy and John Kerry’s ultimate goal: an all-out ban on fossil fuels."
She said such decisions should be made by Congress rather than through presidential orders.
"This type of government overreach leaves rural communities and union workers in the dust, just ask those who were working on the Keystone XL pipeline," Capito said. "In West Virginia, we remember the effects of this playbook originally created during the Obama administration.
"America is a proud energy producer, and paralyzing an entire industry full of high-paying jobs and propping up hostile countries with fewer environmental regulations does little to combat global climate change and creates resentment at home.”
Congressman David McKinley (R-W.Va.) expressed similar concerns.
“At a time when millions are struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the last thing we need are policies that will eliminate of thousands of good-paying American jobs, increase energy costs, and putting our economic and national security at risk," McKinley said. “Stopping energy production on federal lands will have virtually no impact on our climate, and merely makes us more reliant on foreign energy sources. Did they consider the impact on states and communities who rely on this crucial revenue to fund schools, EMS services, and other essential local programs?
“These actions are just part of their broader effort to do away with fossil fuels no matter the consequences to our economy and our security. The people who live in communities across the country, from the coalfields of West Virginia to the oil patch of New Mexico, are just collateral damage. No window dressing of a working group to help these areas in the transition can change that.
"Instead of further destroying rural America and putting our economy at risk, we need to focus on policies that utilize innovation to reduce emissions while allowing us to use our rich supply of American energy.”