House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) today issued the following statement in response to the President’s trip to Alaska.

“The United States takes over as head of the Arctic Council this year and the President’s trip shows he’s not ready for it.  As Putin has shown no qualms about promoting Arctic oil and gas development to grow ever stronger in the Arctic, the President is stifling resource development in pursuit of regulatory hegemony over America’s energy assets.  The President’s priorities reveal that he has blinders on when it comes to the importance of energy in geopolitics.”