Washington, DC (March 29, 2017) Congressman Steve Pearce today attended Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke's signing ceremony to overturn the coal leasing moratorium, unleash the power of domestic energy production on public lands in America, and ensure local, state, and tribal governments are able to have an input in energy development on their lands.
"I was happy to join my colleagues at today's signing ceremony with Secretary Zinke. Under the last Administration, we witnessed an enormous increase in restrictive and duplicative regulations that pushed revenues overseas rather than into the pockets of American taxpayers. In New Mexico, and across western states, we've seen businesses close up shop and people put out of work because of crippling regulatory costs. This does not represent a responsible balance between protecting the environment and allowing our economy to flourish."
On March 28, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order to advance energy independence in America, which included a full review of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) venting and flaring rule and overturning the BLM's hydraulic fracturing rule. One of the Secretarial Orders signed today directs agencies to take actions on those orders.
"I strongly support overturning these rules, as they have killed jobs in New Mexico and stripped states of their rights to determine what is best for their lands. Most of the Obama-era rules on the production of oil and gas added duplicative regulations, increasing costs and driving producers out of the market. Roughly forty percent of New Mexico's operating funds comes from revenues off resource production. Without it, our entire economy suffers a loss. New Mexico can become a leader in energy development if given the freedom to. For this reason, I support the responsible production of energy on federal lands for the strength and future of our state and nation."
Background
Today, Secretary Zinke signed Secretarial Order 3348 to overturn the 2016 Coal Moratorium established by the Obama Administration in January 2016, Secretarial Order 3349 to implement President Trump's orders on American energy independence, and a charter to reestablish a Royalty Policy Committee that works to ensure the public receives the full value for the production of energy on federal lands.
On February 3, 2017, Rep. Pearce voted to overturn the BLM's venting and flaring rule, which imposed arbitrary and unenforceable methane emission standards on oil and gas production. As a longtime member and current Chairman Emeritus of the Congressional Western Caucus, Rep. Pearce supports efforts that relieve families, small businesses, farmers, and ranchers in New Mexico from burdensome environmental regulations.