House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) tonight released the following statement in response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address:

“During tonight’s State of the Union address, the President once again spoke about job creation and economic growth, but continued to ignore the economic opportunities that exist through energy production on federal lands and the responsible management of our Nation’s natural resources. Tonight’s speech was further indication that during his second term, President Obama will ensure his Administration is more aggressive in its unilateral pursuit of new regulations and policies that will impede economic recovery. By circumventing Congress through administrative fiat, the Obama Administration has the ability to lock up large swaths of public land from multiple use economic activity, slow federal energy production even further, and impose burdensome new layers of red tape that will destroy job creation potential for millions of American’s still looking for work.

“The President may continue to talk about the need for all-of-the-above energy, but we have learned over the last four years that actions speak louder than words. The Obama Administration has closed off millions of acres of public lands and waters to American energy production, offered the fewest offshore lease sales in the history of the program, and caused energy production on federal lands to significantly decline. Meanwhile, the private sector and individual states—not President Obama and the federal government—can take credit for America’s recent increase in oil and natural gas production. It’s simply difficult to take President Obama seriously when he talks about job creation while flatly ignoring one of America’s largest potentials for job creation.”

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