Press Releases

CEQ Chair Dodges Questions on Obama Admin Plan to Zone the Oceans
Press Release
Apr 19, 2013 - Yesterday, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held an oversight hearing examining the spending priorities outlined in the President’s FY2014 budget requests for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)... More

Bill Introduced to Approve Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreement with Mexico
Press Release
Apr 18, 2013 - Congressman Jeff Duncan (SC-03), House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04), and House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Chairman Matt Salmon (AZ-05) today introduced H.R. 1613, the Outer Continental Shelf Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreements Authorization Act. The bill would appro... More

Witnesses Hail State Energy Policies, Discuss how Federal Red Tape Blocks Much-Needed Energy Production
Press Release
Apr 17, 2013 - Today, the House Natural Resources Committee held an oversight hearing on "State Lands vs. Federal Lands Oil and Gas Production: What State Regulators are doing right.” This hearing examined the disparity between oil and natural gas production on state and private lands versus production on federal lands. President Oba... More

What Can You Do in the Time it Takes to Get a Federal Onshore Drilling Permit Approved?
Resourceful Information
Apr 17, 2013 - While the average time to get a permit to drill approved on state lands is 12-15 days, according the Bureau of Land Management the average time to get a permit approved on federal lands is a whopping 307 days. ### Printable PDF of this document More

Water and Power Subcommittee Examines Obama Admin Policies that Could Increase Electricity Rates & Decrease Water Supply
Press Release
Apr 16, 2013 - Today, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power held an oversight hearing examining the spending priorities outlined in the President’s FY2014 budget requests for the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the four Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs), and the U.S. Geological Survey’s Water Program. ... More

Chairman Hastings’ Statement on President Obama’s Final Plan to Zone the Oceans
Press Release
Apr 16, 2013 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after President Obama released the final implementation plan for the National Ocean Policy and mandatory ocean zoning initiative. “This final implementation plan raises more questions than answers and provides even less inf... More

Members, Witnesses Testify on Need to Prevent Unilateral National Monument Designations
Press Release
Apr 16, 2013 - Today, the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation held a legislative hearing on nine bills to prevent the President from unilaterally designating National Monuments under the century-old Antiquities Act and to ensure greater public participation in the process. The Antiquities Act was designed to aut... More

Spoiler Alert: Increased American Energy Production Helps Ease High Gasoline Prices
Resourceful Information
Apr 15, 2013 - According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, gasoline prices will average $3.63 a gallon this summer, six cents lower from last year’s summer driving season. One of the reasons behind this drop in gasoline prices is the recent increase in U.S. oil production – specifically on state and private lands in plac... More

Witnesses Support Bipartisan Bill to Establish Manhattan Project National Historical Park
Press Release
Apr 12, 2013 - Today, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation held a legislative hearing on H.R. 1208, the “Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act” – bipartisan legislation by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04), Congressman Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03), and Con... More

Republicans Committee Members Highlight Need for U.S. Forest Service to Restore Active Forest Management
Resourceful Information
Apr 11, 2013 - Today at the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation legislative hearing, Republican Members stressed the need for the U.S. Forest Service to resume active forest management and discussed several proposals to improve forest health. A lack of forest management has deprived rural counties of revenue nee... More

Witnesses Agree that Healthy Forest Management Will Create Jobs, Support Rural Schools, & Prevent Catastrophic Wildfires
Press Release
Apr 11, 2013 - Today, the House Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation held a legislative hearing on several pieces of legislation to restore active and healthy management of our national forests in order to provide a stable revenue stream for rural schools and counties and prevent devastating wildfires. The Subcom... More

State vs. Federal Forest Land Management
Resourceful Information
Apr 10, 2013 - Tomorrow, the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation will hold a legislative hearing on the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act. This bill would renew the federal government’s commitment to manage forest resources for the benefit of rural schools and counties by requiring active for... More

House Approves Plan to Create Jobs & Expand Clean, Renewable Hydropower Production
Press Release
Apr 10, 2013 - Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 678, the Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act, with a bipartisan vote of 416-7. This legislation, sponsored by Rep. Scott Tipton (CO-03), would create new American jobs and expand production of clean, renewable hydropower by elimin... More

