WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today released the following statement regarding President Joe Biden’s climate Executive Actions:

“The Biden administration signals with these Executive Orders that America is heading backwards from energy independence toward reliance on foreign sources. This is an economic, energy, and national security disaster rolled into one. While depriving communities of much-needed revenue and job opportunities during a pandemic, the administration’s moratorium is another step closer towards what we know is Gina McCarthy and John Kerry’s ultimate goal: an all-out ban on fossil fuels.

“Many of the decisions announced today should be made in Congress, not dictated from a presidential order. This type of government overreach leaves rural communities and union workers in the dust, just ask those who were working on the Keystone XL pipeline. In West Virginia, we remember the effects of this playbook originally created during the Obama administration. America is a proud energy producer, and paralyzing an entire industry full of high-paying jobs and propping up hostile countries with fewer environmental regulations does little to combat global climate change and creates resentment at home.”

 

# # #