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Sen. Joe Manchin on Tuesday tore into Interior Secretary Deb Haaland for ignoring federal law that requires fossil fuel and critical mineral development, and for the first delay in U.S. history in developing a five-year offshore oil and gas lease sale plan.
At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Manchin told Haaland that he and other senators are “tired” of asking about these delays month after month with no clear answers.
“Secretary Haaland, when it comes to these energy and mineral programs that are so crucial to our energy and national security, I must say, for the last few years, it has felt like we are repeating the same conversations and having the same talks over and over,” Manchin said. “I’m tired, and I know the members of this committee are tired, of asking again and again, when will we see progress on the action required by law, and being told ‘soon,’ and ‘we are working on it.’”
BIDEN ADMIN LAUNCHES FIRST ‘OFFSHORE WIND LEASE SALE’ IN GULF OF MEXICO AS OIL, GAS LEASES GRIND TO HALT
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, questions Interior Secretary Deb Haaland during a hearing on May 02, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“We need and deserve better answers than that,” he said.
Manchin used the hearing to accuse Haaland and the entire administration of ignoring language in the Inflation Reduction Act that said the government cannot explore offshore wind or onshore wind and solar production unless it continues to develop offshore oil and gas.
“We tied that to the IRA,” he said. “You cannot do offshore wind, you cannot do onshore wind or solar unless we are extracting the resources that the good Lord has given us.
“You can feel our frustration on what’s going on here. It seems like we’re flagging it every day,” he added.
BIDEN ADMIN WEIGHS COMPLETE BLOCK ON OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING AS GAS PRICES KEEP RISING
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland blamed…
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