Today, the House Natural Resources Committee held an oversight field hearing in Fresno, CA on “California Water Crisis and Its Impacts: The Need for Immediate and Long-Term Solutions.” At the hearing, Members and witnesses discussed the need to resolve differences and pass legislation to bring immediate and long-term water supplies to California. In February, the House passed H.R. 3964,… Read more »
On Friday, February 14, 2014, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack requesting more information about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) assertion that the department was still legally obligated to recover the sequestered FY 2012 SRS payments that were already paid out to states and is considering… Read more »
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… Read more »
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,… Read more »
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… Read more »
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,… Read more »
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”… Read more »
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
