Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Transportation is currently the No. 1 source of carbon emissions in the United States, which makes this sector crucial to decarbonizing quickly.

Recognizing the foundational role many minerals play in our economy, Congress has recently tasked USGS with creating and regularly updating a list of critical minerals.

Fabulous. And I was wondering, as well, if you could dig into the current state of battery recycling and other forms of recycling that could potentially reduce our reliance on minerals.

I think from a policy perspective this creates a little bit of a tension, where we want to make sure that this list is accurate.

There are also policy implications for a mineral being added to the critical minerals list, correct?

I think part of our hearings is also an effort in public education on a lot of these different issues.

We need to collectively do more to center Tribal voices in mining permitting decisions because often these perspectives are in strong alignment with sustainable land use stewardship and protecting cultural heritage and endangered species.

It is my understanding that, currently, you all do not have, and consequently we do not have, real-data on overdoses happening in the United States, including non-fatal overdoses.

Fabulous. And are there any changes the Committee should consider making through the ONDCP reauthorization process to improve the office's ability to coordinate drug control policy and action across the Federal Government?

Thank you so much, Mr. Chair and thank you, Dr. Gupta for testifying before the Committee today, and thank you for your tireless commitment to ending the overdose crisis, which has devastated so many families across the United States.

The Department of the Interior has an obligation to the American people to ensure that it receives a fair return on its shared resources.

Some of the earlier testimony that we saw today also referred, and I am glad to hear that there was agreement on this, that the public should not bear the costs of decommissioning.

By linking oil and gas to wind, you create a distrust in wind because coastal communities remember how industry stole the land, destroyed it, and the water.

Offshore wind should not just learn from the mistakes of the oil field, but the good that comes from the health industry by adopting the promise of do no harm before they do good.

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez pointed to the boom-and-bust cycle of our industry and the layoffs that have occurred.

The United States is the world's largest historic emitter of greenhouse gasses. We have a debt to pay.

The generational scars that have been left on my people, the land, and the waters we hold sacred in the name of industry are still painful today.

It's nuts that we're talking about reinvesting in fossil fuels while wealthier areas are already putting their money in wind so they can make clean energy, create jobs, and keep their people safe.

What we're fighting for is the right of the people of Louisiana to remain in their homes and have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink.

The stakes are high. The health of the planet and the well-being of the workforce and future generations hang in the balance.

It is time we right that wrong and advance renewable energy without forced ties to fossil fuels.

Rather than maintaining the status quo and propping up the fossil fuel industry, let's invest in the cleanup of the thousands of miles of abandoned pipelines and countless abandoned wells and rigs to create jobs and protect the environment.

So, I ask again, as our communities lose jobs to volatile oil companies, whose security is really at stake when we talk about energy security and independence?

We owe American workers energy stability and protection, not hollow promises.

Let's be clear. Oil companies brought in $200 billion in profit last year, while high energy prices meant that many families struggled to keep food on the table.