July 17, 2019
The House Natural Resources Committee today approved Assistant Speaker Rep. Ben Ray Luján's (D-N.M.) H.R. 2181, the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act, which withdraws federal land around New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Historical Park from future oil and gas leasing. The bill is co-sponsored by Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Committee Vice-Chair Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.), Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif), Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.… Continue Reading
July 17, 2019
The House Natural Resources Committee just approved Chair Raúl M. Grijalva's (D-Ariz.) bills to protect the Grand Canyon from new uranium mining claims (H.R. 1373, the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act) and to remove uranium from the federal critical minerals list (H.R. 3405, Removing Uranium From the Critical Minerals List Act). Taken together, the bills represent a concerted effort to end the mining industry's push for special treatment from the federal government.
H.R. 1373, whic… Continue Reading
July 15, 2019
Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on reports that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt intends to move the Bureau of Land Management headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Grand Junction, Colo.
Bernhardt, a native of nearby Rifle, Colo., and other top Interior officials have resisted the Committee's calls for transparency on the Trump administration's plans to "reorganize" the Interior Department or affiliated agencies.
"This administration has been handin… Continue Reading
July 16, 2019
In April of this year, the United States Department of the Interior's Office of Inspector General opened an investigation into allegations that six top political appointees at the agency had engaged in violations of federal ethics rules. One of the officials caught up in the cloud of scandal is Doug Domenech, an assistant secretary at the Department and a close friend and lieutenant of Interior Secretary David Bernhardt.
Domenech came under scrutiny after Pacific Standard and the Guardian toget… Continue Reading
June 27, 2019
Rep. Donald McEachin says approach will address environmental justice concerns from bottom up
Lawmakers will collect feedback on POPVOX online platform… Continue Reading
May 15, 2019
Native American leaders pressed lawmakers in Congress Wednesday to adopt permanent protections for grizzly bears, a species widely revered by tribes but that has been proposed for hunting in Wyoming and Idaho.
Proposed legislation would block grizzly hunting in the Lower 48 states, regardless of the species' population size, and allow for the reintroduction of bruins to tribal lands.
Grizzlies play a central role in the traditions and ceremonies of many tribes, said former Hopi Tribe chairman … Continue Reading
July 11, 2019
We traveled to Puerto Rico in March with several of our congressional colleagues to hear from the public on how best to rebuild civil society and a functioning economy. The same theme came up again and again: As much as anything, Puerto Rico needs relief from its crushing debt burden.
For a hurricane-ravaged community whose needs the Trump administration has neglected, the bloodless term "debt relief" might not sound to outside observers like a top priority. In fact, it is key to any hope for P… 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
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
July 09, 2019
July 03, 2019
July 03, 2019
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
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