Interior Dept. Nominee Is Questioned on Public Land Use
By JOHN M. BRODER
Published: March 7, 2013
WASHINGTON — Sally Jewell, President Obama’s nominee for interior secretary, deflected many of the questions she faced at her confirmation hearing Thursday but made clear she supports expanded oil
and gas development on public lands and waters, including exploratory
drilling off the North Slope of Alaska and seismic testing in the
Atlantic Ocean.
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“Leaning into oil and gas development is an important part of the
mission of the Bureau of Land Management and also of the Department of
Interior,” Ms. Jewell said, one of the four times she used a phrase
popularized by Sheryl Sandberg,
the chief operating officer of Facebook and author of “Lean In,” a book
on the challenges confronted by women who are executives.
Ms. Jewell, chief executive of Recreational Equipment Inc. in Seattle, also faced questions on climate change,
protection of endangered species, energy development on Indian lands
and her role as a board member of a national parks advocacy
organization.
The questions were generally polite from Republicans and Democrats on
the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Ms. Jewell’s
responses were for the most part noncommittal. She referred frequently
to the need for balance between exploitation of federal lands for
resource extraction and preservation of wilderness.
She also said climate change was real, but dodged questions about
whether she supported a carbon tax to reduce emissions of greenhouse
gases responsible for the warming planet. “A carbon tax is not something
that would come before me, and the president has made it clear he is
not pursuing a carbon tax at this point,” Ms. Jewell said.
She said she supported Mr. Obama’s so-called all-of-the-above energy
strategy, including increased production of oil and gas as well as
renewable energy on public lands.
Several Republican senators questioned her about her association with the National Parks Conservation Association,
an advocacy organization for employees and visitors at national parks.
Ms. Jewell is vice chairwoman of the board of directors of the group,
which frequently sues the department over land-use decisions, parks
policy and employee rights. Senator John Barrasso, Republican of
Wyoming, said her work at the group was “unsettling” and demanded a
pledge that she promise to recuse herself from any legal or regulatory
matters involving it.
Ms. Jewell said she was one of 30 board members and had no authority on
matters of litigation. She said that if she were confirmed and issues
involving the conservation organization arose she would consult with Interior Department ethics officers before taking any action.
Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, noted that Ms.
Jewell’s résumé cites her work as a young woman as a construction worker
on the Alaska oil pipeline, as a petroleum engineer in Colorado, as a
commercial banker for 19 years and as chief executive of a
billion-dollar company.
“My question is this,” Mr. Alexander said. “How’d you get appointed by
this administration? You sound more like a nominee of a Republican
administration.”
“I thought you were going to ask, ‘Why can’t you hold a job?’ ” Ms. Jewell responded.
Many of the committee members asked about home-state issues. Senator
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the senior Republican on the panel, said she
was concerned about a recent Fish and Wildlife Service decision to block
the building of a gravel airport access road through the Izembek
National Wildlife Refuge in the Aleutian Islands. Ms. Murkowski called
the decision an example of federal overreach.
“We need you to affirm that public lands provide not just a playground
for recreational enthusiasts,” Ms. Murkowski said, “but also paychecks
for countless energy producers, miners, loggers and ranchers.”
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