In advance of President Obama’s 100
th day in office, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings released the following statement and timeline regarding the new Administration’s actions on issues related to the Committee:
“If past is prologue, President Obama’s first 100 days in office do not bode well for the future of American energy production, public use of public lands, Second Amendment rights, energy costs and tax rates. Simply put, we’ve witnessed changes that Americans can’t afford. Unless the Administration pursues another new direction, Americans will soon pay higher energy bills, our country will become more dependent on foreign oil and more jobs will be sent overseas.
“Republicans have a forward looking, all-of-the-above energy plan that includes both renewable energy sources along with American oil and gas production. The Obama Administration should support this common sense approach in the days ahead.”
100 DAYS OF CHANGE AMERICANS CAN’T AFFORD
| February 4th |
Withdrew areas offered for 77 oil and gas leases in Utah that could cost American taxpayers millions in lost lease bids, production royalties, new jobs and the energy needed to offset rising imports or oil and gas. |
| February 10th |
Delayed for six months the development of the new 5-year leasing program for offshore drilling that would have created new jobs, produced more American-made energy, and made us less dependent on foreign oil. |
| February 25th |
Delayed the new round of oil shale research, demonstration, and development leases that would help advance American technology and create high-tech jobs in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. |
| February 26th |
Introduced a budget that contains page after page of taxes on oil and gas totaling more than $31 billion that will reduce our domestic energy production, and a cap-and-trade proposal that will impose a new national energy tax that could cost the average American family over $3,100 a year. |
| March 30th |
Broke a campaign promise to allow five days for public comment on the White House website before signing the legislation (the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act) into law. This $10 billion, 1200-page bill:
- Spent $10 billion to create new public lands and wilderness areas at a time when the National Park Service estimates that we already have $9 billion in backlogged maintenance projects on existing lands.
- Prohibited energy production on over 3 million acres of federal land, costing American jobs.
- Blocked over 2 million acres of public land from recreational access, including biking and OHV riding.
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| April 17th |
Failed to protect Americans Second Amendment Rights by deciding not to appeal a federal court ruling that prohibits carrying loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges.
Listed carbon dioxide as a hazardous pollutant, opening the door for the regulation of all CO2 emissions under the Clean Air Act.
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