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Hastings Makes Second Request for Unredacted Stream Buffer Zone Rule Report, Urges Interior’s OIG to Uphold Responsibility to Congress

| Posted in Press Release

Today, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) sent a letter to Department of the Interior’s Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall once again requesting an unredacted copy of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) report on the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement’s (OSM) efforts to rewrite the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule. The House Committee on…

Committee Leaders Send Bicameral, Bipartisan Letter Asking for GAO Oversight on Implementation of Helium Stewardship Act

| Posted in Press Release

Today, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA -04) and Ranking Member Peter Defazio (OR-04), along with Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) asking for an examination of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) plans for helium sales,…

House Approves Bipartisan Measure to Protect Water Rights

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 3189, the Water Rights Protection Act by a bipartisan vote of 238-174. This bipartisan bill, authored by Natural Resources Committee Member Scott Tipton (CO-03), protects private property rights from recent federal overreach that threatens to take water supplies from recreation businesses, ranchers, cities and towns, and local conservation…

Chairman Hastings and Rep. Lummis' Joint Op-Ed in The Daily Caller: Improving the Endangered Species Act for the 21st Century

| Posted in Op-Eds and Speeches

Improving the Endangered Species Act for the 21st Century By ESA Working Group Co-Chairs Doc Hastings and Cynthia Lummis The Daily Caller 3/11/2014 Over forty years ago, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with the noblest of intentions – conserve and recover wildlife facing preventable extinction. This is a moral obligation on which we can all agree. But with a species…

Chairman Hastings: California Coastal National Monument Expansion Is Unnecessary Use of Presidential Powers

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement on President Obama’s designation of the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands as a part of the Coastal California National Monument: “Instead of using imperial powers, the President should pick up the phone and call upon Senate Democrats to take action. The House has already passed legislation,…

Chairman Hastings Seeks Documents and Answers on White Bluffs Bladderpod Listing

| Posted in Press Release

Today, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) sent a letter to Ken Berg, Manager at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Washington state Fish and Wildlife Office, seeking answers to specific questions about whether or not the Service’s recent decision to list the White Bluffs bladderpod as threatened and to designate more than 2,000 acres as “critical habitat”…

Witnesses Agree on the Importance of a Robust National Fish Hatchery System

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held an oversight hearing entitled "National Fish Hatchery System: Strategic Hatchery and Workforce Planning Report." This hearing examined the importance of the National Fish Hatchery System and the negative effects that the recommendations, in the Strategic Hatchery and Workforce Planning…

Chairman Hastings Statement on the President’s FY 2015 Budget Proposal

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement regarding President Obama’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2015: "The President’s budget once again taxes too much and spends too much, while not doing enough to create jobs and grow our economy. The budget also fundamentally fails to recognize that responsibly harnessing and maintaining our…

Obama Administration Lackadaisical Regarding Hiring and Retention Challenges with Key Oil and Natural Gas Jobs

| Posted in Press Release

On Thursday, February 27th, 2014 the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held an oversight hearing on “Obama Administration Oversight: GAO Report – Interior Hiring and Retention Challenges.” In a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), key positions within the Department of the Interior that manage and oversee oil and natural gas activities still face high…

Chairman Hastings Statement on Obama Administration’s Atlantic Offshore Environmental Impact Statement

| Posted in Press Release

Today, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released its final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) allowing for seismic surveys in the Mid and South Atlantic Coasts. "After more than five years, the Department of the Interior has finally reached an important…