ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Local officials and residents in New Mexico's oil patches are anxious as the Biden administration takes aim at the oil and natural gas industry with a series of new executive orders.
But the state's two U.S. senators support the actions, saying it's time to rethink the nation's energy policies and move toward what Democrat Martin Heinrich described as a zero-pollution economy. Freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell says the president's actions are hasty and could have dire consequences given the industry's effect on New Mexico's bottom line.
National industry officials echoed those concerns Wednesday, noting that America's appetite for energy is only going to increase as the economy recovers.