Great CNN Money article today on the potential for an energy boom in California that would create jobs, boost the economy and bring much needed revenue to the state. "California is sitting on a massive amount of shale oil and could become the next oil boom state…Running from Los Angeles to San Francisco, California's Monterey Shale is thought to contain more oil than North Dakota's Bakken and Texas's Eagle Ford -- both scenes of an oil boom that's created thousands of jobs and boosted U.S. oil production to the highest rate in over a decade…In fact, the Monterey is thought to hold over 400 bil... Read More »
During the height of this year’s record-breaking fire season, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands held a legislative hearing on bills to address forest health and reduce the risk of catastrophic forest fire. Following a Forest Service report on the need for restoration on 65-82 million acres of National Forest land, the Forest Service testified that it had restored 3.7 million acres in 2011. Restoration is the process of assisting recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. Following the hearing, we submitted a series of questions to get fur... Read More »
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), sent a letter to the Obama administration today requesting the withdrawal of a rule proposed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that would regulate hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands. The letter was a follow-up to a previous RGA/RAGA letter expressing concern over the rule and its impact on energy production and economic growth. The rule, announced by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar... Read More »
The Committee on Natural Resources can trace its history back more than 200 years ago. On this day in 1805, the House of Representatives created the Committee on Public Lands, to help Congress manage the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase Territory. Stretching northwest from the port of New Orleans to present-day Montana, the territory covered more than 828,000 square miles. Backed by several Members, Rep. William Findley of Pennsylvania proposed creating “a committee respecting the lands of the United States” on December 17, 1805. The Committee on Public Lands was charged with considering “all... Read More »
Last night, in perfect 66 degree weather, Speaker of the House John Boehner joined Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers and other dignitaries to light the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. This year's tree — a 65-foot Engelmann spruce — hails from Committee Member Scott Tipton's Colorado district, in the Blanco Ranger District of the White River National Forest. The "People's Tree" will be lit from night fall until 11 p.m. each evening through December 26, 2012. "It's a great honor for Coloradans to showcase our state’s natural beauty by giving the gift of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree—the Peop... Read More »
President Obama has declared October 21st through October 27th National Forest Products week in appreciation of the sustainable uses of our public lands. The federal government owns over 190 million acres of resource abundant forest lands that provide opportunities for economic development, timber and energy production, grazing, tourism and recreational activity. Through the responsible management of America’s national forests we can foster forest health and reduce the risk of wildfires while providing recreational opportunities, growing our economy and supporting thousands of American jobs. H... Read More »
Congressman Bill Johnson (OH-06) joined the show “Money” with Melissa Francis on Fox Business to discuss what House Republicans are doing to fight President Obama’s War on Coal. This week the House will consider H.R. 3409, the Stop the War on Coal Act, a package of bills to protect thousands of American jobs and U.S. energy production that are being threatened by Obama Administration regulations. Join the Conversation on Twitter: Tweets about President Obama's #WarOnCoal !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="/... Read More »
Americans continue to face rising prices at the pump that are expected to climb even higher this year, according to the AAA report released Monday. Gasoline prices increased 18 cents this month and eight cents this past week alone. As of August 9, gasoline prices have exceeded prices on the same day last year and continue upward. As families struggle with rising energy expenses, the Obama Administration continues to block new offshore energy projects that would increase domestic production and help drive down costs. David Holt recently wrote an article for FuelFix discussing the Obama Administ... Read More »
“We're disappointed that they filed another large, multi-species petition. Fifty-three species is a large number, and the species are spread across the country.” – Gary Frazer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Assistant Director for Endangered Species The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) recently petitioned the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) under the guise of protecting 53 new species across the United States – the largest petition ever filed focused on amphibians and reptiles. The petition comes on the heels of a 2011 mega-settlement between the Interior Department, the Center for Bio... Read More »
Yesterday, Chairman Doc Hastings joined House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy and other House Republicans in introducing the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act, a package of American energy production bills, including five from the Natural Resources Committee, that will create new American jobs by streamlining burdensome government red tape, modernizing energy production processes and planning for American’s energy future production. Learn more about the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act here. Watch the press conference and Retweet to share with friends: Chairman @DocHastings Joins #GOP #HEAT Team in Intro... Read More »
