Increasing taxes on energy production is misguided policy that will increase energy costs.

Is the uncertainty about the future of the Tax Code government programs and so forth a negative for growth? I think it is.

I think probably the smartest people that ever existed, to determine a government, our Founders, were those people.

I think it is the finest document ever written for a government.

I think the Constitution says the House has to agree when the Senate goes in recess.

A letter submitted for the record by the Independent Petroleum Association of America follows:

Yes or no, Mr. Secretary. I am out of time.

Did you, anyone from your office, the White House, or anyone else in a position of authority at the Department, direct OSM employees to ask the contractors to change assumptions on the economic analysis to address the job numbers in the…

This is an egregious situation here. It has tremendous impacts, not only on my district, but the coal industry across this nation.

I assume that it is also safe to say that you don't support lying or asking someone to lie for you, as well.

So that means that Director Pizarchik or someone else at OSM asked the contractors to lie and change the baseline coal production level to show fewer job losses, and that you or no one else was involved.

This cost the American taxpayers millions of dollars. And this, to me and the American taxpayer, is simply unacceptable.

I don't want a filibuster here, Mr. Secretary, because we got a lot to cover.

Mr. Secretary, do you support Federal officials threatening hard-working businesses and individuals for following the compliance mandates of legally binding government contracts?

The Department's lack of fully cooperating with this Committee's document requests regarding their conduct of this regulatory rewrite.

The Administration's plan effectively reinstates the drilling moratoria that were lifted in 2008 by Congress and the President.

Increasing taxes on American families and businesses is not the solution, and simply freezing and holding the line on spending is not enough.

We should not be increasing spending for land acquisition when the government cannot maintain the land it already owns.