{"id":1358732,"date":"2022-03-04T13:52:54","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T18:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1358732"},"modified":"2022-03-04T13:53:57","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T18:53:57","slug":"exclusive-oversight-democrats-quietly-cancel-climate-hearing-into-big-oil-disinformation-amid-ukraine-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-oversight-democrats-quietly-cancel-climate-hearing-into-big-oil-disinformation-amid-ukraine-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Oversight Democrats Quietly Cancel Climate Hearing Into Big Oil \u2018Disinformation\u2019 Amid Ukraine Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fexclusive-oversight-democrats-quietly-cancel-climate-hearing-into-big-oil-disinformation-amid-ukraine-crisis%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1358732&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><ul>\n<li><strong>Democrats on the House Oversight Committee abruptly canceled a hearing that was intended to be part of a monthslong probe into the fossil fuel industry amid the Ukraine crisis.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cNow that world events have shown the importance of domestic oil and gas production, you are canceling the March 8, 2022 hearing with oil company board members even after you sent letters \u2018demanding their testimony\u2019 on that date,\u201d Republican leaders on the committee wrote in a letter Friday.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>In October, Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and California Rep. Ro Khanna, the top Democrat on the Oversight Subcommittee on Environment, initiated the broader investigation, focusing on whether Big Oil companies have conducted a decadeslong \u201cdisinformation campaign\u201d on climate change.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Top Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee abruptly canceled a hearing that was intended to be part of a monthslong probe into the fossil fuel industry amid the Ukraine crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic leadership nixed the hearing, originally scheduled for March 8, from the panel\u2019s schedule despite their previous insistence that it takes place, according to Republican leaders on the committee. Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and California Rep. Ro Khanna, the top Democrat on the Oversight Subcommittee on Environment, <a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/news\/press-releases\/chairs-maloney-khanna-demand-big-oil-board-members-testify-at-march-hearing\">announced<\/a> that they would call the Big Oil board members to testify as part of their broad climate probe into the industry in early February.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, Oversight Committee Ranking Member James Comer and Oversight Environment Subcommittee <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/02\/04\/ralph-norman-joe-biden-administration-green-energy-interests\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ranking Member Ralph Norman<\/a> slammed the panel\u2019s Democrats, urging them to cancel the entire investigation, in a letter to Maloney obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow that world events have shown the importance of domestic oil and gas production, you are canceling the March 8, 2022 hearing with oil company board members even after you sent letters \u2018demanding their testimony\u2019 on that date,\u201d the GOP lawmakers wrote in the letter. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/10\/27\/democrats-ro-khanna-carolyn-maloney-oversight-committee-big-oil-disinformation\/\">(RELATED: Democrats To Begin Year-Long Investigation Into Big Oil \u2018Disinformation\u2019 Campaign)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince there is no longer a pressing need to hear from board members, we call on you to stop your baseless investigation and instead require the Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee,\u201d they continued.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7384873\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7384873\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7384873\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1228804153-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Oversight Ranking Member James Comer elbow bumps Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney prior to a hearing on Sept. 30, 2020. (Greg Nash\/Pool\/Getty Images)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1228804153-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1228804153-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1228804153-620x413-1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1228804153-768x512-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1228804153-1536x1024-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1228804153-2048x1365-1.jpg 2048w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7384873\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oversight Ranking Member James Comer elbow bumps Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney prior to a hearing on Sept. 30, 2020. (Greg Nash\/Pool\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Comer and Norman accused Democrats of saving face in light of <a href=\"https:\/\/gasprices.aaa.com\/\">skyrocketing gasoline prices<\/a>. Oil prices, which have a major impact on gasoline prices, have <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/02\/24\/crude-oil-prices-100-per-barrel-russia-ukraine\/\">surged<\/a> after Russia unleashed a military invasion of Ukraine, roiling global energy markets.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the White House has opted against sanctioning Russia\u2019s energy sector, which imported more 670,000 barrels of oil per day to the U.S. in 2021, despite <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/03\/03\/joe-manchin-bipartisan-legislation-russian-oil-import-ban\/\">calls from dozens of bipartisan lawmakers<\/a> to ban such imports.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRussia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine has made it clear to the entire world the necessity for the United States to maintain a strong position in our domestic production of oil and gas,\u201d Comer, Norman and the other committee Republicans continued. \u201cIt is now more critical than ever for the United States to expand production capacity of our natural resources to protect our interests and not be beholden to countries like Russia the way Europe is after prematurely moving away from fossil fuels.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEssentially, President Biden has allowed the U.S. to fund Putin\u2019s invasion of Ukraine,\u201d they added. \u201cThe fact that our intelligence community warned of an invasion and President Biden continued buying Russian oil is unconscionable.\u201d <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/03\/02\/joe-biden-energy-policies-crude-oil-natural-gas-russia\/\">(RELATED: ANALYSIS: How Biden\u2019s Energy Policies Enabled Putin\u2019s Aggression In Ukraine)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While Democrats canceled the hearing, both Maloney and Khanna had threatened further action in February if the board members \u2014 including officials from ExxonMobil, BP and Shell \u2014 decided not to appear before the committee. They also criticized the board members for alleged attempts to delay the hearing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite attempts to delay, I look forward to questioning Big Oil board members under oath,\u201d Khanna said in a statement on Feb. 3.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7384872\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7384872\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7384872\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1326116794-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Rep. Ro Khanna speaks at an \u201cEnd Fossil Fuel\u201d rally near the U.S. Capitol on June 29. (Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1326116794-scaled.jpg 8192w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1326116794-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1326116794-620x414-1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1326116794-768x512-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GettyImages-1326116794-1536x1025-1.jpg 1536w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7384872\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Ro Khanna speaks at an \u201cEnd Fossil Fuel\u201d rally near the U.S. Capitol on June 29. (Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In October, Maloney and Khanna initiated the broader investigation, focusing on whether Big Oil companies have conducted a decadeslong \u201cdisinformation campaign\u201d on climate change. They said the probe could last a year and would mimic the 1990s congressional probe into tobacco corporations. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/02\/24\/fossil-fuel-industry-oil-gas-production-russia-ukraine\/\">(RELATED: Ukraine Crisis Proves The Need For Domestic Fossil Fuel Production, Industry Groups Say)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Democratic leaders began the probe with an Oct. 28 hearing in which CEOs of the largest oil corporations testified. During the hearing, committee Democrats <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/10\/28\/katie-porter-climate-change-oil-gas-house-oversight-committee\/\">grilled<\/a> the executives over climate change while Republicans criticized the investigation as an opportunity for grandstanding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDemocrats on this committee have spent months attacking leaders in the oil and gas industry for the purpose of fundraising,\u201d Norman told the DCNF in a statement. \u201cNow, they\u2019re cancelling hearings with their tails between their legs because gas prices have soared to record levels.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cQuit the games, and while we\u2019re at, let\u2019s get Energy Secretary Granholm in for a hearing to address the prices at the pump,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, the oil companies under investigation have provided the committee with more than 400,000 pages of documents since October, according to committee Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>Maloney\u2019s office didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats on the House Oversight Committee abruptly canceled a hearing that was intended to be part of a monthslong probe into the fossil fuel industry amid the Ukraine crisis. \u201cNow<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1358732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1358732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1358732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1358732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1358732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1358732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1358732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}