Cramer: Court Ruling On Hydraulic Fracturing Another Victory For State'S Rights, Congressional Authority

Press Release

Congressman Kevin Cramer issued the following statement in response to Tuesday's ruling by a Wyoming federal judge that the Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) does not have the authority to issue its own hydraulic fracturing rule until lawsuits against it are settled.

"I am grateful but not surprised a Federal Judge has ruled in favor of states in their challenge to the Obama Administration's Hydraulic Fracturing Rule. The judge rightly recognized Congress writes laws, not the bureaucracy. His opinion made very clear when in 2005 Congress specifically removed the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate hydraulic fracturing it did not intend for the BLM to instead have this authority. Tragically, during the Obama Administration, the federal government has been working against states, forcing them to sue the federal government to regain their state's rights. This Administration's egregious federal overreach and challenge to hydraulic fracturing authority affirms its intention to keep fossil fuels in the ground, at the great expense of national security, a strong economy and good jobs."

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