[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 32 (Thursday, February 16, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S444-S446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Willow Project

  Mr. President, you have seen this speech a couple times, and I am 
going to keep talking about it. Senator Murkowski is going to keep 
talking about it. Congresswoman Peltola, over on the House side, is 
going to keep talking about it.
  This is the bipartisan priority we have for Alaska and America. It is 
called the Willow Project. The Willow Project. People across Alaska are 
speaking, unified in one voice, about the importance of this very big, 
very environmentally safe energy project in our State. Republicans, 
Democrats, and Independents in our State legislature, I believe, are 
getting ready to pass a resolution to the Biden White House and the 
Biden Department of the Interior, saying: Finally, make this happen.
  What is this? It is a very large project, a $9 billion investment, 
with 2,500 construction jobs, 75 percent of which will be the building 
trades, unions; peak production of 200,000 barrels a day into the 
Trans-Alaska Pipeline, not much infrastructure needed; highest 
environmental standards in the world and lowest greenhouse gas 
emissions of any major project this size. It has enormous support from 
unions, building trades, Alaska Natives.
  I have been on the floor talking about this a lot. Last week, we were 
frustrated. I made the point that our friends in the national media 
never talk about who actually really supports the project. They quote 
lower-48 radical environmental groups--who don't live in Alaska, by the 
way--who are all opposed, we know that. They don't want anything built 
in America. Heck, you can't build a bridge here without groups like 
this opposing it.
  But what I said is listen to the Native people, listen to the 
indigenous people of Alaska. They want this. I

[[Page S445]]

