On Monday, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands traveled to Sacramento, California for a field oversight hearing entitled, Restoring Public Access to the Public’s Lands: Issues Impacting Multiple-use on Our National Forests. Subcommittee Chairman Rob Bishop (UT-01) and Representatives Tom McClintock (CA-04) and Wally Herger (CA-02) attended the hearing, held in the state Capitol, where a crowd of over two hundred people gathered to hear from the U.S. Forest Service, state officials and impacted citizens on access issues on U.S. Forest Service land. Witnesses discussed m... Read More »
Congressman Tom McClintock (CA-04) On Monday, September 19 the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands will hold a field hearing on “Restoring Public Access to the Public’s Lands: Issues Impacting Multiple-use on Our National Forests.” I requested this hearing because a growing number of citizen complaints protesting policies of the federal government that appear designed to radically limit the public’s use of our public lands. The original mission of the U.S. Forest Service as defined by its creator, the legendary Gifford Pinchot, is to manage ... Read More »
Today, FOX News ran a segment on the mountain pine beetle, an insect that has killed over 40 million acres of pine trees throughout the West within the last ten years. The groves of dead trees caused by the mountain pine beetle epidemic leave forests and surrounding neighborhoods susceptible to wildfires. In July, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public lands held a field hearing in Hill City, South Dakota on the mountain pine beetle epidemic. Subcommittee Chairman Rob Bishop (UT-01) and Rep. Kristi Noem (SD-At large) attended the hearing and heard from government officials, loc... Read More »
Hastings floats drilling oversight plan By Darren Goode Politico Pro 7/25/11 1:36 PM EDT House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings on Monday released his own draft plan to abolish the former Minerals Management Service and restructure federal offshore drilling oversight. The Hastings proposal, similar to a reorganization effort the Interior Department is already engaged in, would create three new agencies to separate out oversight of offshore drilling lease approval, environmental and safety oversight and the collection of federal royalties and revenues from that production. “Wh... Read More »
Last Wednesday during a Full Committee markup, the Natural Resources Committee continued its push to pass job-creating legislation to help get the economy back on track through the responsible development of our resources on public lands. Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-01) introduced and passed out of Committee H.R. 1904, the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act. The bill exchanges lands between Resolution Copper, the federal government, the state of Arizona and the town of Superior, AZ. The land exchange provides Resolution Copper 2,422 acres for future copper mining while providing impo... Read More »
On Monday, the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular affairs held a field hearing in Shreveport, Louisiana on the giant salvinia - a free-floating aquatic invasive fern. It sits just below the water surface blocking out sunlight below and therefore killing everything beneath the water’s surface. It grows at a rapid rate by cloning itself and has been found to cover 40 square miles in three months. Resilient to many control methods, experts are desperately searching for ways to manage and eradicate giant salvinia. Current practices in use are chemical, mechanical, and biologic... Read More »
The Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) released a report today outlining the wide-ranging affect restricted energy development and high energy costs are having on several sectors of the U.S. Economy. The report also cites energy proposals and policies that would result in more American energy production and increased job creation. Every industry, from agriculture to manufacturing to transportation, depends on affordable and abundant energy to continue operating and providing services to their customers. Without a reliable and stable source of domestic energy, American companies will continue to ha... Read More »
On Friday, Chairman Doc Hastings spoke with Eric Bolling on FOX Business about President Obama's surprise decision to release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). In reaction to the President’s decision, Chairman Hastings said, “The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is intended for situations when there’s a dramatic supply shut down, not to achieve short-term political gain. However, this is a clear admission from the Obama Administration that increasing domestic oil supplies will help lower costs…Rather than tap the SPR, weakening our domestic security should a real... Read More »
Last week, Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings traveled to Alaska to tour the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), the Trans Alaskan Pipeline System (TAPS) and the Native village of Kaktovik with Alaska Governor Sean Parnell and Representative Don Young (AK-at large). Following his trip to Alaska, Chairman Hastings introduced H.R. 2150, the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act. Part of the American Energy Initiative, H.R. 2150 would cut through bureaucratic red tape and unlock the full potential of energy resources in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) to... Read More »
Last week, Chairman Hastings visited Alaska to view the state of current and prospective energy development. While in the State he also met and traveled with local officials Governor Sean Parnell and Congressman Don Young to discuss ongoing issues pertaining to the Natural Resources Committee. Alaska has some of the most abundant energy resources in the country. The utilization of these resources is vital to decreasing U.S. dependence on foreign sources of energy, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and generating revenue for government treasuries. Starting in Fairbanks, Chairman Hastings t... Read More »
