A House oversight hearing examining Biden administration proposals to place economic value on natural resources turned ugly, as Democrats accused their Republican colleagues of showing a “lack of respect” toward expert witnesses who disagree with their views on the issue.
Republicans on the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations continued to blast the administration’s proposed National Strategy for Natural Capital Accounting, which lays out a process for designating natural resources as an asset with a specific monetary value that should be considered when making policy decisions about these resources.
The hearing also included debate on a now-withdrawn proposed rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission that would have allowed so-called natural asset companies to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
Republicans, as they did at an oversight hearing last month, described the administration’s efforts as part of a vast and shadowy effort to “lock up” federal lands from energy development, mining and livestock grazing.
