WASHINGTON — Four Texas Democrats in the U.S. House are urging President Joe Biden to rescind his executive order pausing oil and gas leasing on federal lands, writing in a letter to the president that it’s the wrong time to take such action as the economy slowly recovers from the coronavirus downturn.
“Now is not the time to jeopardize American jobs, or the critical tax and royalty revenues that federal leases generate for local, state, and federal government that need funds now,” wrote U.S. Reps. Lizzie Fletcher of Houston, Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen, Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Marc Veasey of Fort Worth. “Instead, we should invest in our nation’s infrastructure and create the jobs that will help our nation emerge stronger after this pandemic.”
BACKGROUND: In climate push, Biden bets on cutting fossil fuels while protecting jobs
The letter comes after Biden issued a series of executive orders Wednesday aimed at shifting the United States off fossil fuels. Among them was an order imposing a one-year moratorium on new leasing for fossil fuel extraction on federal lands and water, including the Gulf of Mexico’s sprawling offshore oil and gas industry.
The actions were widely panned by Texas Republicans, who say they’re putting jobs at risk. The National Republican Congressional Committee has released a polling memo making clear they plan to hammer Democrats in states, including Texas, with Biden’s energy actions.
But the four Democrats — who represent districts with big oil and gas footprints — are among the first to push back from within Biden’s party.
Their letter drew praise from GOP colleagues, including U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Houston, who tweeted, “There is now bipartisan support for energy jobs, against the radical pseudo-environmentalism of the Biden-Harris administration.”
SOUTH TEXAS DEMOCRAT SOUNDS WARNING: ‘You can’t just tell people like that — we’re going to take your jobs away — and think they’re going to vote for you.’
The Democrats wrote they are “eager” to work with the president “to develop sound, informed policy that strengthens the economy, secures jobs for Americans and protects our environment.”
“American families rely upon secure, safe and affordable energy supplies and constituents in our districts are depending on government working proactively to move forward together in 2021 as we build back better,” they wrote.”
ben.wermund@chron.com
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January 27, 2021 at 01:00PM
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Four Texas Democrats blast Biden’s moratorium on oil and gas leasing on federal lands - Houston Chronicle
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