Click here to watch Ranking Member Barrasso’s remarks.  

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) delivered the following remarks on the nomination of the Honorable Jennifer Granholm to be secretary of energy.

Barrasso is ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR). 

Senator Barrasso’s remarks: 

“When Governor Granholm came before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee for her nomination hearing, she said she was committed to American energy dominance. 

“She stated she understood the importance of having a broad energy mix and supporting energy innovation. 

“I asked her if it was a good thing that the United States is the world’s leading producer of oil and natural gas. 

“She said it was. 

“I asked her if low energy prices and high paying American energy jobs were good things. 

“She agreed that they were. 

“And when I asked her if America exporting its energy influence around the globe was a good thing, she, again, affirmed that it was. 

“She has demonstrated that she is dedicated to supporting carbon capture, nuclear power, and American uranium production. 

“For these reasons, she cleared our committee with broad bipartisan support and will soon be confirmed by the Senate. 

“I expect we will work together closely on these efforts, when she leads the department of energy. 

“During her nomination hearing, Governor Granholm also said she did not want to see anyone lose their job or get left behind. 

“Yet, this is exactly what the Biden administration is doing to thousands of American energy workers. 

“On inauguration day, the president spoke of unity and bringing our nation back together. 

“But once he arrived at the White House, however, he threw that rhetoric out the window, picked up his pen and starting signing radical executive orders. 

“His orders to ban oil, gas, and coal leasing on federal lands and to kill the Keystone XL Pipeline will throw thousands of Americans out of work. 

“These workers’ livelihoods are being sacrificed in the name of the Biden agenda. 

“Leaders in the administration are telling these oil rig, coal mine, and pipeline workers that they can simply get new jobs building solar panels. 

“John Kerry said the Biden administration policies will give these workers ‘better choices.’ 

“In 2019, the average salary of solar panel technician was about $30,000 a year less than the average salary of a worker in the gas, oil, and coal industry. 

“John Kerry flies around the world on his private jet but is asking American energy workers to take a $30,000 a year less in income. 

“That’s if these green energy jobs even exist. 

“To that point, the Washington Post Fact Checker took a look at what John Kerry had said, and they said he was offering ‘false hope with a misleading use of statistics.’ 

“We have heard it all before. 

“When President Biden was vice president, the Obama administration promised thousands of green energy jobs. 

“These jobs never materialized. 

“Millions of taxpayer dollars were wasted on green energy companies that went belly up. 

“Now, the ‘Solyndra Syndrome’ has returned. 

“The Washington Post Fact Checker said it expects just a little over 10,000 new wind and solar jobs over the next ten years.  

“In Wyoming alone, a long-term leasing ban would result in 33,000 workers losing their jobs. 

“Where are these Wyoming workers supposed to go? 

“Hundreds of thousands more workers will lose their jobs in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and other states. 

“How will they provide for their families? 

“The Biden ban won’t just hurt workers. It’s going to hurt their kids, too. 

“A long-term leasing ban is going to eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars in state revenue. 

“These dollars go to essential services for public schools, for roads, for bridges, and hospitals. 

“A long-term leasing ban is going to hurt teachers, students, and the communities they call home. 

“America needs all of the energy – the oil, the gas, the coal, the uranium, the wind, the solar – all of it. 

“Banning fossil fuels will hurt our economy and force more workers out of work. 

“President Biden has declared war on American energy and American energy workers. 

“I just can’t stand by as his administration tries to crush Wyoming’s economy. 

“I can’t support an administration that throws my constituents out of work and hurts the schools and the hospitals in the communities and the teachers who teach the children. 

“Energy is a force multiplier and America is an energy super power. We need to act that way. 

“President Biden wants to pull the plug on American energy dominance. 

“I can’t in good conscience vote to approve his nominee for secretary of energy.”

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