(USNewsMag.com) – On May 2, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Deb Haaland, Interior Secretary, sparred at an Energy Committee meeting in the Senate.
They were talking about the mining ban in Minnesota by the Department of the Interior. The planned Twin Metals mine on 225,504 acres, which would have hired upwards of 1,000 workers, would be shut down as a result.
For suggesting that people needn’t worry about the denial of the mining project since there is alternative blue-collar employment available, Hawley blasted Haaland.
Haaland supported the decision, arguing that the moratorium would protect essential environmental assets. This prompted Hawley to bring up the fact that manufacturing autonomy from China and employment opportunities for blue-collar employees were also essential assets. He wondered why these seemed less significant than extreme climate change priorities.
According to her, there are now 1.9 available jobs for every resident of the US. Hawley cut her off, asking if she was arguing that there are just too many employment opportunities in the US.
Haaland said that her point was that there just aren’t enough people for the jobs.
He replied by asking if she was saying there were excessive blue-collar job openings even after three million US jobs moved to China during the last two decades. These were blue-collar employment opportunities, he added. He pressed her on whether or not she still thought America had an excess of employment opportunities. Hawley asked, “Are you serious?”
Haaland said that 20 mining permits have been handled by the agency since January 2021. The organization is making progress; its employees are diligently carrying out their objectives.
Hawley again cut her off to say that her agency was going backward by closing mines because permits were being denied. He then repeated her argument that there are already more than enough jobs. He declared his staunchest opposition to the whole outlook. She is basically telling Americans in blue-collar jobs that they’re responsible for their own survival. He went on to say that she was very uncaring toward American workers.
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