Chairman Hastings: Time to Cut Red Tape to Expand the Development of Small Conduit Hydropower
Floor Statements
Apr 10, 2013 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings delivered the following statement on the House floor today in support of H.R. 678, the Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act. The bill is a bipartisan legislation designed to create new American jobs and expand production of... More

Chairman Hastings' Statement on President’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Proposal
Press Release
Apr 10, 2013 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today released the following statement regarding President Obama’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2014: “Once again, the President’s budget misses the mark. Over two months late, it’s obvious that this budget is not a credible plan to create jobs, strengt... More

Organizations Support Bipartisan Plan to Create New American Jobs and Expand Production of Clean, Renewable Hydropower
Resourceful Information
Apr 9, 2013 - Organizations representing various sectors are calling for passage of H.R. 678, the Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act, a common sense bipartisan plan that authorizes clean, renewable hydropower development, streamlines the regulatory process, and reduces administrative costs ... More

Full Committee to Hold Oversight Hearing Examining Energy Production on Federal Lands vs. State and Private Lands
Committee Action
Apr 9, 2013 - The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a Full Committee oversight hearing on Wednesday, April 17th to examine the difference in energy production and permitting on federal lands versus state and private lands. While energy production on state and federal lands is flourishing, regulatory red tape and bureaucrat... More

Chairman Hastings Announces New Committee Communications Staff
Press Release
Apr 9, 2013 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today announced new staff in the Committee’s communications office: Mike Tadeo will serve as the Press Secretary for the Full Committee. Mike worked as the Communications Director for Congressman Bill Johnson of Ohio, a valued former Member of the Committe... More

Documents Requested on Interior Department’s Decision to Close Drakes Bay Oyster Company
Press Release
Apr 5, 2013 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA – 04) sent letters today to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Department of the Interior Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall seeking information about the Administration’s decision to not allow the continued operation of the Drakes Ba... More

Chairman Hastings Unveils Draft Proposal to Restore Active Forest Management and Help Rural Schools & Counties
Press Release
Apr 3, 2013 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today unveiled a draft proposal to address the expiration of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program. The draft proposal, Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act, renews the federal government’s commitment to manage forest resources for the be... More

31 Bipartisan Members Send Letter Questioning Obama Admin’s Retroactive Sequestration Cuts to SRS Payments used for Rural Schools and Emergency Services
Press Release
Mar 28, 2013 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) and a bipartisan group of 30 Members of Congress sent a letter today to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Office of Management and Budget Director Jeffrey Zients questioning why the Obama Administration is retroactively subjecting Se... More

Chairman Hastings Disappointed in Lack of Transparency at DOI, Renews Request for Info on Job Destroying Coal Regulation
Press Release
Mar 27, 2013 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar expressing disappointment at the Department’s lack of transparency and failure to respond to the Committee’s legitimate oversight questions surrounding OSM’s bizarre decision to rewrit... More

Chairman Hastings Joins Calls for Obama Administration to Fully Delist Gray Wolf
Press Release
Mar 25, 2013 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04), Senator Orin Hatch (UT), Senator John Barrasso and Rep. Cynthia Lummis (WY) today, along with 68 other Members of Congress, sent a bipartisan, bicameral letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Director Dan Ashe urging support for the delisting of... More

Chairman Hastings’ Statement on President Obama’s Plan to Use Antiquities Act to Unilaterally Designate Five New National Monuments
Press Release
Mar 22, 2013 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after President Obama announced his intentions to unilaterally designate five new National Monuments using presidential powers granted under the 1906 Antiquities Act. “The Obama Administration not only sees the sequester as... More

Chairman Hastings’ Statement on Obama Administration’s New Regulations to Discourage U.S. Oil Shale Production
Press Release
Mar 22, 2013 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced onerous new government red tape that will discourage production of 1.5 trillion barrels of American oil shale. “Since taking office, President Obama has stall... More

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