May 06, 2021
Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz) today said the newly announced "America the Beautiful" campaign provides a stark contrast between the Biden administration's commitment to conservation and sustainable job creation on the one hand and the Trump administration's destructive drill-everywhere obsession on the other. The new policy approach, Grijalva said, will combine with the American Jobs Plan to build a more sustainable economy and preserve valuable landscapes and seascapes across the count… Continue Reading
May 05, 2021
Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said after the conclusion of today's markup - which finished a process that began on April 28 - that the Democratic legislative strategy on national conservation policy is now clearly focused on environmental justice, taxpayer fairness and climate protection. The Committee advanced a series of bills that increase taxpayer return for the private use of public resources, protect marginalized communities from exploitation, and reduce wasteful incentives for f… Continue Reading
May 05, 2021
Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today led 17 members of Congress in introducing a bipartisan resolution designating May 5 as a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The resolution and related efforts to combat the silent crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIW) were designed in collaboration with seven national tribal organizations, each of which endorse Grijalva's resolution.
"The violence perpetrated against Indigenous … Continue Reading
January 12, 2021
When Scott Angelle, an oil drilling advocate-turned-industry regulator, finished a hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee last March, lawmakers had some follow-up questions for him - a standard part of the congressional oversight process.
The Interior Department's response to the inquiries, however, was anything but routine.
It took nearly nine months for the department to address committee members' requests for more information about the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforc… Continue Reading
December 23, 2020
A Montana tribe is having a "once in a lifetime moment" after a water compact with the federal government passed Monday night, tucked inside the massive spending and pandemic aid package.
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Montana (CSKT) compact, amounting to $1.9 billion, is the largest tribal water rights settlement in history by total federal cost.
The year-end package also advanced other tribal water rights settlements, including for the Pueblos of Nambé, Pojoaque, Tesuq… Continue Reading
December 08, 2020
February 01, 2021
With a new President at the helm, and with Democrats controlling both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the federal government has a unique opportunity to focus on policies that benefit all Americans, including those residing in the U.S. territories. After years of neglect and a clearly failed approach by the Trump administration, now is the time to resolve longstanding inequities in federal treatment of territorial residents.
Nearly 4 million Americans live in the territories of Ame… Continue Reading
November 16, 2020
On Sept. 11, the CEO and two other top executives at the international mining giant Rio Tinto announced they would step down following public outrage at the company's destruction of a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal heritage site in Australia known as Juukan Gorge.
Back in May, the company had blown up the rock shelters - they housed Aboriginal artifacts dating back 28,000 years - to gain access to millions of dollars' worth of iron ore.
Although the departure of the company's leading figures and i… Continue Reading
October 29, 2020
When Americans think about our national parks and natural beauty, our minds often jump - whether or not we've visited these places - to images we've seen of ice sheets at Glacier National Park, the moonlike wastes of Death Valley, or iconic images of groves at Joshua Tree National Park. While the classic look of these places is fixed in our minds, the places themselves are changing for the worse, and if we don't take action, old images may be all we have left to enjoy.… 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
April 27, 2021
April 22, 2021
March 17, 2021
December 18, 2020
October 28, 2020
October 05, 2020
May 22, 2018
October 03, 2017
June 14, 2017
May 06, 2021
May 05, 2021
May 04, 2021
April 29, 2021
