[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 62 (Wednesday, April 10, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Nomination of David Bernhardt

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, later this week the Senate will vote on 
the confirmation of David Bernhardt, a longtime lobbyist, to the 
position of Interior Secretary. An oil and gas lobbyist will be 
entrusted with our sacred--sacred--inheritance, the great lands of 
America.
  I urge Senators to oppose this nomination.
  The Department of the Interior is the Agency entrusted with 
protecting our Nation's public lands, our water supplies, our wildlife, 
and our energy resources. It grapples directly with some of the biggest 
questions our country faces: how to respond to climate change, how to 
protect endangered species, and how to care for our precious natural 
resources. Yet to lead our Interior Department, President Trump has 
nominated Mr. Bernhardt, an oil and gas lobbyist who has made a career 
harming the environment, subverting environmental protections, and 
helping polluters sidestep Federal regulation.
  As former Secretary Zinke's deputy, he has paved the way for even 
more polluters to run rampant without accountability. Under his watch, 
the Department of the Interior has already opened a colossal 17 million 
acres of Federal land for oil and gas leases, generating millions in 
revenue for energy companies, all while Bernhardt recklessly managed 
our national parks during the government shutdown.
  I am especially troubled this morning because POLITICO reported that 
under Mr. Bernhardt's watch, the Department of the Interior might even 
greenlight offshore drilling off the coasts of Florida--a prospect both 
parties in the State say they oppose. This should be a wake-up call to 
my colleagues all up and down the coast--Atlantic, Pacific, and the 
gulf. If they can't find a reason to oppose this nominee based on the 
other serious and troubling issues that have been raised, maybe this is 
reason enough for them.
  It is hard to imagine someone whose background is so at odds with the 
Department's mission as Bernhardt's. For all his talk of draining the 
swamp, President Trump wants to add yet another Washington swamp 
creature lobbyist to his Cabinet.
  By the way, our resources--our oil and gas resources--are large. The 
motivation here to spoil public lands for oil and gas drilling--it is 
the power of the oil companies. It has nothing to do with the plan for 
natural resources. Bernhardt is an exemplary example of the power of 
these oil companies.
  Gravely troubling is the long list of conflicting interests that 
Bernhardt brings to Trump's Cabinet. Up to 20 of his former clients 
have lobbied the Department of the Interior since his arrival, and the 
New York Times reported last week that he very likely has been less 
than forthcoming about when he stopped lobbying. No other Cabinet-level 
nominee in the Trump era has so many conflicts of interest, and that is 
a low bar. It is a distinction no one should be proud to hold.
  Worst of all, Bernhardt is a hardened enemy of climate science. If 
you are a lobbyist for oil and gas companies, you would say that 
climate change isn't real too. The Washington Post reported he attended 
a session of administration officials that ``debated how best to 
establish a group of researchers that could scrutinize recent federal 
climate reports.'' Translation: Bernhardt is actively working to set up 
the White House's fake panel to deny basic science.
  I have already introduced legislation to prohibit any funding from 
going to this fake climate panel, but knowing Mr. Bernhardt's role in 
setting it up should send shivers down the spines of every American who 
is worried about the impact of our changing climate on their families, 
their farms, and future generations.
  We cannot entrust our public lands to someone known to wage a 
campaign of censorship against facts and reason. Now, later today, I am 
going to be able to meet with Mr. Bernhardt to discuss his 
qualifications. I am letting him know now that I will ask him the same 
three questions I have asked my Republican colleagues in this Chamber. 
One, does Mr. Bernhardt agree that climate change is real; two, does he 
agree it is a product of human action; and three, should the Federal 
Government have a role in combating its effects? His record suggests 
his answer to all these questions is no, but let's see what he says 
today.
  Caring for our planet and being good stewards of our natural 
resources are the most important responsibilities we owe to future 
generations, so I am gravely concerned about Bernhardt's nomination to 
the Department of the Interior, and I urge my colleagues to vote no on 
his confirmation.
  One final point. It still amazes me that Donald Trump campaigns on 
cleaning up the swamp, and he does exactly the opposite when in office. 
An oil and gas lobbyist is head of the Department of the Interior? My 
God, that is an example of the swampiness of Washington, if there ever 
was one. When are Donald Trump's supporters going to understand this; 
that what he promised them, in so many different instances, he is not 
delivering. It is befuddling. It is a sign of the weakness of our 
democracy that someone can walk into the Presidency promising so many 
things and then just immediately do the opposite and still a large 
chunk of Americans say they support him. It is amazing to me.