Senators Murkowski and Sullivan, Please Vote Against Deb Haaland

February 25, 2021

By Rick Whitbeck, Alaska State Director

US Representative Deb Haaland (D-NM) is clearly an environmental zealot.  Her politics would continue to harm America’s energy workers.  Putting her in charge of the US Department of the Interior would be a boon to environmental extremism, at the expense of hundreds of thousands of families across the country.

Having watched the two days of confirmation hearings in the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I saw Deb Haaland play the old political game of “never give a clear answer”.  I saw direct questions skated around, word games and catchphrases used throughout her testimony.

What I didn’t hear were answers that should give any Senator from an energy-centric state the confidence that fair, balanced and scientifically-backed decisions will come from a Haaland-led Interior.

Instead, we heard over and over, “President Biden’s agenda will be my agenda.” Let’s be clear: The Biden agenda has already cost America’s energy workers.  Haaland leading Interior will be a boondoggle for the “leave-it-in-the-ground” crowd to further disintegrate the traditional energy worker’s job opportunities.  It will hit Alaska hard, at a time where we can’t afford any more missteps and missed deadlines.

Senator Murkowski’s questions to Haaland were met with obtuse and feeble answers.  Murkowski’s question on the Willow project led to a nearly indecipherable response from Haaland.  Time after time, Deb Haaland refused to answer direct questions, and when she did, she showed a clear lack of understanding – or perhaps care whatsoever – about the effects her beliefs (and the Biden agenda) would have on families across America.

So, in spite of Haaland’s nomination being historic on so many levels, she is clearly not capable of leading an organization directly responsible for ownership and management of nearly 62% of Alaska’s lands.

Please, Senators Murkowski and Sullivan, vote against Deb Haaland.  America’s – and especially Alaska’s – energy workers deserve better than what she would bring to Interior.