[ audio difficulties ] we've lost our signal from this live event. we're working to resolve the

problem. this is c-span3. >> environment and energy news reporter joins us now for a spotlight on president joe biden's environment and energy agenda. a key player in implementing that agenda is now in place. one of the headlines yesterday, challenges galore await deb haaland. explain what some of those challenges are. >> well, deb haaland comes into the department of interior with very much different agenda from the trump administration. she's going to be looking at restoring national monuments, how far does the biden administration go on this pause, on oil and gas drilling on public lands? she's also going to have to deal with getting other appointees confirmed at the department and

she's going to be overseeing several agencies dealing with huge issues from the treaty act to the endangered species act. it's a big, big job. and she's going to have a lot on her plate. >> big, big job that includes issues dealing with the united states public lands. i want to take viewers back to deb haaland's confirmation hearing. you mention oil and gas leases. it was republican senator john barrasso who was pressing her on that topic during one of those exchanges during her confirmation hearing. here's a bit from that. >> you have stated that you are, quote, wholeheartedly against fracking and drilling on public lands. you have said that, quote, we need to keep fossil fuels in the ground. you have also stated that you oppose all fossil fuel

infrastructure. if confirmed, president biden is likely to ask you specifically whether he should extend the ban on oil and gas and coal leasing on federal lands and waters. you've said repeatedly that president biden's agenda is your agenda. what this committee wants to know is, how will you advise him? how will you act because you're the principal role as the secretary of interior. we encourage the president to extend the 60 day ban on leasing or not. >> thank you, ranking member, i appreciate the question. i will reiterate again, president biden's agenda would be my agenda if i am confirmed. i recognize that roles are different, the role of a congresswoman in one district in the country is much different

than the role of a secretary who is fighting and working for every single america in all of our public lands across the country. those are two different things. i recognize that. i want to make sure that if i'm confirmed, that we're looking at things and working to strike the right balance. we need to care as much about the environment as we do about the fossil fuel infrastructure in your state and other states. we need to balance those priorities. and i feel that, yes, sometimes it might seem like a tricky sort of balancing act, but i feel very strongly that if we have a mind to protect our public lands for future generations, that we'll be also be able to protect jobs for future generations as well. >> talking about the biden administration's environment and energy agenda.

kevin, the now secretary there noting repeatedly that her job as secretary is different than her job as a sitting representative. did she have differing views than the biden administration when it came to some of these public lands and energy issues as a sitting member? >> i think it's fair to say she probably had different views as a house member than what she might carry out now as interior secretary. we'll have to see what happens. today will likely be her first day after being confirmed yesterday evening by the senate at a very tight vote of 51-40. but back on her views, she was -- she's considering a progressive. she was a cosponsor on the green new deal which is, again, kind of this aspirational blueprint for transforming the economy and the energy sector that republicans basically have used

to swing at democrats. something that democrats have pitched as something to fight climate change, investing more in clean energy and republicans respond to, you're never going to build out oil and gas infrastructure every again. you're going to keep it in the ground. fossil fuels like coal, so on and so on. president biden and also candidate biden also would kind of rhetorically say, i'm not the green new deal. i have any own deal. this is my plan. but kind of progressive supporters, progressive allies of president biden say they influenced their agenda and how various aspects of the green new deal have come into the agenda. it will be interesting to see how this moves forward. i think it's fair to say that

biden was probably the most aggressive candidate, you know, in a presidential race on climate change. and he's come right out of the gate with kind of the policy and personnel to execute that agenda. we're still very early in this administration, still within the first 100 days. we'll have to have how it goes forward. but i don't -- but it probably won't be exactly like the green new deal. i think it's fair to say that the biden agenda will be inspired -- is inspired by parts of the green new deal for sure. >> if you want to talk about the environmental agenda, now would be a great time to call in. democrats 202-748-8000, republicans 202-748-8001, independents 202-748-8002. kevin, this vote yesterday on deb haaland coming less than a week after michael reagan was

confirmed to be the epa administer. what should voters know about michael regan. >> like you said, he was confirmed last week by the senate on a -- a relatively easier vote, 66-34 vote. had 16 republicans support him, kind of a more bipartisan support for him. he's coming from the north carolina department of environmental quality where he was secretary. he served there for four years. he's kind of come in as someone who could help restore staff morale at the epa. it's a similar job he did at the department of environmental quality down in north carolina. essentially, he's already been telling staff, he has his first all-hands meeting later today

and saying i hear you, your voices matter. we're going to listen to you. we're going to restore signs. epa during the trump administration was particularly targeted for proposed budget cuts that didn't come to pass. they sent a message that they wanted to downsize the agency. on top of that, hundreds of employees did leave epa during the past four years. many of them frustrated over the direction the agency, including rollbacks of several environmental protections. so now regan comes in and he is kind of -- i think his first priority is going to be listening to the staff, restoring staff morale saying we value you, please stick around, let's move forward and get back to the job of epa which is protecting human health and the environment. >> we have a confirmed interior secretary but we also have a

national climate adviser in gina mccarthy and special presidential envoy for climate and former senator john kerry. how are these folks all going to work together and play together in this same space? >> well, i think regan -- his m.o. will be epa. but it's also going to have a huge role to play on water, on chemicals, on toxic waste sites. there's a lot for epa that regan will be on the forefront on. of course, epa is going to be drafting -- is already working on new climate change regulations. but essentially, i think how these people are going to work together to get back to your question, regan will have epa, but gina mccarthy is going to

have the domestic slice of climate change policy and she'll be responsible for kind of a whole-of-government approach and it's not -- epa is not the lone agency on climate. there's plenty of other agencies. while you've already seen with johnkerry, he's basically -- i wouldn't call him a second secretary of state, he already served once under obama. but he is traveling all over the world, he's meeting this week with dig narties trying to get people to up their roles and reduce carbon emissions. essentially mccarthy is going to make sure that we can meet these goals that kerry is promising with foreign global diplomats. o. >> before we leave, michael regan should note that his confirmation supported by the two republican senators in north

carolina, richard burr, thom tillis, what does that say about his ability to build consensus? >> that's a good question. i mean, getting back to reagan, he was known -- he came in a very difficult time in north carolina. after a very contentious election, governor cooper won a close election but the state legislature is still controlled by republican so essentially regan had to deal with republican lawmakers all the time for his budget, for any action. this environmental agency he was in charge of, so he went out and he met with them, had phone calls with them, kept an open door, was very, very accessible. and he also was very accessible

to industry groups, to agricultural groups. to kind of the whole spectrum of people who were interested in environmental regulation and enforcement. and that won him a lot of friends. i talked to a number of republicans and business groups down in north carolina. they had nothing but great things to say about him. they recognized they were going to disagree with him on big things, maybe how aggressive he moved on climate. he's probably going to -- >> we take you life now to homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas making his first appearance on capitol hill since being confirmed. live coverage on cspan3. >> the gentle lady from new jersey shall assume the duties of the chair in the event that i run into technical