On Tuesday, Republican U.S. House Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) released a video featuring Congresswoman Yvette Herrell of New Mexico’s Second District where she spoke about the bill she is sponsoring, the Protecting our Wealth of Energy Resources (POWER) Act of 2021, which aims to put America back on the road to energy independence.
The bill comes after Joe Biden’s administration killed at least 12,000 jobs with his disassembly of the Keystone XL Pipeline and a ban on oil drilling leases on federal land, among other extreme proposals.
“More than half the oil and more than two-thirds of the natural gas produced in New Mexico is on federal lands,” said Herrell. “A moratorium on new leases will devastate our state’s economy, destroying more than 60,000 jobs by 2022, and decimate our state’s budget,” she said.
In the video, Herrell said, “We know what it’s like to have energy independence in our country, and we’ve got to keep it going that way. In fact, we’re seeing production levels higher than ever, but our emissions lower.”
She added, “When we work together with science, technology, and our industry partners, we can produce better energy–more affordable energy–for all of America.”
“We can protect our federal lands, we can protect drilling on federal lands, and we can ensure that our American households have good clean affordable energy,” she concluded.
WATCH her message below and read more about her bill here.
Herrell’s message comes after the Piñon Post reported on State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard appeared to support Joe Biden’s anti-energy ban on federal land drilling, in response to a letter from Herrell requesting support for New Mexico’s energy independence.