After two days’ questioning before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Interior Department secretary nominee Debra Haaland received support from the committee chairman that could secure her confirmation.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), committee chairman, said Wednesday he would support Haaland’s nomination after previously saying he was uncommitted.
“While we do not agree on every issue, she reaffirmed her strong commitment to bipartisanship, addressing the diverse needs of our country and maintaining our nation’s energy independence,” he said. “I believe Deb Haaland will be a Secretary of the Interior for every American and will vote to confirm her.”
Among the reasons Manchin cited was bipartisan support she received. Haaland was introduced to her confirmation hearing by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska).
“For all these reasons, I believe Deb Haaland will be a secretary of the Interior for every American and will vote to confirm her,” Manchin said. “I look forward to working with her to protect our public lands and ensure the responsible use of all our natural resources in a bipartisan manner.”
During the two days’ questioning at the committee, Republicans questioned Haaland about her support for President Joe Biden’s move to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline and put a hold on issuing new gas and oil permits on public lands.
Still, one Republican senator said in questioning the second day she would be confirmed.
“We, as I look around the committee, mostly Western states here, all have large tracts of public lands. I cannot tell you how important those are to us,” Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) said. “I hope that you will, when you are confirmed, work with us on a local basis, on the ground, instead of sending us directives from D.C.”
Earlier in questioning, Haaland was asked about outdoor recreation priorities, including funding priorities stemming from last year’s Great American Outdoors Act passage. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said the bill provided nearly $10 billion to maintain and repair infrastructure in public lands, “doing things we should have done 50 years ago to invest in our outdoor recreation economy and in rural communities.”
Heinrich asked what steps the department would take to ensure funding is put to work quickly, noting that outdoor recreation is something in which his state could invest in practically every rural community.
“I know there are many areas across the country. I think the best thing to do is to make sure we are consulting with each other, that we get a list of priorities and get to work,” Haaland said. “I can imagine that every senator on this committee would have a list of priorities in their own state for that funding. I think it would be a tremendous boost.”
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) also discussed improvement needs, citing the New River Gorge in Manchin’s home state and Mount Rainer and Olympic national parks in Washington. “We have got a 50-year-old water treatment system that needs to be upgraded, campgrounds and walkways at Mount Rainer that need to be upgraded,” she said. “So I want to make sure that, under your leadership, those dollars get spent as we have envisioned.”
Haaland said she “absolutely will,” and, when Cantwell asked, said she would seek the full $900 million in mandatory spending for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LCWF). LCWF funding was approved in 2020 by Congress but the prior administration considered potentially limiting spending below the mandatory amount.
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper questioned Haaland about her support for the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Economy (CORE) Act bill he co-sponsored with Sen. Michael Benet (D-Colo.). The bill would protect more than 400,000 acres of Colorado public lands, which Hickenlooper said would ensure residents “inherit both a thriving outdoor recreation economy and pristine outdoor spaces.”
“Senator, I was a conferee on the NDAA last year and I was disappointed the CORE Act was not included after all,” Haaland said. “I can speak for myself, but I also know that President Biden supports a strong outdoor economy for our entire country, and I understand the administration also endorses the bill.”
Invitations to visit local public lands were offered by various senators. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) invited Haaland to visit tribal lands in her state, while Hickenlooper issued an invitation to the Bureau of Land Management headquarters in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) used an RV story to lead into his invitation.
“Almost 20 years ago I took an RV trip with my family and, for the first time in a serious way, visited the Southwest and found that the landscape was so completely different from where I live,” he told Haaland. “It was a real revelation. Bandelier in New Mexico, White Sands (National Park) and the travel that we did in that area was just, as I say, a revelation. Therefore, if confirmed, I want to invite you to come to New England, and particularly to come to Maine.”
“Thank you senator, yes, I will come, thank you,” Haaland said.
