January 18, 2019
Today, Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) wrote the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) calling for an investigation into a Washington Post report that a top official at HUD left the agency due to disagreements with other members of the Trump Administration.
The letter requests an investigation into the claim that President Trump had instructed cabinet members not to disburse funds for Puerto Rico's disaste… Continue Reading
January 17, 2019
Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) wrote to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Deputy Director Brian Steed today urging him to protect Special Areas and the remarkable ecological values in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
The National Petroleum Reserve contains extraordinary wildlife, habitat, and subsistence resources, including the Teshekpuk Lake, the most ecologically rich wetlands in the circumpolar Arctic, and the … Continue Reading
January 17, 2019
Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today introduced the Save Oak Flat Act, which cancels a mandated land swap that threatens the sacred Apache Leap site in central Arizona with environmental damage from nearby high-risk copper mining. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is introducing a Senate companion. The House version is available online at http://naturalresources.house.gov/legislation/bills/save-oak-flat-act-.
The bills reverse a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015 … Continue Reading
January 16, 2019
On January 7, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Arizona), the new chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, sent a pointed letter to David Bernhardt, the acting secretary of the Department of the Interior. Grijalva wanted to know why the department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was moving ahead with public meetings on plans for oil and gas leasing in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge despite a partial government shutdown that had furloughed thousands of Interior employees and halt… Continue Reading
January 07, 2019
As climate change and immigration lead priorities for the new House Democratic majority, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva may just be the man for the moment.… Continue Reading
January 04, 2019
The new Democratic chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee is demanding details on how the Department of the Interior is continuing its push toward oil lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge despite the partial government shutdown.… Continue Reading
January 18, 2019
OPINION - The Trump administration tried to sneak two alarming climate change reports past the public last year just after Thanksgiving, apparently hoping everyone would be shopping or sleeping off a turkey hangover. The attempt backfired spectacularly.
One of the reports, the National Climate Assessment, gave a new sense of urgency to climate policy in a way unmatched by other recent scientific analyses. Its projections of huge impacts on people's health, their homes, and the overall U.S. econ… Continue Reading
July 18, 2018
Anti-government extremists disguising themselves as populists have already latched on to President Donald Trump's July 10 pardon of Dwight and Steven Hammond, a father-and-son ranching duo who set fire to federal lands, to argue that attacking public property is now legal activism. The public should not be fooled by this argument or misunderstand where it leads, and Congress needs to exercise its oversight authority to clarify that the Trump administration hasn't written a blank check to a dangerous ideology.… Continue Reading
July 03, 2018
Opinion: Uranium would enjoy looser environmental and permitting standards because of its importance to 'national security and economic prosperity,' U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva says.
On May 18, the Department of the Interior released a list of 35 minerals set to enjoy looser environmental and permitting standards because of their importance to "national security and economic prosperity." The list includes uranium even though DOI's screening tool suggested it didn't meet the criteria.
The Grand Can… Continue Reading
May 14, 2018
Last week Ranking Member Grijalva and Rep Lowenthal, the top Democrat on the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, introduced the Hardrock Leasing and Reclamation Act of 2018.
The Grijalva-Lowenthal bill requires hardrock mining operations to meet some of the same requirements and standards that already apply to oil, gas, and coal development on public lands. Among other measures, the bill would:
Eliminate the antiquated use of mining claims, and create a leasing system for hardrock mi… Continue Reading
May 08, 2018
Today marks the 230th day since our fellow Americans living in Puerto Rico lost power and were devastated by Hurricane Maria. Many people living on the island are still lacking power and still need assistance from the federal government. Instead of addressing the immediate needs of the people, Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) traveled to Puerto Rico to promote oil and gas projects and discuss importing fossil fuels to the island. Bishop has continuously ignored the fact that renewable energy sources… Continue Reading
April 24, 2018
The House is voting on H.R. 3144 on Wednesday - also known as the Columbia River Salmon Extinction Act - which will drive the Pacific Northwest's salmon runs closer to extinction. Federal agencies have been ordered by the courts to develop a new salmon recovery plan to bring back dwindling salmon populations. H.R. 3144 attempts to mandate an outdated recovery plan that won't recover salmon and that has been deemed illegal by federal courts. Ranking Member Grijalva opposes the bill for the follow… Continue Reading
January 16, 2019
November 16, 2018
November 15, 2018
October 31, 2018
June 19, 2018
A June 19, 2018, report by the Government Accountability Office on the oil and gas industry frequently leasing public land and doing nothing with it.… Continue Reading
June 05, 2018
A June 5, 2018, GAO report on the high cost to taxpayers of orphaned oil and gas wells. The report finds that the Bureau of Land Management has not kept accurate records of such costs.… Continue Reading
May 22, 2018
October 03, 2017
June 14, 2017
July 19, 2018
March 15, 2018
March 15, 2018
March 15, 2018
