Oil and gas development and the Willow project
What they say
Her campaign says she has consistently stood up to anyone, including President Biden, to promote oil and gas development and secure approval of the Willow oil project.
“consistently standing up to anyone – including Joe Biden – to promote oil and gas development, secure approval of the Willow Oil Project”
Source: Alaskans for Mary
What the record shows ·
She was an original cosponsor of H.R. 6285, the Alaska's Right to Produce Act of 2023, introduced November 8, 2023, and voted Present when the House passed it on May 1, 2024 (roll call 174). On the floor that day she said she still supported the bill's intent but that it would nullify the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area, and she introduced her own version the same day, H.R. 8214, which would void any pause on oil and gas leasing in the Coastal Plain. On the other House bills of her term about oil and gas leasing, production or export, she voted Yea on H.R. 22, barring Strategic Petroleum Reserve sales to buyers tied to China (January 12, 2023, roll call 31), on H.R. 7176, lifting restrictions on natural gas exports (February 15, 2024, roll call 52), and on H.R. 1121, barring a presidential moratorium on fracking (March 20, 2024, roll call 93); Nay on H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act (March 30, 2023, roll call 182), and on H.R. 6009, withdrawing a Bureau of Land Management rule on oil and gas leasing (March 20, 2024, roll call 95); and did not vote on H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act (January 27, 2023). The Willow approval was an Interior Department decision, on which no member of Congress voted. On the Senate floor on March 8, 2023, Dan S. Sullivan thanked her for “a really strong job” on Willow, “particularly in the meeting last week with the President”. On March 14, 2023, Senator Lisa Murkowski named her in “a united delegation” that led the effort.
Sources: Congress.gov, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Government Publishing Office, Congress.gov, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Government Publishing Office, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Government Publishing Office, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Government Publishing Office, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Government Publishing Office, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Government Publishing Office, U.S. Government Publishing Office, U.S. Government Publishing Office, U.S. Government Publishing Office, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives
Why there is no verdict here
The record points both ways. On Willow, both Alaska senators said on the Senate floor that she helped lead the push, including at a meeting with the President. On oil and gas bills, she voted for three, against two, missed one, and voted Present on one she had cosponsored because of one provision. Votes on single bills cannot settle “consistently”, so no label is given.
Sources: Congress.gov, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Government Publishing Office, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Government Publishing Office, U.S. Government Publishing Office, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives
Limit: The votes listed are every House passage vote of her term on a bill whose text is about oil and gas leasing, production or export, found by searching the Clerk's roll-call titles for 2022 to 2024; votes on other land and energy rules are left out, such as the WEST Act on a Bureau of Land Management conservation rule, on which she voted No (roll call 165 of 2024). They are votes on particular bills rather than on the claim, which is about advocacy.