Environment & Energy
The environment — our air, our water, our land — is a sacred trust that we must protect and preserve for ourselves and future generations. Today, our planet is in peril because of climate change, which is already affecting Minnesotans and Americans.
As the Chair of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, I am a strong supporter of action on climate change and strongly oppose efforts to undermine our international commitments and turn the United States into an environmental rogue nation. In addition, I support full funding for environmental protections and oppose harmful efforts to weaken our bedrock clean air, clean water, and conservation laws. These are laws that protect the health of our families and our planet.
When it comes to energy, we must make smart decisions today to create green jobs and safeguard our environment. Instead of doubling down on fossil fuels, I support strategic investments in clean energy infrastructure, research, and education.
More on Environment & Energy
In his testimony before the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee last month, I asked Secretary Zinke about the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Secretary Zinke affirmed that some places are too precious to mine, but it seems as though the watershed of the BWCA does not qualify. Yesterday, the Bureau of Land Management officially reinstated two foreign-owned mining leases on the doorstep of the BWCA, along a river that flows directly into the wilderness.