Lauren Boebert's 'Harmful' Bill Sparks Colorado Backlash

Republican Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado is facing pushback from elected officials in her own state amid House passage of her bill, the Restoring American Energy Dominance Act.

The bill, which Boebert introduced in October, would repeal a rule previously proposed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that made changes to the federal oil and gas leasing program. According to BLM's website, the bureau's proposed reforms would "ensure a balanced approach to development, deconflict drilling with important wildlife habitat and cultural sites, and update outdated fiscal terms to benefit the American taxpayer."

Supporters of Boebert's bill, which passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday by a 216-200 vote, say that the BLM's updates to the oil and gas program would stifle American energy companies. But in a letter signed by over 100 elected Colorado officials prior to Tuesday's vote, critics called Boebert's bill "harmful" and said that it was not supported by their respective constituents.

"The existing federal onshore oil and gas system prioritizes leasing and production on public lands over all other important uses—shortchanging Coloradans, locking up thousands of acres that could be put to better and higher uses, and leaving Coloradans on the hook to pay for the cost of cleaning up orphaned and abandoned wells," the letter read, which was addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Critics of Boebert's bill added that the BLM's proposed changes to oil and gas leasing "is a critical next step" in addressing the "shortcomings" of current federal policy, "both by ensuring these reforms are reflected in regulations and in addressing other shortcomings in the status quo that the [Inflation Reduction Act] and the [Bipartisan Infrastructure Law] did not cover."

The letter concluded that Boebert's bill "disregards the views of tens of thousands of Coloradans," noting that during comment period on the BLM's proposed changes, out of the more than 260,000 received comments, over 99 percent were in support of the rule.

"Tens of thousands of these comments came from Colorado voters," the letter continued. "This bill completely disregards those voices—our voices."

The letter was signed by dozens of state lawmakers, including Colorado Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie, a Democrat. Newsweek reached out to Boebert's office via email for comment on Friday.

Three House Democrats joined 213 Republicans on Tuesday to support Boebert's bill. All "no" votes on the measure came from Democrats. Six Republicans and 10 Democrats did not vote on the bill.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who supported the measure, said in a statement on Wednesday that the BLM's proposed rules would "needlessly increase bonding rates for oil and gas production on federal lands, unfairly burdening small operators that can't obtain a bond without significant collateral."

Boebert released a video statement to X, formerly Twitter, after Tuesday's vote, bashing BLM "bureaucrats" and celebrated her bill's passage as a way to rein in President Joe Biden's "radical Green New Deal agenda."

"We need to stop imposing regulations and start incentivizing producers to continue creating good paying jobs for America, especially in Colorado, where energy production is our livelihood," the congresswoman said.

Boebert's measure was one of six energy-related bills voted upon by the House this week, which Republican members deemed "energy week." Other bills passed by the chamber denounced several Biden policies aimed at cutting down on carbon emissions and fossil fuel production in the U.S., which Republicans called "harmful" and "anti-American."