Alliance President to Testify on Sustaining Rural Economies

4/19/2021

DENVER – Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma will testify at a hearing titled An Economy that Works For Everyone: Investing in Rural Communities before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Sgamma will discuss how President Biden’s Executive Orders stopping the Keystone XL pipeline and federal leasing will quickly kill 147,500 jobs and $15.8 billion in economic activity. The virtual hearing will take place Tuesday, April 20th at 10:00 a.m. ET on the committee’s website.

“The American oil and natural gas industry is proud to be an integral part of an economy that works for everyone. We generate $1.3 trillion in economic activity annually, and sustain 10.3 million American jobs, both directly and indirectly. A large portion of the direct jobs are in rural communities,” said Sgamma.

Remarks by Senators

Sen. Pat Toomey (PA) opens hearing with a strong defense of supporting rural communities through oil and natural gas production.

“But because of the president’s ill-advised ban on federal leasing, many rural counties with majority federal land ownership across the West are already feeling the negative impact. By losing their economic base, previously sustainable rural communities become newly disadvantaged.”

Sgamma’s full testimony is available on the Alliance’s website.

What:  Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs An Economy that Works For Everyone: Investing in Rural Communities

Who:  Kathleen Sgamma, president of Western Energy Alliance

When:  Tuesday, April 20th, 10:00 a.m. ET

Where:  Online on the committee webpage.

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Sen. Jon Tester (MT) “displeased” that witnesses point out how the Biden Ban kills jobs in rural communities in Montana and across the West.

Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma responds to Sen. Tester.