By Congressman Mike Flood
Fox News Opinion | September 26, 2023
Four years ago, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., introduced a resolution promising a “Green New Deal.” At the time, it seemed more like a fringe dream from a far-left socialist than something that would ever happen.
But that dream is quickly becoming a reality.
Two years into the Biden administration, Americans are just starting to understand the full scope of what the president is delivering for climate extremists. It started with his January 2021 executive order titled “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.”
Since then, President Biden’s team has done everything from re-writing federal regulations to using America’s position as a leader on the global stage to push radical climate policy.
Last year, Biden’s so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) enacted several Green New Deal policies. The law was pitched to combat inflation – but it was never about that. It poured billions of dollars into government programs to restructure America’s energy and automotive industries.
Earlier this year, AOC celebrated the IRA: “When we first introduced the Green New Deal, we were told that our vision for the future was too aspirational. Four years later, we see core tenets of the Green New Deal reflected in the Inflation Reduction Act…“
Now with Republicans in the majority in the House of Representatives, Biden’s focus has necessarily shifted to tools such as federal agency rulemaking. Take for example the proposed public lands rule from the U.S. Department of Interior and Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The proposed rule would give expansive new authority to the BLM – all without the consent of elected representatives.
Biden is also using the power of executive order and the Antiquities Act. Last week, the president announced the launch of a “Climate Corps” styled after a New Deal-era program.
Over the last year, he’s designated five new national monuments, placing restrictions on vast swaths of land in Arizona, Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada and Texas. Such designations block the possibility of making land more productive in the future. For example, Biden permanently banned mining uranium on 900,000 acres – a resource that could help America produce clean energy and achieve energy independence.
Additionally, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is in the process of creating a National Marine Sanctuary designation for 770,000 square miles of ocean around remote Pacific islands governed by the United States.
Federal designations like these are key to achieving the 30×30 goal of environmental activists – conserving or permanently protecting 30% of the nation’s land and water by 2030. But Biden isn’t limiting his work to the home front. He has worldwide ambitions for his 30×30 land grab. At the G-20 earlier this month in New Delhi, world leaders issued a joint statement endorsing a similar 30% goal “to achieve land degradation neutrality.”
We don’t have to look far to see the consequences of sweeping changes like these. The New York Times recently profiled Dutch farmers grappling with the fallout from extreme climate policy. Ag producers in the Netherlands are being pushed to shrink herds, shift production and even to shut down their operations forever. Their stories should serve as a warning to Americans.
America doesn’t have to follow this path. We must hold the line and fight back.
I have great hope for success in this battle. The fight against Biden’s 30×30 land grab started here in Nebraska. Early opposition raised awareness about the consequences of federal land controls.
We don’t need the federal government to tell us how to steward our land and water. Instead, we need to empower America’s farmers and ranchers to pursue sustainable agricultural practices – the way they already have for generations.
For my part, I’m fighting for change in Washington. Last year, I voted against the IRA, which passed when House Republicans were in the minority. This year, I’ve made it a priority to keep conservation programs in the new Farm Bill voluntary.
And I’m working alongside House Republicans to push back on President Biden’s 30×30 and other radical climate policies, helping raise awareness and working to stop his attempts to circumvent Congress.
Farmers and ranchers are our country’s best conservationists – they’ve been caring for our land and natural resources for generations. We are at a crossroads right now: Will America allow the federal government to step in to do the bidding of environmental extremists? Or will we support the farm families that have helped our country feed the world?
We can win this, but it’s going to take action from all of us to protect agriculture’s future and America’s food security for the next generation.
Rep. Mike Flood, a Republican, represents Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District.
