Rep McEachin (D-VA): Trump Administration Is Tone-Deaf on Offshore Drilling
One Virginia congressman is very “concerned” by a plan to expand offshore drilling.
Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin slammed the Trump White House on Monday for supporting the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, despite growing bipartisan opposition.
“The Republican mayor of Virginia Beach has come out against it. Many Republicans in our city have come out against this plan,” he told Cheddar Monday. “What I really think it shows is that the Trump Administration is tone-deaf when it comes to issues like offshore drilling."
The proposed program, helmed by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, was unveiled in January and opposition is picking up steam. Virginia governor Ralph Northam, another Democrat, is meeting with environmental groups Monday to discuss their concerns.
The plan looks to open up more than 90 percent of U.S. continental waters for drilling and exploration. It diverges from an Obama era policy which set offshore drilling limits in efforts to protect the environment.
McEachin, a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, said during the interview that Zinke’s bill will not benefit his constituents and could instead kill some 91,000 jobs.
Meet the new generation running for office in the midterm elections. Maxwell Frost, a 24-year-old Democrat, is the youngest candidate running for Florida’s 10th congressional district. A member of Gen Z (those born after 1996) Frost spoke to Cheddar about objectives that he believes are top of mind for his age bracket, including tackling gun violence, healthcare for all, and LGBTQ+ rights, especially in light of his state's recently enacted, so-called “Don’t Say Gay" law.
President Biden has announced a historic release of oil from the U.S. reserves in an attempt to cut down surging gas prices across the country. The administration will release 1 million barrels of oil per day for the next six months, marking the largest withdrawal in the nearly 50-year history of the country's emergency supply of oil. Patrick DeHaan, Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, breaks down why the Biden administration is making this unprecedented move, and what impact it could have on prices at the pump.
The Biden administration plans to freeze federal student loan payments through Aug. 31, extending a moratorium that has allowed millions of Americans to postpone payments during the coronavirus pandemic.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 5, 2022, with Biden's call for a war crimes trial for Putin, another arrest made in the Sacramento mass shooting, NYC rolling out a campaign against Florida’s "Don’t Say Gay" bill, an aluminum shortage potentially affecting beer and cat food cans, and more.
After a devastating mass shooting in Sacramento over the weekend that killed six people and wounded a dozen more, arguments about gun reform are also resurfacing. David Pucino, deputy chief counsel at Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, joined Cheddar News to talk about efforts to curb gun violence such as community intervention programs — and the more that needs to be done by lawmakers. "One thing that would be really important is at the federal level closing the loopholes that allow for private sales to go forward without a background check," he noted.
