Republican lawmakers are sounding off about their Democratic counterparts’ priorities as the year – and the left’s majority in the House – draws to a close. 

House Democrats passed a bill giving Puerto Rico the option to become a state or independent country on Thursday, in a historic though largely symbolic move.

The legislation has little chance of passing in the Senate, where at least 10 Republicans would be needed for it to pass, and it likely won’t be taken up in the new House of Representatives where the GOP will be in charge.

A pair of House Republicans sounded off to DailyMail.com about their frustrations with the long-shot bill. 

They urged their colleagues across the aisle to focus on more immediate issues like the budding crisis on the southern border with the little time they have left in the majority.

Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana told DailyMail.com just after voting ‘no’ on Thursday, ‘I’ve supported Puerto Rico- Puerto Rican statehood before.’

‘I’m concerned though, about how this is written – it would allow, for the way the vote would take place, to allow for Puerto Rico to become independent,’ Banks explained.

‘And then the U.S. taxpayer obligation if that would happen.’

He added that there was ‘a lot more’ the Democratic majority should be focused on.

‘Most importantly, the crisis at the border and the repealing of Title 42,’ he said.

Banks called the surging number of migrants trying to cross the border the ‘biggest humanitarian crisis in American history, that [Democrats’] policies are directly responsible for, and they’ve continued to completely ignore it and act like it’s not happening.’

But he said it was a ‘reminder’ for why U.S. voters chose Republicans to take over the House of Representatives next year – to ‘do something about it.’

Meanwhile Florida Rep. Byron Donalds was concerned with how quickly the bill was put together.

‘First of all, have we even deliberated Puerto Rican statehood here? No,’ Donalds said just before entering the House chamber to vote.

‘Once again, Speaker Pelosi just tosses stuff on the floor at the last minute.’ 

He added, ‘There’s been no deliberation…I just think that’s the wrong way to go. Why are we doing this at the 11th hour of the 117th Congress?’

Asked what Democrats should focus on instead, Donalds said: ‘Securing the border.’

A surge of asylum-seekers and other undocumented migrants has overwhelmed border communities like El Paso, Texas. It comes less than a week before the court-ordered end of the Trump-era Title 42 expulsion policy.

The health rule, enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, allows border agents to turn people away upon contact in the name of slowing the spread of coronavirus.

A federal judge ordered the Biden administration to end it by midnight on December 21.

Earlier this week Axios reported that the Department of Homeland Security is bracing for as many as 14,000 people crossing the border per day after Title 42 is lifted. 

Fossil fuel firms are besieged by critics but perhaps the loudest opposition is reserved for Africa-focused businesses.

Eco-warriors argue that oil and gas exploration and production is exploitation by another name and that any company worth its salt should stop what it is doing – and fast.

Paul McDade takes a different view. Formerly chief executive of FTSE 100 Tullow Oil, McDade has spent 35 years in the oil and gas industry, including almost two decades in Africa. He understands the continent and the role that energy plays in helping Africans improve their lot. That is why he established Afentra – a short form for ‘African energy transition’.

McDade’s mission is to buy oil and gas assets that are already in production, make them as safe and environmentally efficient as possible and employ local people to their benefit and the company’s.

Afentra shares are 25p and should increase substantially, as McDade puts his strategy into effect.

Early signs are encouraging. Afentra was formed through a quasi-takeover of Sterling Energy, a small energy firm in need of a change of direction. In the spring of 2021, McDade was parachuted in to deliver that change.

Within months, he and his team had found a deal – 20 per cent of a world-leading oil field just off the coast of Angola.

The state-owned energy group, Sonangol, wanted to reduce its 50 per cent stake in the field, known as Block 3/05 – Afentra was keen to buy. Like almost everything in Africa, the transaction has taken longer than expected. Finally signed off last April, the deal has been delayed ever since.

In the meantime, McDade acquired another 4 per cent of the Block from INA, a state-backed Croatian energy firm. Now, finally, the end is in sight. The INA sale should complete within days, Sonangol is expected to follow suit in June and Afentra will then start to make money. Block 3/05 produces almost 20,000 barrels of oil a day so Afentra’s position will amount to around 5,000 barrels a day.

Under the terms of the Sonangol and INA deals, however, Afentra is entitled to oil accrued since a particular date in their negotiations – counter-intuitively, September 2021 for INA and April 2022 for Sonangol.

The agreements mean that McDade will end up paying out considerably less in upfront cash than he would have done had the deals completed straightaway. And he has had ample time to plan how to boost production from the Block.

Up to 30,000 barrels a day is in Afentra’s sights, through modern extraction techniques and more proactive management. There are also clear opportunities to make the Block environmentally cleaner, including a reduction in gas flaring, which sends greenhouse gases shooting into the atmosphere.

McDade and his crew are looking for other transactions too, several are in the pipeline and the hope is to achieve daily production running into tens of thousands of barrels in years to come. Crucially though, Afentra is focused on mature assets, fields that are already operating but could do better and become cleaner.

Brokers expect sales of around $60 million (£48 million) this year, rising to almost $100 million in 2024. Profits of some $22 million are forecast for 2023, with further growth pencilled in for next year.

Midas verdict: Fossil fuels pollute the planet so consumers and businesses alike need to shift towards renewable power. But the transition will take time and needs to be handled with sensitivity. McDade is determined to do just that at Afentra, delivering benefits for shareholders, customers and African communities. At 25p, the shares are a buy.

Traded on: AIM Ticker: AET Contact: afentraplc.com or 020 7405 4133