House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement today regarding President Obama’s FY 2012 budget:

“The United States cannot afford to continue President Obama’s trillion dollar budget deficits that ignore any sense of fiscal sanity. We have a real debt crisis that requires making tough decisions and setting priorities. Unfortunately, the President’s budget continues to pursue tax and spend policies that will cost Americans jobs and lead us off the road of economy recovery.

“Increasing taxes on American energy production when gasoline prices are above $3 a gallon is the last thing the President should propose. Making energy more expensive for families and businesses will stunt economic growth, send American jobs overseas and prolong our dangerous dependence on foreign energy.

“Republicans on the Natural Resources Committee are serious about reducing spending and addressing the Nation’s growing debt head-on. We will thoroughly review the Interior Department’s budget and make tough choices on how to best direct scarce taxpayer dollars. We will closely examine why the President is proposing to spend money purchasing federal lands when the National Park Service currently has a maintenance backlog measuring in the billions of dollars. We will also take a close look at how increased funding for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement will actually be used to improve safety and make certain offshore drilling resumes.”

Note: The House Natural Resource Committee will hold a Full Committee hearing on Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 10:00 AM on “Department of the Interior Spending and the President’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Proposal." Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will testify.

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