COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert condemned President Joe Biden's moratorium on new oil and gas development Wednesday, calling it an "unlawful attack on the livelihoods of the people" of her district.
In a news release, Boebert points out that roughly 44 percent of natural gas production in the state comes from counties located within Colorado's 3rd Congressional District.
The freshman Congresswoman is becoming a vocal critic of the president's environmental policy.
Last Thursday, she introduced a bill to try and block the executive order President Biden signed on Inauguration day rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement.
"These Paris Climate Accords, this is unconstitutional," Boebert said. "It needs Senate ratification to enter into a treaty like this."
The Constitution gives presidents the power to negotiate treaties with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate. The US originally entered the Paris Agreement by executive order under President Barack Obama. Similarly, President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement by executive order.
"I still want the American people to know that this was unfair to them and that there are ways to stop this if only we could have our voices be heard," Boebert said.
But legal experts think that Boebert's objection is unfounded.
"The president's authority both comes from the Constitution and our own domestic laws passed by Congress," explained Alice Madden, Executive Director for the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment at CU Law.
She said that previous presidents have entered nearly 15,000 international treaties by way of executive action just since the end of World War II. The Paris Agreement was drafted by work of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, a treaty that was ratified by the United States in 1992 during the George H. W. Bush presidency.
"Sadly, I think if she (Boebert) had taken 10 minutes to Google this, she would've figured that out," Madden said. But I don't really think that was her real objective."
The goal of the Paris Agreement is to lower the global temperature by two degrees Centigrade through the elimination of greenhouse gases. It's a goal elected leaders in Colorado are already working to achieve.
Earlier this month, Governor Jared Polis laid out his Roadmap to reduce greenhouse gases. Likewise, the City and County of Pueblo, which are part of the 3rd Congressional District, have committed to reaching 100 percent reliance on renewable energy by 2035.
Boebert realizes that her bill is unlikely to advance in a Democrat-controlled Congress. However, she said she's following through on a campaign pledge to be a loud voice for her constituents in Washington.
"I'm not going to sit back and do nothing, that is certainly not what I came to Congress to do."
