Interior Dept. Nominee Is Questioned on Public Land Use

Sally Jewell, President Obama’s nominee for interior secretary, deflected many of the questions she faced at her confirmation hearing Thursday but made clear she supports expanded oil and gas development on public lands and waters, including exploratory drilling off the North Slope of Alaska and seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean.

“Leaning into oil and gas development is an important part of the mission of the Bureau of Land Management and also of the Department of Interior,” Ms. Jewell said, one of the four times she used a phrase popularized by Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook and author of “Lean In,” a book on the challenges confronted by women who are executives.

Ms. Jewell, chief executive of Recreational Equipment Inc. in Seattle, also faced questions on climate change, protection of endangered species, energy development on Indian lands and her role as a board member of a national parks advocacy organization.

The questions were generally polite from Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Ms. Jewell’s responses were for the most part noncommittal. She referred frequently to the need for balance between exploitation of federal lands for resource extraction and preservation of wilderness.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/us/politics/sally-jewell-rei-chief-executive-appears-before-senate-panel.html?ref=us&_r=0