(PartiallyPolitics.com) – On Tuesday Interior Secretary Deb Haaland defended the shutting down of a Minnesota critical mineral mine after being confronted by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
In her response, Haaland argued that there were many jobs available in America, and proceeded to defend her decision to prohibit mining across 225,504 acres near Duluth, Minnesota.
On Tuesday afternoon during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Hawley stated that the project would have had a very positive impact on the economy and would have created more than 1,000 jobs in the area. Hawley proceeded to argue that Haaland had chosen to focus on a “radical climate change agenda” instead of on creating greater energy security for the country. He added that this decision would mean that the country would become more dependent on China, as permits for mines were being blocked.
Haaland in her response pointed out that currently there are 1.9 jobs for every American, so there are plenty of jobs in America currently. Hawley responded by asking whether Haaland was claiming that there were too many jobs, to which she said that she was pointing out that there were not enough people and that even now she was having trouble finding people who would be able to work in her department.
On Tuesday the latest data from the Department of Labor showed that there were approximately 9.6 million job openings in the country. Still, Hawley criticized Haaland’s statement claiming that communities in the Midwest have been suffering because three million jobs have been exported overseas.
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