July 11, 2024 |
Photo – Candidate for Deputy Secretary of the Interior Shannon Estenoz – Courtesy Department of Interior
In Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Wyoming Senator John Barrasso laid out the case against the Biden Administration and, in particular, Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland. The ranking member of Energy and Natural Resources Committee delivered damning remarks during a hearing to consider the nomination of Shannon Estenoz to be Deputy Secretary of Interior.
Estenoz is currently the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at Interior.
In his four minutes of opening remarks, Senator Barrasso said the person who holds the job of Deputy Secretary of Interior has a profound impact on the people of Wyoming and the well-being of the state’s economy.
Then Barrasso launched into a lengthy critique of Haaland, the current secretary of Interior, and the job she has done overseeing mineral and energy development on federal lands. Barrasso did not hold back. He described Haaland as irresponsible and unfit, and described how the Biden Administration has used her to hurt Wyoming and the nation.
For years, Wyoming has collected over a billion dollars annually from energy production. With the steep decline in federal revenues because of President Biden’s policies, the state legislature is now looking at a state income tax on top of rising property taxes.
Estenoz is a native of Florida where she has engaged in environmental and public land issues, including oil and gas. During the Q-and-A section of the exchange, Senator Barrasso asked Estenoz about the Bureau of Land Management’s Draft Resource Management Plan for the Rock Springs Field Office. The BLM’s plan would block public access to 3.5 million acres of federal land in southwest Wyoming. If finalized, livelihoods would be impacted. The state’s congressional delegation, the governor, the legislature and county commissioners have rallied in opposition to the BLM plan.
Governor Barrasso asked Estenoz for her take on the plan.
The purpose of Wednesday’s hearing was to consider the nomination of Estenoz, who spent much of her career in the Florida Everglades, to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior.
Her frank replies and sense of reasonableness to sharp questioning from Republicans on the senate Committee raised hopes that she will be a voice of sanity in an Interior Department that many see as lawless, if not reckless, for blocking development of fossil fuels and coal on federal lands. Washington insiders say Estenoz faces long odds for confirmation during this election year when many lawmakers are angry with the anti-development energy policies of the Biden Administration
If confirmed, Estenoz would replace Laura Daniel-Davis, who has been holding the job in an acting capacity.
