CVNM Issues Statement in Response to Steve Pearce Confirmation Vote
CVNM urges all leaders at all levels of office to prioritize the protection of our lands, waters, and communities in the wake of unprecedented attacks on public lands
On Monday, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm former congressman Steve Pearce as director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The vote was 46-43, along partisan lines. Pearce’s confirmation was one among 48 voted on as a bloc, diluting any sense of how much support he could have garnered on his own. The Senate has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and 2 Independents.
The BLM manages 245 million acres of public lands across the country, including 13 million acres in New Mexico. Pearce has long been an outspoken advocate for selling off public lands and investing in polluter projects. He was grilled on his anti-public lands record during confirmation hearings by both Republicans and Democrats and largely evaded answering forthrightly. In response, CVNM Chief Executive Officer Demis Foster issued the following statement:
“Pearce’s confirmation marks a dark day in our nation’s history. The United States is deeply beloved for our public lands, waters, and wildlife, which provide a rich natural heritage and outdoor economy for our communities. This confirmation is not only an attack on those public lands, but it continues a disturbing trend of the Trump Administration to gut the very institutions that have made our country strong.
“Pearce also has a long history of climate denial, and putting polluter profits over the wellbeing of our people. Here in New Mexico, our communities are suffering the consequences of the Trump Administration’s disregard of climate science, with record heat, drought, and wildfire devastating our rural communities. America, and New Mexico, deserves better. We join our allies in condemning the confirmation of Steve Pearce and urge all leaders at all levels of office to prioritize the protection of our lands, waters, and communities.”
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CVNM is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization connecting the people of New Mexico to their political power to protect our air, land, water, wildlife and communities for a healthy Land of Enchantment. CVNM does this by mobilizing voters, winning elections, holding elected officials accountable, and advancing responsible public policies.