| February has come and gone in the blink of an eye! Following the chaos of January, and the start of the 118th Congress, February was relatively calm – perhaps the calm before the storm. March is a notoriously busy time on Capitol Hill, as offices hustle to meet appropriations deadlines, and Members push to finish business ahead of the longer spring break recess in April. Besides all our normal activities, we have two specific items we are keeping our eyes on as we head into the next month. First up is the Bureau of Land Management’s Record of Decision on ConocoPhillips’ Willow project in the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska. The development is expected to produce 180,000 barrels of oil daily at its peak, making it the largest project on Alaska’s North Slope in more than 20 years. Willow makes sense for America’s economy and security, and we believe it can be developed safely. It also fits squarely within President Biden’s call for the industry to invest more in domestic production. Our OpEd on this important project just hit the wires, and we remain hopeful that the final decision will be based on facts and science, and not politics. We are also keeping watch for the House Republican’s expected energy and permitting reform package. Republicans are looking to address the existing barriers to energy production permitting in the package and target regulatory reform. The legislation they hope to bring to the floor will originate in multiple committees, two of which have Roosevelt Conservation Caucus members at the helm (Chair McMorris Rodgers and Chair Westerman). We will continue to highlight our priorities and work with the Roosevelt Conservation Caucus members to push through commonsense, lasting, and durable solutions. Watch for an announcement on new Members next month! In other news, ConservAmerica has launched a new, bipartisan group called The Alliance for Ocean Restoration. The purpose of the group is to educate and advocate for federal legislation that would establish a pilot test program and provide public/private funding for ocean pasture restoration (OPR). OPR will restore fisheries and provides a natural solution for climate change mitigation. That’s it from us this month. We know some of you are experiencing some rough weather and storms this week, and we hope everyone is staying safe and warm. |
