Nearly 100 leaders of the Conservative Action Project issued a statement opposing the
nomination of Representative Deb Haaland (D-NM) to serve as Secretary of the Interior.
The statement details the many policy reasons for opposing Haaland’s nomination, but there are also her ever-changing financial disclosure forms and the ethical questions they raise to be considered as well.
As John Solomon reported for Just the News, Haaland has now offered a third account to House ethics officials about how much she earned the year she first won her congressional seat.
As her cabinet nomination wound its way through the Senate confirmation process, Haaland quietly filed a second amendment to her legally required congressional financial disclosure report, eliminating more than $40,000 in income she previously claimed she earned in 2018.
The new report reports her total earnings in 2018 were only $4,000, even as she traveled the country and New Mexico campaigning for Congress and carried a student loan debt of between $15,000 and $50,000 that dates to 2006.
To put that into perspective, the federal poverty level for a single-person household in 2018 was $12,140, or about three times the amount she now claims she lived on.
The new report also changes the sources of the income she claimed she received in 2018, dropping entirely one source of salary she claimed from a tribal casino, drastically reducing another and adding a previously undeclared retirement account.
The changes, according to congressional sources, have raised two questions:
1. How did Haaland live on just $4,000 for an entire a year in which she ran for Congress, which involved traveling to hotels and events?
2. Did Haaland accurately account for her income on her federal and state tax returns, given that she has given three separate accountings for her income on her congressional ethics report for 2018? Ordinarily, candidates consult their tax returns when filling out the forms.
"Filing accurate personal financial disclosure reports is critically important to our system of checks and balances. Biden nominees should be treated the same as Trump nominees. Questions about this must be asked and answered before a vote takes place," Citizens United President David Bossie told Just the News.
Added Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch: "Ethics forms, when used fairly, help alert the public (and Senators) to any major red flags. A significant revision of an ethics form as it relates to income sources is unusual and a red flag.”
Here’s the text of the Conservative Action Project’s statement opposing the nomination of Deb Haaland to serve as Secretary of the Interior.
Given her opposition to American energy independence, Haaland’s ethics problems should be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. We urge conservatives to call the toll-free Capitol Switchboard (1-866-220-0044) to tell their Senators they must get answers to Halland’s ever-changing financial disclosures before bringing her nomination to the Floor, let alone vote AYE.
March 9, 2021
Washington, DC
Conservatives urge the Senate to reject the nomination of Representative Deb Haaland (D-NM) to lead the Department of the Interior.
Haaland’s statements at her confirmation hearing acknowledging the important and continued role of fossil fuels in America’s energy grid belie a record which suggest she believes otherwise.
As a Member of the House of Representatives, Haaland is a cosponsor of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) Green New Deal – a proposal which not only seeks the elimination of fossil fuels entirely, but envisions a wholesale re-creation of the American economy.
Haaland is also the principal sponsor of the “Thirty by Thirty” resolution, which seeks to federalize 30 percent of the country’s ocean and land as a means toward addressing climate change, and has been a vocal proponent of permanently banning the practice of fracking.
Despite giving lip service to the importance of fossil fuels – America’s largest source of energy – Haaland has said she supports President Biden’s decision to shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Many of Haaland’s positions and statements have indicated she is to the left of even the Biden administration – and would likely push the agenda even further should she be confirmed.
At a time where both jobs and the stability of our energy supply are both of paramount importance, it is clear that Rep. Haaland will take the Department of the Interior in a more ideological direction than a measured and thoughtful one. We urge the Senate to reject her nomination.
(Affiliations for identification purposes only)
The Honorable Edwin Meese III
Attorney General
President Ronald Reagan (1985-1988)
Alfred S. Regnery
Chairman, Conservative Action Project
President, Republic Book Publishers
The Honorable Jim DeMint
Chairman, Conservative Partnership Institute
Member, US Senate (SC 2005-2013)
Kelly J. Shackelford, Esq.
Chairman, CNP Action, Inc.
President and CEO, First Liberty Institute
The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop
White House Advisor
President Ronald Reagan (1981-1985)
Jenny Beth Martin
Chairman
Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund
Wesley Denton
Chief Operating Officer
Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI)
Mary Vought
Executive Director
Senate Conservatives Fund
The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr.
Chief Domestic Advisor
President Ronald Reagan (1987-1988)
William L. Walton
President
Council for National Policy
The Honorable Tony Perkins
President
Family Research Council
The Honorable David McIntosh
President
Club for Growth
David N. Bossie
President
Citizens United
Richard Manning
President
Americans for Limited Government
James L. Martin
Founder/Chairman
60 Plus Association
Andresen Blom
President
Hawaiian Values
Gary Marx
President
The Concord Fund
C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Seton Motley
President
Less Government
Ron Pearson
Executive Director
Conservative Victory Fund
Elaine Donnelly
President
Center for Military Readiness
The Honorable Gary L. Bauer
President
American Values
The Honorable George K. Rasley Jr.
