The House Committee on Natural Resources’ majority website today was recognized, for a third consecutive Congress, one of the best websites in Congress by the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF). The Committee received a Gold Mouse award, one of only three House Committees to receive this honor for the 113th Congress.
“For three consecutive sessions of Congress, the Natural… Read more »
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) delivered the following speech today at the University of Washington, School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, Symposium on the Magnuson-Stevens Act:
“Thank you for having me here today to discuss the Magnuson-Stevens Act and our current efforts in Congress to update and modernize the law.
I have the privilege of serving… Read more »
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) delivered the following speech today at the Western Regional Forest Resources Association Spring Meeting in Pasco, WA. In the speech, Chairman Hastings talked about the House bill (H.R. 1526) that would put tens of thousands of Americans back to work, provide stable funding for counties to use for education and… Read more »
Today, all 26 lawmakers representing Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho urged President Obama to make the future of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty a priority for 2014. In a letter led by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA), and House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR), the 26 lawmakers highlighted the… Read more »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released a comprehensive audit of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The audit found that the federal government does not have a system to track data and costs associated with performing NEPA reviews, NEPA delays are lengthy and vary agency to agency, and that litigation is a major driver in the environmental review process.
The… Read more »
At a Full Committee hearing today on “Tribal Forest Management: A Model for Promoting Healthy Forests and Rural Jobs,” House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) in his opening statement stressed the need for the Senate to take action on House-passed legislation to restore active forest management.
Last September, the House passed H.R. 1526, The Restoring Healthy… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held an oversight hearing on “American Energy Jobs: Opportunities for Women and Minorities.” The energy sector provides stable, well-paying jobs with an average salary much higher than other sectors. The hearing examined the growing opportunities for women and minorities in the energy field and how their role will continue to… Read more »
Today, the House Natural Resources Committee held a Full Committee legislative hearing on four straightforward bills to update the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the 21st century and improve species recovery. The bills are supported by all of the Members of the ESA Congressional Working Group, representing districts across the nation, and are based on the recommendations and findings of… Read more »
This week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released new data showing that federal onshore oil and natural gas leases and permits are at the lowest levels in more than a decade. According to the data:
BLM leased 1.2 million acres in 2013, down from 1.8 million acres leased the year before and the smallest area since at least 1988, the earliest year BLM reported data.
… Read more »
Today, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) issued a subpoena to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) seeking documents surrounding the process and science behind the decision to list the White Bluffs bladderpod as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The Committee first requested documents on March 7, 2014 and, after the FWS missed the… Read more »
