Name: Republicans criticizing Haaland's nomination have ties to fossil fuels
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Republicans criticizing Haaland's nomination have ties to fossil fuels

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The congresswoman has faced hostile questioning from senators during her confirmation for interior secretary. Some of them are personally invested in fossil fuelsLast modified on Fri 26 Feb 2021 09.40 ESTIn two days of before the Senate energy and natural resources committee, Haaland faced hostile questions from a group of GOP senators who attempted to cast her as an extremist and a danger to American jobs.Haaland, a 35th-generation New Mexican who would be the first Native American cabinet secretary, supports the Green New Deal and . As secretary of the interior, she would implement Biden’s climate agenda, which, though relatively ambitious, may not go as far as she would prefer.Hostile questioning at her confirmation hearings was led by senators who have taken huge amounts of campaign cash from the oil and gas industry. Some are personally invested in fossil fuels.John Barrasso of Wyoming, the ranking Republican on the committee, said he was “troubled by many of Representative Haaland’s views”, which he characterized as “radical”.“We shouldn’t undermine our energy production and we shouldn’t hurt our own economy,” he said in an opening statement. “Representative Haaland’s positions are squarely at odds with the mission of the Department of [the] Interior.”Haaland had to correct Barrasso after he mischaracterized Biden’s temporary pause on new federal oil, gas and coal leases, calling it a ban.Barrasso, who has , also complained about a tweet in which Haaland said Republicans don’t believe in science. What he didn’t say was that the oil and gas industry has bankrolled his political career and he is personally invested in a company that transports a sizable portion of US natural gas.From 2015 to 2020, Barrasso’s campaign and leadership political action committee, or Pac, took in from the pacs of oil and gas companies, more than from any other industry, according to data analyzed by OpenSecrets.org.In , his most recent election year, his campaign got the maximum amount of $10,000 from the pacs of companies such as natural gas driller Chesapeake Energy, which in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming; oil giant Chevron, which owns in Haaland’s state, New Mexico; and fossil fuel conglomerate Koch Industries.In his full federal career, Barrasso has received from oil and gas firms and their employees, making him one of the Senate’s top recipients of such money.Barrasso’s ties to the industry do not stop at campaign contributions. The senator’s most recent shows that he owns between $250,000 and $500,000 of stock in Berkshire Hathaway, whose subsidiaries’ 16,300 miles of pipeline transported of the natural gas Americans consumed in 2019. Chief executive Warren Buffett made for betting “big on gas” last year, during the pandemic, even as consumption took a hit.The North Dakota senator John Hoeven Haaland for having joined fellow Native Americans to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline, which risks leaking dirty oil into the water supply and sacred lands of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, in his state. Hoeven said he was concerned for his state’s economy but failed to disclose his own substantial investments in the oil and gas industry, including in North Dakota.The senator owns . And at the end of 2019, he owned between $50,000 and $100,000 of stock in Chevron, Marathon Petroleum and Schlumberger, an oilfield services and equipment company, and between $100,000 and $250,000 in ExxonMobil. In January 2021, after a , he put some assets in a blind trust.From 2015 to 2020, Hoeven’s campaign and leadership pac received from oil and gas pacs, the most from any industry, and he has received from oil and gas pacs and employees in his federal career.Senators’ investments in an industry they oversee are “serious conflicts of interest”, said Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist for the non-profit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen.“These conflicts of interest may directly and substantially impact the senators’ personal wealth and thus influence their decision on whether to confirm the appointment of Haaland,” he said. “This type of personal conflict of interest is not permitted among executive branch employees … not so for members of Congress.”Before the hearing, Senator Steve Daines of Montana said he was “deeply concerned” by Haaland and , citing her support for the Green New Deal and a pause on new oil and gas leases on federal land, as well as her opposition to Keystone XL. Daines also griped about Haaland’s sponsorship of legislation to protect grizzly bears. After the hearing, he about her.Daines failed to mention that his political career has received a major boost from the oil and gas industry. From 2015 to 2020, his campaign and leadership pac took in from oil and gas company pacs, second only to insurance Pacs. In his federal career, he’s received more than $1.2m from oil and gas pacs and employees.Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is an oil and gas proponent but she has a strong relationship with Alaska Natives and may not risk that good will by voting against Haaland. But several other Republicans have questioned Haaland’s fitness to lead and are major recipients of oil and gas pac money. Some own considerable fossil fuel investments.The offices of Barrasso, Cassidy, Daines, Hoeven and Marshall did not return requests for comment about whether campaign contributions and personal investments influenced their votes, including on Haaland’s nomination.All Democrats are likely to vote to confirm Haaland. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, was undecided until Wednesday afternoon, when he his support. Manchin is a longtime fossil fuel booster and owns millions of dollars of shares in his , Enersystems, which netted him in 2019. His campaigns have received from oil, gas and coal company pacs.Manchin’s support for fossil fuels is so significant that he was reportedly among Donald Trump’s top picks for energy secretary. He is already becoming a thorn in Biden’s side, seeking to scale back the Covid-19 relief package and pledging to vote against the nominee for the Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden.

The congresswoman has faced hostile questioning from senators during her confirmation for interior secretary. Some of them are personally invested in fossil fuelsLast modified on Fri 26 Feb 2021 09.40 ESTIn two days of before the Senate energy and natural resources committee, Haaland faced hostile questions from a group of GOP senators who attempted to cast her as an extremist and a danger to American jobs.Haaland, a 35th-generation New Mexican who would be the first Native American cabinet secretary, supports the Green New Deal and . As secretary of the interior, she would implement...

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Republicans criticizing Haaland's nomination have ties to fossil fuels

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