House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) today released the followings statement regarding today’s cancelation of 91,000 acres of oil and natural gas leases in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.  These and future lease sales were recently suspended by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the behest of environmental groups until the agency can study the leases’ impact on climate change.

“I sincerely wish BLM would take the guaranteed positive economic impacts of oil and gas lease sales as seriously as they take potential climate change impacts.  This latest move by the Administration is another in a long line of efforts to lock up energy producing land and with it the opportunity to help turn around our sputtering economy and lessen our dependence on foreign energy,” said Hastings.  “This Administration has come up way short on their promises to create jobs and keep unemployment under 8 percent.  The hardworking men and women who were hoping to gain employment through these lease sales cannot afford to continue to have their livelihoods put on hold for endless environmental reviews.”

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