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Colorado Republican Senator Cory Gardner called on candidates and elected leaders to reject calls for fossil fuel energy development bans on federal lands citing a new report from the U.S. Chamber Institute for 21^st Century Energy detailing the “severe and immediate” negative impacts the U.S. economy would face under the proposal championed by “Keep It In The ground” (KIITG) activists.  Speaking at the Colorado Oil and Gas Association’s Rocky Mountain Energy Summit, Gardner said:

“And it’s a risk because we have leaders who are saying irresponsible things like, ‘we will have no more production on public lands.’ It’s irresponsible and I think anybody who refuses to reject statements like that are not fit for statewide office in Colorado or not fit for federal office in Washington, D.C.”

Specifically citing the report, Gardner called a pair of anti-fracking measures Colorado voters could face in November an “existential threat” while warning that Hillary Clinton has touted similar policies in her campaign. Also from Gardner’s remarks:

“And this debate that’s taking place in Colorado right now about whether or not we should ban fracking is an existential threat we have to kill and we have to stop. And unfortunately it’s not just a debate that’s taking place in Colorado. We’ve heard at least one of our presidential candidates, say, Hillary Clinton say, this of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce report – and I hope you take a look at it, it just came out – ‘No future extraction on federal lands.  I agree with that.’ Think about what that means to jobs in this state.”

And as the new U.S. Chamber report details, if a ban on fossil fuel energy development on federal lands, the goal of the KIITG movement, was enacted, Colorado would be his especially hard. Asa fact sheet accompanying View Full Article