have gone through all these groups. Every major Alaska Native group, 
every major union, and every major economic group in our State and 
across the country supports it.
  So I do want to thank some of the reporters who joined me and Senator 
Murkowski and so many of our Alaska Native leaders in a press 
conference a couple of days ago, and guess what. They did start 
reporting on the broader support in the indigenous community in my 
State because prior to that they were canceling the indigenous voices. 
The Native people--the vast majority want this project.
  I want to spend a few minutes on process. The process for this 
project is what we are in right now. All big projects on Federal lands 
go through this. It is what you get when you have the Federal Agencies 
review a project. It is called an environmental impact statement, an 
EIS. After the EIS is issued, there is something called a Record of 
Decision, usually 30 days after that. So when that process goes 
smoothly, you get permission to start working on it. We are in the 
final throes of that process.
  Now, it sounds a little bit boring, but what I want to do is explain 
what has happened because it is really important to know. This project 
has been reviewed by different administrations, starting with the Obama 
administration, then the Trump administration, and now the Biden 
administration. And every single time the career scientists in our 
Federal Agencies, the career professionals in the Department of the 
Interior, the Corps of Engineers, and the EPA--every time they have 
done this study on the environmental impacts to review this project, 
they have passed it with flying colors. That has happened here with the 
Willow Project.
  Let me just give you a little bit of background. First of all, this 
is in the area of Alaska called the National Petroleum Reserve of 
Alaska.
  It was set aside by Congress over 70 years ago. For what? Think about 
it. It is the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska. It was for oil and 
gas development. It used to be called the Naval Petroleum Reserve of 
Alaska. So it is not controversial. It is not like ANWR or other places 
in Alaska. This is set aside. It makes sense, as this is where our oil 
is, and our country needs oil.
  The leases in this area were first acquired, believe it or not, 
during the Clinton administration. In 1999, the company ConocoPhillips 
all in paid a total of about $120 million with rental requirements. So 
the company is paying the Feds. That is a contract. The Feds say: We 
will take your money, and we are going to help you develop it.
  That is the deal. A lot of people forget that. That is the deal, all 
right?
  So preliminary work went in. The producer filed for Federal permits 
to produce in 2018 and received final approval. This was after many 
years of exploration. It then went into the environmental impact 
statement process and reached a Record of Decision at the end of the 
Trump administration. OK. That sounds good. Those were the professional 
scientists who said: You can do this in an environmentally sensitive 
way.
  Unfortunately, all things get litigated in the great State of Alaska. 
The Department of the Interior, after some litigation, said: Well, we 
are going to do another environmental analysis.
  So the Biden administration did another environmental analysis--2 
more years--and we finally got the final environmental impact statement 
2 weeks ago. There are over 500 additional pages.
  Here is what this environmental impact statement from the 
professional staff of the Biden administration said, which was similar 
to what the Trump administration's professional staff said: After the 
environmental analysis, the Biden administration's EIS found that this 
project would not have a detrimental impact on climate, wildlife, 
people, places, things.
  Like I said before, it passed the environmental review.
  Here is a quote on the impact on climate: ``In the absence of 
production from [Willow], energy produced from the Project's oil would 
be replaced by other [places],'' like Venezuela, where they are much 
dirtier in terms of their processes and greenhouse gas emissions. The 
environmental impact statement even acknowledges this. These are the 
career scientists from our Federal Government who wrote this EIS. They 
are not political appointees; they are career.
  So, 2 weeks ago, that is what you would think, that we are going to 
get approval. Not so fast. There are 30 days left--30 days left--and 
guess what. Every radical environmental group in America is coming out, 
knocking on the door of Joe Biden's White House and knocking on the 
door of John Podesta's office, saying: Stop this. We don't care about 
the science. Just kill it.
  Wait. I thought the Democratic Party was the party of science. The 
science is in. The project is good to go.
  You can tell we are worried. Senator Murkowski and I are giving a lot 
of speeches on this. If they kill this, it won't be based on science; 
it will be based on raw political power. Let me repeat that. If the 
Biden administration in the next 30 days decides to kill this project, 
it won't be based on science, because their scientists have already 
spoken. Their scientists have said: Good to go.
  By the way, the Trump administration's scientists said: Good to go. 
By the way, we know they are the same scientists, right? They are 
career Federal employees. They are doing a good job of it.
  So everybody is saying it is good to go. If it gets killed, we are 
watching. The enviros are knocking on the door. They are the only 
group, by the way, in the whole country who doesn't think we need an 
additional 200,000 barrels a day for America and 2,500 jobs.
  So keep a close eye on this, America. If the Biden administration 
kills it, it will be the result of radical environmental muscle going 
to the White House and saying: Kill it. Let's not let that happen.
  If you are watching and if you care about American energy security, 
write blm.gov. Tell them to approve the Willow Project.
  Come on. Don't politicize this. You guys are supposed to be the party 
of science. That is what you say. Well, the science is in. Prove it.
  I want to make one final point here. You know, it might concern some 
people, but I am going to make it anyway. The Department approved this, 
and then the Department of the Interior, without any, really, 
acknowledgment of who said it, said that the Department still has 
substantial concerns about the Willow Project, including direct and 
indirect greenhouse gas emissions--I am not sure what that even means--
and impacts to the wildlife and Alaska Native subsistence.
  Hmm. Now, that is not what the career scientists said. Go read the 
EIS. Why would the Department of the Interior put that out--Deb Haaland 
of the Department of the Interior? Why would they put that out? They 
know that their scientists said this was good to go. What are they 
trying to do here? Well, some of us are nervous that they are trying to 
set up the killing of the project.
  But do you know what is really frustrating? I mentioned this before. 
They mentioned that they are worried about Native subsistence. Last 
week, we had all of the leaders and the biggest experts in Alaska here 
who live on the North Slope, who know about Native subsistence rights 
and hunting better than any group in the world--better than any group 
in the world.
  What is really maddening is, if the Secretary of the Interior wants 
to know about Native subsistence rights, which her Department says she 
does, why wouldn't she meet with these great Alaskans? As a matter of 
fact, five different times, this group has flown from the top of the 
world--Barrow, AK, and Utqiagvik, AK--to come and meet with her, and 
she won't meet with them--five different times, dozens of my 
constituents. They are the experts in the world on Native subsistence, 
but she won't meet with them. Well, that is because they support the 
project, and they are experts on the issues that Interior is raising. 
So I find that interesting, and I find that disappointing.

