Markey signals Natural Resources Committee clashes with Republicans

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) came out swinging Thursday after the House Democratic caucus, as expected, selected him to be the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress.

“In the next Congress, Republicans will attempt to short-circuit the laws that keep our water clean, our air clear and our public lands pristine, while giving short shrift to emerging clean energy technologies that can create jobs and clean up our environment,” Markey said in a statement about his new job as ranking Democrat.

“With my fellow Democrats on the Natural Resources Committee, I believe we can chart a course that will continue the progress we’ve made on creating energy jobs here in America without sacrificing our nation’s natural heritage,” he said.

Markey is a staunch ally of environmental groups and is set to clash with Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), who will be committee chairman when Republicans take over next year.

The committee has jurisdiction over issues including oil-and-gas drilling on public lands and in federal waters.

A preview of their collision came two weeks ago, when Hastings bashed the Obama administration’s retreat from expanded offshore drilling and hinted he might seek to reverse it. Markey, however, praised the decision to abandon plans to sell leases off the Atlantic Coast and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.