Today, at a House Natural Resources Full Committee oversight hearing, Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) pressed U.S. Fish and Wildlife (FWS) Service Director Dan Ashe on the Department’s non-compliance with the Committee’s request for documents regarding the process and science surrounding the FWS’ decision to list the White Bluffs bladderpod as a threatened species. A letter was sent to the… Read more »
Today, the House of Representatives passed HR 1459, the Ensuring Public Involvement in the Creation of National Monuments Act by a bipartisan vote of 222 - 201. This bill, introduced by Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Rob Bishop (UT-01), would require public participation before a presidentially-declared National Monument is made official under the… Read more »
Today, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power held an oversight hearing examining the spending priorities outlined in the President’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget request for the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs), and the U.S. Geological Survey’s Water program.
The hearing highlighted the importance of charting a roadmap to… Read more »
Today, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 2824, the Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America Act, with a bipartisan vote of 229-192. Sponsored by Representative Bill Johnson (OH-06) and Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Chairman Doug Lamborn (CO-05), this important legislation would protect American jobs, taxpayer dollars, and affordable… Read more »
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today issued a subpoena to Department of the Interior Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall for an unredacted copy of the Office of Inspector General (IG) report on the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement’s (OSM) efforts to rewrite the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule and a small number of related OIG… Read more »
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 »