  Let me just make one other comment. Do you know what? Some of my 
colleagues say, ``Hey, don't say this, Dan. You know, you are going to 
rile up the Secretary,'' but I am going to say it anyway.
  Here is something else that is frustrating, in my view, even 
scandalous--

[[Page S446]]

even scandalous. Our media won't ever report on this, but I am going to 
try again.
  The Secretary of the Interior is from New Mexico. OK. That is 
interesting. Guess which State--my State can't get barely a lease. We 
beg. We make speeches. We fly dozens of people into DC to get leases on 
the Federal lands in my State to move forward. Guess which State has 
gotten, in the first 2 years of the Biden administration, more than 
half of all Federal permits to drill on Federal lands? Do you think it 
is Alaska? No. Is it Texas? My friend from Texas is here. It is not 
Texas. It is not North Dakota. It is not any of those places. Guess 
which it is. Oh, my goodness. It is New Mexico--New Mexico. Isn't that 
an interesting story for somebody? The Secretary of the Interior is 
from New Mexico. The senior Senator from New Mexico is from New Mexico, 
obviously, and they are getting all of the leases. They are getting all 
of the leases.
  Here is the thing. New Mexico is on a tear in terms of producing oil. 
Now, look, I have nothing against that. The country needs it. The 
country needs it. But look at these numbers. These are millions of 
barrels. Red is New Mexico. Gray is Alaska. We are kind of steady. We 
need more oil. New Mexico is in red. Look at that. Holy cow. It is 
through the roof--through the roof. And guess what is coming with all 
of that production. Greenhouse gas emissions through the roof in New 
Mexico. Where is the reporting on that topic?
  You know, sometimes the media likes to talk about ``climate bombs'' 
in the country. I don't really like the phrase. I think it is silly. 
But if there is a climate bomb from the production of oil in America, 
it is right there. It is right there.
  Again, I think it is fine that this State is doing well. It is good 
for the country, and it is good for the workers in New Mexico. But what 
I don't like is the rank hypocrisy. The media is always focusing on 
Alaska, on our production. Yet look at this: There were 9,366 
applications for permits to drill, which were approved during the first 
2 years of the Biden administration, in New Mexico. Yes, that is 
right--over 9,000--while my State can barely get 1. And 52 percent of 
all permits to drill in the country are in New Mexico.
  The Secretary is from New Mexico. Where is that story? Where is that 
story? The Secretary of the Interior has been shutting down Alaska 
energy production while approving massive drilling activity in her own 
State, and the media won't touch that story with a 10,000-foot pole.
  New Mexico has increased production by 700,000 barrels a day since 
2019. They are at 1.7 million barrels a day. My State is at about 
500,000, and we are trying to increase. Where is that story?
  You know, the senior Senator from New Mexico is always trying to shut 
down any oil development in Alaska. I have talked about it on the 
floor. I am not going to go into it a lot here, but he has gone to 
extreme measures, like writing banks and insurance companies and 
saying: Don't invest in Alaska. But it is ``drill, baby, drill'' in New 
Mexico. No one writes that story, and I think it is hypocritical, too, 
because the greenhouse gas emissions in that State are going through 
the roof.
  So there is a lot of hypocrisy going on. In my State, my 
constituents--the Native people, the working people--just want the most 
environmentally sensitive project in the world, which is the Willow 
Project, to keep our economy going and to help our country. That is all 
we want.
  I think, given what the Secretary of the Interior is doing for her 
own State--like I said, ``drill, baby, drill,'' with a climate bomb in 
New Mexico--it is time to finalize the Willow Project according to the 
scientists and the final EIS that was granted by the Biden 
administration 2 weeks ago and not use political muscle and political 
power to kill a project in my State when this blue State is drilling 
like crazy and producing like crazy.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Texas.