A top Democratic appropriator laid into Interior Secretary Doug Burgum at a Tuesday hearing, saying the Trump administration was “effectively gutting” solar and wind power on public lands.
In a lengthy exchange before the House Appropriations Interior-Environment Subcommittee, ranking member Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) pointed to proposed cuts in the administration’s budget plan, which would slash $80 million for renewable energy efforts, effectively ending programs for wind and solar on public lands and waters.
“This administration, and you, are disregarding needed investments in renewable energy and focusing solely on fossil fuels,” she told Burgum. “You do, in your budget, eliminate all funding for renewable energy, effectively gutting this critical sector.”
Pingree said the move would ignore both the reality of climate change and the low cost of renewable energy for states like Maine.
