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Northwest Federal Forest Regulations Have Devastated Forest Health, Local Economies With Little Benefit to Northern Spotted Owl

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands held an oversight field hearing in Longview, Washington on, “Failed Federal Forest Policies: Endangering Jobs, Forests and Species.” The hearing examined how federal implementation of the Northwest Forest Plan and Endangered Species Act has affected local economies, forest health and the Northern Spotted Owl. “To put it…

Chairman Hastings' Op-Ed in The Washington Times: Time to improve the Endangered Species Act

| Posted in Op-Eds and Speeches

HASTINGS: Time to improve the Endangered Species Act By House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings Washington Times May 18, 2012 When the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was signed into law in 1973 by President Nixon, he spoke about the importance of preserving “the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.” I believe that goal is as important…

Documents and Audio Recordings Kept Secret by Interior Department Raise Further Questions into Obama Administration's Rewrite of Coal Production Regulation

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today released internal documents and audio recordings obtained by the Committee through outside sources, which raise further questions into the highly unusual manner in which the Obama Administration is rewriting a coal production regulation, the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule. The documents detail “catastrophic” impacts to…

Committee Passes Mineral Production and Indian Land Energy Bills

| Posted in Press Release

In the spirit of the House Republicans’ American Energy Initiative effort, the House Natural Resources Committee today passed the Natural Strategic and Critical Minerals Protection Act and the Native American Energy Act, with bipartisan support, to expand critical mineral production and empower Indian tribes to increase energy production on their tribal lands. The bills would reduce…

Committee Passes Three Bills to Expand Onshore Energy Production to Create Jobs, Help Lower Gasoline Prices

| Posted in Press Release

In the spirit of the House Republicans’ American Energy Initiative effort, the House Natural Resources Committee today passed three bills, with bipartisan support, to expand onshore energy production, lower gasoline prices and create new American jobs. The bills would reduce burdensome government hurdles and streamline duplicative and unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles to onshore American…

EPA Threatened with Subpoena for Documents on Obama Coal Reg. Rewrite that Could Cost Thousands of Jobs

| Posted in Press Release

As part of the more than year-long investigation into the Obama Administration’s rewrite of a 2008 coal regulation, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a final request letter to the Obama Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and threatened a subpoena for information and documents regarding EPA’s involvement in the rewrite of the…

Field Hearing Stresses Need for Active Forest Management to Suppress Bark Beetle Epidemic, Protect Water and Power Supplies

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the House Subcommittees on Water and Power and National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands held a joint oversight field hearing in Montrose, Colorado entitled, “Logs in the Road: Eliminating Federal Red Tape and Excessive Litigation to Create Healthy Forests, Jobs and Abundant Water and Power Supplies.” At the hearing, Subcommittee Chairmen Rob Bishop (UT-01) and Tom McClintock…

Second Subpoena Issued to Interior Dept for Investigation into New Obama Coal Regulations that Could Cost Thousands of Jobs

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today issued a second subpoena to the Department of the Interior (DOI) for additional information relating to the investigation into the Obama Administration’s rewrite of the Stream Buffer Zone Rule (Rule) that began over a year ago. The second subpoena follows after DOI has failed to comply with the April 5th subpoena for…

Chairman Hastings: Documents Raise Serious Questions about Thoroughness and Independence of Inspector General's Investigation into Drilling Moratorium Report

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to Department of the Interior’s Acting Inspector General Mary Kendall expressing deep concern with the thoroughness of the Office of Inspector General’s (IG) investigation into whether an Obama Administration report that recommended a six-month drilling moratorium was intentionally edited to incorrectly…