Murkowski blasts ‘unprecedented attack’ on Alaskan energy

Senate Republicans sharply criticized Interior Secretary Sally Jewell Tuesday for her budget request and other actions that they say are hurting energy development and the economy.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairwoman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, has repeatedly clashed with Jewell over how the administration treats Alaska, and kept up the pressure at Tuesday’s hearing.

“I don’t want to make this personal, but the decisions from Interior have lacked balance, and instead of recognizing the many opportunities Alaska has with regard to resource production, you have enabled an unprecedented attack on our ability to responsibly bring these resources to market,” Murkowski told Jewell.

{mosads}The Alaska Republican criticized recent decisions from President Obama to further restrict the possibility of oil and natural gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, put new conditions on an oil drilling permit in the National Petroleum Reserve and to take much of Alaska’s outer continental shelf off the table for drilling.

“The president has withdrawn over 22 million more acres of Alaska from energy production just in recent weeks, and that has occurred on top of many other restrictions and regulations being imposed on us,” she said.

“When you take off all of these areas for any development at all, how do your states operate? What do you do?” Murkowski asked her colleagues.

The budget request itself ignores funding cap agreements, imposes billions of dollars of new fees and taxes on energy production, and did not find realistic offsets for its new spending, she said.

“In looking at this request, I do not see a substantive effort to work with Congress,” she said.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) criticized the administration’s proposal to reduce the amount of funding from offshore drilling that goes directly to states.

He said Louisiana relies on that funding to restore its coast from damage that he blames on the federal government’s management choices.

“I am incredibly — I cannot put enough hyperbole in front of this — opposed to the department’s budget proposal to deprive the Gulf Coast states of revenue promised under the Gulf of Mexico Security Act,” Cassidy said.

“Monies that, by our state constitution, when we receive, go to mitigate damage caused by federal mismanagement of our wetlands.”

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) took issue with a number of decisions made by the Interior Department, including one to determine whether the sage grouse needs protection under the Endangered Species Act and upcoming rules on hydraulic fracturing on federal land.

Barrasso cited a letter Jewell wrote to Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R) saying that, despite Congress blocking funding for a regulation on sage grouse protection last year, the Fish and Wildlife Service will still make a determination.

“With all due respect, I can’t make sense of your letter, and I find your plans to ignore federal law troubling,” he said.

Jewell said her actions fit within the law, and the agency is obligated by a legal settlement to make the determination.

“We are bound by court to make a determination and bound by law not to write a rule,” she said. “So I’m working very hard to support the states’ efforts and federal government efforts so that a listing is not warranted, so that we don’t have to call the question on this issue.”

Barrasso also criticized the coming fracking rule, saying state rules should override federal ones.

Jewell defended the budget request.

“This is a forward-looking budget that provides targeted investments to grow our domestic energy portfolio, creating jobs here at home, to build climate resilience and revitalize our national parks as they approach their 100th anniversary,” she said.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the committee’s top Democrat, defended the department’s budget request.

“In my view, this budget represents a balanced and forward-leaning proposal,” she said.

“It creates jobs and economic opportunity, it builds strong partnerships with states and tribes and local communities when it comes to managing our infrastructure and ecosystem resources, it invests in public lands for future generations to enjoy.”

In addition to leading the Energy panel, Murkowski is also chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee subpanel with authority over the Interior Department’s budget, giving her even more power over the agency’s funds.