{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://clayhiggins.house.gov/2022/09/18/higgins-battles-radical-climate-activism-congressional-oversight-hearing/", "Higgins Battles Radical Climate Activism in Congressional Oversight Hearing", "2022-09-18", "2022", "2022-09", "Republican", "House", "LA", "Clay Higgins", "H001077", "clayhiggins.house.gov", "clayhiggins", "https://clayhiggins.house.gov/category/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 During a House Oversight Committee hearing last week, Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) dismantled the arguments of \u201cenergy justice\u201d activist, New York attorney Raya Salter.\n\nOn back-to-back days, Democrats staged hearings to attack the American energy industry and promote their Green New Deal agenda. Louisiana was particularly targeted by the activists. On the second panel of the second day, Ms. Salter delivered her opening statement and called for the immediate elimination of America\u2019s oil and gas and petrochemical industry. She also claimed that American energy production is systemically racist and was pursuing \u201cmass extinction.\u201d Her opening statement was delivered with seething vitriolic hate. She was trembling, unhinged with Green New Deal madness.\n\nDuring his allotted five minutes, Congressman Higgins responded to the aggressive attacks on American oil and gas production and Louisiana energy jobs. He destroyed the insane positions of their star witness, and the Green New Deal insanity was clearly revealed. The modern world runs on oil and gas, and virtually everything everywhere contains petrochemical byproducts. When asked how she would account for this, Ms. Salter was unable to answer and instead deflected, resorted to the Democrat playbook, and retreated into her prepared notes. Congressman Higgins made her look inept, because that\u2019s what happens when Democrats are faced with hard truth.\n\n\u201cWhen radicals show up in front of my Committee with an attitude talking anti-American trash, they can expect to get handled. I really don\u2019t care if I hurt anybody\u2019s feelings while I\u2019m fighting to preserve our Republic,\u201d Congressman Higgins said after the hearing. \u201cLeftist activists may run over other elected officials, but they\u2019re not running over me.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:08:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://clayhiggins.house.gov/2022/09/18/higgins-battles-radical-climate-activism-congressional-oversight-hearing/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6151440795511007, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}