Managing Editor
ConservativeHQ.com
Thomas Pyle
President
American Energy Alliance
Mario Navarro da Costa
Director, Washington Bureau
Tradition, Family, Property
Tom DeWeese
President
American Policy Center
Paavo Ensio
Chairman
Universal Minerals Group
Judson Phillips
Founder
Tea Party Nation.
Robert Keith Fischer
Meeting Coordinator
Conservatives of Faith
Karladine Graves
Salt and Light Council
William Shaker
CEO
Washington Marking Group
Lewis K. Uhler
Founder and President
National Tax Limitation Committee
Steve Berger
Founding Pastor
Grace Chapel
Paul Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation
Penny Harrison
Executive Asst
Bennett International Group
Mark Bloom
Business Owner
Tekgeologik, LLC
Darrel W. Johnson
Owner
Attic Corp
Peggy Dau
Representative
IranAliveMinistries
Melvin Adams
President
Noah Webster educational foundation
Ed Bowen
Citizen and Veteran
Property Owner in National Park
William Dennison
Member
Property Rights Action Group
Ron Kliewer
President
Public Lands for the People
Eleanor Nicholas
Craig Rucker
President & Co-founder
Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow, CFACT
The Honorable Diana Denman
President
The Reagan Legacy Forum
Barbara S. Waddell
Retired
Let Us Pray Ministry, Inc.
Myron Ebell
Director, Center for Energy and Environment
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Ed Corrigan
Vice Chairman, Conservative Action Project
President & CEO, Conservative Partnership Institute
Rachel Bovard
Senior Director of Policy
Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI)
The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell
Chairman
Constitutional Congress, Inc.
The Honorable Donald Paul Hodel
U.S. Secretary of Energy (1982-1985)
U.S. Secretary of Interior (1985-1989)
L. Brent Bozell, III
Founder and President
Media Research Center
The Honorable Russ Vought
Director
Office of Management and Budget (2020-2021)
Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin (Ret.)
Executive Vice President
Family Research Council
The Honorable Tom DeLay
Former Majority Leader
US House of Representatives
Saulius "Saul" Anuzis
President
60 Plus Association
Kay R. Daly
President
Coalition for a Fair Judiciary
Phil Kerpen
President
American Commitment
Richard D. Hayes
Partner
Hayes, Berry, White & Vanzant, LLP
Amapola Hansberger
Founder and President
Legal Immigrants for America
Dr. Richard Rounsavelle
Trustee
MRC
Jay Mount
President
MDS Communications
Penna Dexter
Co-host
Point of View Radio
Joan Holt Lindsey
President
Lindsey Communications
Lee Beaman
CEO
Beaman Ventures
William W. Pascoe, III
Board Member
Tea Party Patriots Action
Floyd Brown
Founder
Western Journal
The Honorable Peter J. Thomas
Chairman
The Conservative Caucus
Tim Macy
Chairman
Gun Owners of America
Dr. Richard W. Scarborough
President
Recover America Now
The Honorable Mike Hill
Former Member
Florida State House
Joy Lamb
Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform
Eunie Smith
President Elect
Eagle Forum
Khadine Ritter
Chairman
Eagle Forum of Ohio
Dean Nelson
Chairman
Frederick Douglass Foundation
Mat Staver
Chairman
Liberty Counsel Action
Allen Roth
President
Secure America Now
Marc Little
Executive Director
CURE America Action
Melissa Emery
Owner
ShortDrive Enterprises
Raymon Thompson
CEO
Thompson Group
Willes K. Lee
President
National Federation of Republican Assemblies
Richard G. Scurry
VP Business Development
14all.us
Randy M. Long
Founder
Long Business Advisors, LLC
Dr. Clive Roberson
CEO
Allergy and Immunology Associates
E. Calvin Beisner
President, Founder, and National Spokesman
Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation
The Honorable Jennifer Fielder
CEO
American Lands Council
Bill Jensen
Broker
Key West Real Estate
Biden nominees
Biden administration
Rep. Deb Haaland
Secretary of the Interior
Financial Disclosure Forms
Ethical questions
Senate Confirmation
New Mexico
David Bossie
Tom Fitton
Energy independence
Fossil Fuels
Green New Deal
Thirty by thirty resolution
fracking ban
climate change
Keystone Pipeline