House Democrats have overwhelmingly supported environmental efforts and legislation, including the controversial Green New Deal. However, President Joe Biden (D) is now receiving backlash as his administration has approved the Willow oil drilling project in Alaska.
President Biden’s Willow oil drilling project is a venture under the federal government's National Petroleum Reserve. President Biden has angered many environmentalists and Democrat lawmakers regarding his decision to approve the drilling program that is estimated to “generate 9.2 metric tons of carbon pollution over the next three decades, the equivalent of adding 2 million gas-powered goes.”
Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost (D) shared his “disappointment in the President for approving the Willow Project.” Frost further explained that "Youth voter turnout was at its highest in 2020 & young folks supported him because of commitments such as ‘no more drilling,’” but now Frost argues that the president has walked back on his word.
I’m very disappointed in the President for approving the Willow Project. Youth voter turnout was at its highest in 2020 & young folks supported him because of commitments such as “no more drilling on federal land”. That commitment has been broken. We deserve a livable future. https://t.co/lCQMOLsljQ
— Maxwell Alejandro Frost (@MaxwellFrostFL) March 15, 2023
"I’m very disappointed in the President for approving the Willow Project. Youth voter turnout was at its highest in 2020 & young folks supported him because of commitments such as “no more drilling on federal land”. That commitment has been broken. We deserve a livable future," stated Rep. Frost.
Rep. Frost shared a statement from Gen-Z for Change, which is composed of a number of activist’s that have worked with President Biden. In the letter, Gen-Z for Change called the approval a “slap in the face to young people across the country.”
In the letter, the group argues that “to be a climate champion is to reject the Willow Project and move Alaska and this country forward in an equitable and sustainable way.” Despite President Biden's commitment to environmental efforts, Frost called the decision "a harrowing precedent for the administration going forward that. When faced with the choice between corporate greed and the American youth."
Republicans have since touted the approval by citing numerous jobs that will be created. Alaska Rep. Lisa Murkowsky (R) shared that Alaska is “now on the cusp of creating thousands of new jobs, generating billions of dollars in new revenues," and “improving quality of life on the North Slope and across our state.”
“With this most recent action, the country is yet again doubling down on oil and preventing our economy from growing and diversifying,” Frost warned.
