WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a Member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement on the Senate Republicans’ reconciliation bill text:
“Senate Republicans think they can get away with taking a sledgehammer to our national public lands, killing thousands of American jobs, and jacking up families’ electricity costs without being held accountable. To hell with that.
“Senate Republicans have finally said the quiet part out loud: They want to put millions of acres of our public lands up in a fire sale, destroy the investments that have created thousands of manufacturing and clean energy jobs – including in their home states, and obliterate programs that lower energy costs for everyday Americans. If Senate Republicans succeed, we all lose. Countless families lose their ticket to the middle class in the jobs killed and their hard-earned money to unnecessarily high utility bills. And we all lose access to public lands forever, jeopardizing our local economies and who we are as a nation.
“In the days ahead, you’ll hear a lot of excuses from Republicans trying to cover for what they’re doing. Do not believe it. This isn’t about building more housing or energy dominance. It’s about giving their billionaire buddies YOUR land and YOUR money.”