U.S. lawmakers grill Trump's Interior Dept pick on oil drilling, ethics
Source: Reuters
POLITICS MARCH 28, 2019 / 7:04 AM / UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
U.S. lawmakers grill Trump's Interior Dept pick on oil drilling, ethics
Nichola Groom
4 MIN READ
(Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s pick to run the U.S. Department of Interior, a former energy lobbyist, faced tough questions during his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday about potential conflicts of interest and the administration’s unpopular plan to expand offshore oil drilling.
On the drilling plan, David Bernhardt said it was still in its early stages and would be “winnowed down” to address the concerns of coastal states. That was the clearest sign yet that the Trump administration will need to scale back its initial proposal made more than a year ago to open up nearly all of America’s coastal waters to drilling.
“We’re at step one, not step seven,” Bernhardt told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, adding the plan had yet to be fully drafted.
“The entire planning process is supposed to do this: start out big and winnow down,” he said.
The initial proposal to open up the Atlantic, Pacific and new parts of the Arctic oceans to offshore drilling drew vehement opposition from nearly every coastal state, mainly over environmental concerns relating to potential oil spills.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-interior-bernhardt/u-s-lawmakers-grill-trumps-interior-dept-pick-on-oil-drilling-ethics-idUSKCN1R918G