Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

My colleagues say that the mining industry needs certainty--well this is certainty, the Boundary Waters watershed is off limits.

Now, Ms. Rom, we have mentioned several times that one of the two pieces of legislation we are considering, H. Con. Res. 34, is unconstitutional.

So, we have to stop the gaslighting.

We are having a pep rally here for the taconite mining that has historically taken place safely in another part of the state, and we are not even talking about taconite mining in this case.

That pattern is playing out over and over in this Subcommittee, unfortunately.

And I want you to come and see how huge amounts of lithium and manganese are going to be drawn out of the brine that we are going to use for geothermal energy, and it is going to be great for jobs, and for electrifying the transportation…

We must also ramp up domestic mining and processing of these resources

The U.S. should work with allies around the world to ramp up international production

My vision is one that gives tribes the opportunity to provide input early and often, lets land managers decide where mining should occur, and provides a fair return for taxpayers.

I find it hard to believe that leaving these stakeholders out of the conversation was an accidental oversight.

The decision was based on sound science, community input, robust tribal consultation, and, at the end of the day, the best interests of the American people.

You can't put your tailings waste facility on our land because that will expose us to potential Superfund liability.

There has been a significant financial unevenness, if you will, with the American people against this giant billionaire mining company.

Ocasio-Cortez, Hon. Alexandria, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York

We just lived through this with SBF and FTX.

Correct, the example we used with Purdue Pharma. When they sold highly addictive drugs to Americans, they made money hand over fist.

So, everyday people saving for college, saving for retirement, and who really just want to make sure they can put their dollar in a long-term investment that is stable, correct.

Thank you. And is that what you would say are the primary obstacles to improving these conservation efforts, just the funding and additional resources?

Thank you. And in your view, has NEPA been an obstacle to these conservation efforts?

This overall bill dedicates $200 million over the next 7 years to address the impact of the climate crisis on the sequoias.

The irony of that is that this Committee right now and, in the past, has been charged with investigating companies that have abused the public by deliberately leaving critical information off those balance sheets.

Given their political track record on not supporting a lot of conservation bills, the argument does ring hollow.

Can BOEM potentially mandate that oil and gas lessees hold fully vested trusts that ensure cleanup of infrastructure and wells?

Can you speak a little bit as to why we are not presently requiring that companies clean up old pipelines?

In a recent GAO report it was revealed that since the 1960s, BSEE and BOEM have allowed the offshore oil and gas industry to leave 97 percent of pipelines--that is 18,000 miles of infrastructure--on the sea floor of the Gulf of Mexico when…