Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

In this Committee, we have gone through great lengths to prove that facial comparison and recognition technology is racially discriminatory.

The extreme GOP platform has shifted to one that vilifies the Federal Government and its laws so they can put private industry, no matter how dirty, reckless, or greedy, up on a pedestal above the needs of the general public.

Republicans and their industry allies don't like NEPA, and they will push every bill they can to try to hobble its effectiveness.

It is especially, especially stark to cut environmental reviews for the fossil fuel industry, the biggest culprit responsible for the climate crisis that we are in.

I want to thank you for allowing the second round of questioning for this important Committee work.

Our goals here are to actually protect and be proactive for coal workers and fossil fuel workers.

All forms of experience are legitimate, and yours is very necessary here in this hearing.

The burden of toxic waste and pollution, and the burden of paying for that cleanup themselves, if it ever even does get cleaned up.

What we really, I think, should be focusing on is the more than the $1 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act to increase Federal agency capacity for those environmental reviews, which I think would actually speed up time.

Environmental review is a key bottleneck in developing critical resources.

That would update our mining laws to largely favor mining interests.

I think it was inappropriate for a Member to attack your extensive experience, just because you don't have an experience as a corporate executive.

What we really need to think about is a transition.

One of the pieces of legislation... is the TAP American Energy Act, and it gives away more and more lands to fossil fuel development.

These leases are tying up our public lands and they are not being used for the purposes for which they were made.

We cannot allow oil and gas companies to sit on unused leases for longer, preventing those leases from being used.

And Mr. Stauber, while you arrange that, would it be all right--I have some documents that I would like to submit to the record.

Section 214 of Rep. Westerman's H.R. ____ 'Transparency and Production of American Energy Act of 2023' allows only for the environmental analysis of the areas on and immediately adjacent to the lease plot under analysis.

This Committee has a profound responsibility and role in mitigating the impacts of the climate crisis.

Thank you so much, Chairman Stauber. And I, too, am looking forward to working with you this Congress.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. If you are curious, you can just ask me.

They want to fast-track drilling and mining projects--I'm on my time right now, sir--so they can make more money more easily, despite the fact that they are already raking in trillions by taking 'corporate handouts and ripping off the…

But no matter what happens, no matter what Republicans want, the American people have a different vision for the future, and that involves dealing with the climate crisis.

They want to hoard more of our public lands, despite the fact that fossil fuel industry already has thousands of approved permits across 26 million acres that they aren't even using.

Why is this Committee devoting a day-long hearing to a political conspiracy theory that was planted in the media by Rudy Giuliani to support Donald Trump's reelection campaign?