U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Wednesday told a congressional hearing that there is no plan to permanently ban new oil and gas drilling on federal land but her agency will soon release a report that will assess the future of the federal oil and gas leasing program. The Biden administration paused the government’s oil and gas leasing auctions on federal acres in January pending a review that is expected to be completed in the coming weeks. The move was part of a sweeping plan to rein in fossil-fuel extraction and combat the effects of climate change. Republican and some Democratic lawmakers in oil-reliant states have raised concerns […]