Today during a Full Committee markup on the CLEAR Act (H.R. 3534), Democrats voted against an amendment offered by Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) to strike all parts of the bill except Title I, creating new Department of Interior agencies to replace the Minerals Manage Service, and Title VIII, creating a long-term Gulf of Mexico restoration program. All other sections of the bill are… Read more »

Today, in a Full Committee markup of the CLEAR Act (H.R. 3534), the House Natural Resources Committee voted in favor of a Republican amendment to establish a non-partisan, independent Congressionally approved National Commission on Outer Continental Shelf Oil Spill Prevention to study the events leading up to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The amendment, offered by Rep. Bill Cassidy… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) delivered the following opening statement, as prepared for delivery, at today’s Full Committee markup on H.R. 3534, The CLEAR Act: “When it comes to the Gulf oil spill, it couldn’t be clearer what the focus of Congress should be right now: making certain the well is permanently capped, the oil is cleaned up, BP is held… Read more »

Note: “The really odd moment came when Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement that he was looking to the commission for information that could inform the administration’s position on halting deepwater drilling. Salazar’s statement stunned the commission’s two co-chairmen, William K. Reilly and Bob Graham, who said they had been assured by Salazar’s office and the White House… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) today released the following statement after Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a new moratorium on offshore drilling: “The Obama Administration’s latest attempt to impose a moratorium on offshore drilling will only cause further harm to Gulf State economies. Too many jobs have already been lost… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its June unemployment report: “Today’s job report confirms what Republicans have been saying for months—temporary government jobs are not a catalyst for economic recovery.  It’s ironic that the Obama Administration is calling this the… Read more »

Today, the House of Representatives will vote on the FY 2010 Supplemental Appropriations bill that contains a provision allowing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to transfer an unlimited amount of funds to the Department of the Interior (DOI) in the form of environmental mitigation payments demanded in return for allowing the U.S. Border Patrol to simply do its job to secure the… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to NOAA’s Northwest Regional Administrator Will Stelle, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Administrator Steve Wright, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Brigadier General Jon McMahon expressing on-going concerns with the 2010 Summer Fish Operations plan.  Click here to read the full text of the… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) delivered the following opening statement, as prepared for delivery, at today’s Full Committee legislative hearing on the discussion draft of H.R. 3534, The CLEAR Act: “This hearing today should continue to focus on the crisis unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. At this very moment: the well is not capped and oil is still… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a follow-up letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar seeking clarification on the Department’s vague explanation of why the distribution of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funds is being delayed from June until mid-July.  Click here to read the full text of the letter. A DOI press release from June 18,… Read more »