Friday, March 08, 2013

Sally Jewell’s links to conservationists draw GOP questions during confirmation hearing

...some GOP senators raised repeated concerns about Jewell’s environmental advocacy, including efforts to designate more federal lands as wilderness and an effort to get Americans, particularly children, in touch with nature. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, the top Republican on the panel, called that part of Jewell’s biography “unsettling to many.” Murkowski pressed Jewell on how vigorously she would push for more oil and gas drilling on federal lands. “Can you tell the committee anything that might surprise or even concern some of your friends in the environmental community?” Murkowski asked. Jewell replied that she would strike a balance between protecting public lands and tapping them for coal, oil, gas and other resources. Though a political novice, Jewell deftly handled several contentious questions. She skirted a demand from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., on whether she’d support a carbon tax saying, “A carbon tax is not something that would come before me in a role as secretary of the Interior. I would not be in a position to take a position, frankly, around this issue.” In a 2008 interview, Jewell was more explicit. “We are not paying for the cost to the environment, of the carbon that we use, and we should be paying for that,” she said. “I know tax is a dirty word, but if we were paying a carbon tax that accounted for our impact on greenhouse gases, that would in fact change our consumption.” Some of the sharpest grilling came from Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican. Echoing criticisms from other conservatives, he asked about Jewell’s vice chairmanship of the board of the National Parks Conservation Association, which has sued to cut emissions from coal-fired power plants and filed other environmental suits. Barrasso said the parks association has filed five dozen lawsuits against the federal government. He asked Jewell, if confirmed as secretary, to recuse herself from implementing any settlements from the suits. Jewell said she’s one of some 30 association board members and that “I have nothing to do with their litigation strategy.”...more

Would you serve on the board of an organization where you didn't agree with their litigation strategy?

Anyway, she will answer some questions in writing and, barring any holds, sail through the Senate. 

 

1 comment:

drjohn said...

Sally call me 307 705 8115