Former Michigan Gov and Energy Secretary nominee Jennifer Granholm was thrown a ton of reasonable questions from Republicans on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee regarding fossil fuel issues.
Under executive orders, President Biden placed a temporary moratorium on all oil and natural gas leasing activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and rescinded the Keystone XL border crossing permit. Sen. John Barrasso asked Granholm how a long-term ban puts Americans back to work and helps the economy grow if its stripping thousands of jobs. He asked where the consistency lies in unifying the country if you are merely dividing it.
“I think the president’s plan of building back better … would create more jobs in energy, clean energy, than the jobs that might be sacrificed. But I will say this, no job – we don’t want to see any jobs sacrificed. For those states that have these jobs in abundance is something we’re going to have to work on together to ensure that people remain employed,” Granholm said.
However, Sen. Barrasso pointed out how Transportation Secretary nominee Pete Buttigieg admitted new jobs in clean energy may not arise for years. “I totally get the concern about job losses. Totally,” Granholm responded vaguely. She went on to say that they provided clean energy ’incentives’ and ‘jobs’ in states like Michigan and people came.
Under the Biden Administration, they just expect you to move elsewhere and follow your job along the map wherever the government decides.
Sen. Ted Cruz expressed concerns over the halting of the Keystone XL pipeline. He questioned what “new positions” actually mean for workers who have lost their previous jobs under the Biden Administration. “So for those workers, the answer is somebody else will get a job?” He asked.
“We are very eager to see those workers continue to be employed in good-paying union jobs, even if they might be different ones,” Buttigieg responded.
Sen. Barrasso said he would not sit around idly if the Biden Administration tried to enforce policies that threaten his home state, Wyoming, and its economy. Granholm insisted that her top priorities would be supporting climate change work at national labs and deploying that research to create jobs.
We all know that when Democrats say to “follow the science” that they don’t even follow the science themselves. Granholm is promising new jobs and opportunities but has only left a record of bankrupt businesses and rising unemployment.
