On Thursday Congresswoman Yvette Herrell of New Mexico’s Second District and three of her Republican colleagues from around the country, Reps. Ronnie Jackson (R-TX), Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), and Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN), to discuss protecting the oil and gas sector.
The delegation met with industry leaders in Artesia, which is in Eddy County, New Mexico’s second-largest oil-producing county, and especially hit hard by Joe Biden’s drilling ban on federal lands.
Rep. Herrell said, “We had a great roundtable with several of the (oil and gas) stakeholders this morning so we could understand the challenges unique to the industry.”
She also challenged Joe Biden to visit Artesia to “show him firsthand what is happening.”
Rep. Stauber, who is the Ranking Member on the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, spoke about how his district is reliant on oil and natural gas, saying, “We’re not only an iron ore mining district but we’re also critical minerals, there’s a lot of pushback of mining critical minerals just as they are oil and gas production down here.”
He added, “Meeting the environmental and labor standards and I think it brings good paying jobs to the community here. It helps with the schools. It brings money to the local communities and I think as we go forward, we have to recognize not only energy independence but dominating the energy sector.”
Rep. Tenney said, “We have a moratorium in New York and we’re not allowed to access in many cases a lot of that shale and I just wanted to learn and listen how the energy sector affected the economy here.”
“We’re grateful to learn and thank you Artesia to the wonderful people we met here. We’re very proud of their community and we are just grateful to hear from them and hear their concerns and take them back to Washington,” Tenney continued.
Rep. Jackson, whose district spans from Amarillo to Wichita Falls, Texas said that “It’s really interesting to hear the discussions we had today and I’ll just say, I think it’s really important how people in New Mexico need to know, especially people in urban areas, they need to know how important oil and gas is to their livelihood.”
The delegation also visited a production facility to see first-hand the critical industry that is at stake if Biden continues his assault on the oil and gas industry. The four members of Congress toured an EOG Resources facility, where they got a hands-on look at the resources they are working in Congress to protect.
Stauber applauded Herrell in a tweet about his visit, saying, “When Biden issued bans on oil & gas development, she led the charge against his harmful action.” He also wrote, “I am proud to join her in defending American energy independence and our overall way of life!”