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Natural Resources Committee Approves Three Bills to Help Develop Rare Earth and Critical Materials in the United States

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Today, the House Natural Resources Committee approved three bills with bipartisan support that will create jobs, streamline government red-tape, and make America less dependent on foreign critical and strategic minerals. Critical and strategic minerals are vital to our everyday lives and are essential components of renewable energy, national defense equipment, medical devices,…

Legislation Introduced to Protect and Expand Energy Production on Federal Lands

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Members of the House Natural Resources Committee introduced two bills to protect and expand U.S. onshore energy production on federal lands. The bills would remove government roadblocks and hurdles that delay American energy production, promote production of our oil shale resources, and ensure that oil and natural gas resources in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) are…

Hastings Joins Endangered Species Act Working Group

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House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today joined other Members of the House of Representatives in announcing the creation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Working Group. Throughout this year, the Working Group will hold a series of events, forums, and hearings that will invite discussion and input on ways in which the ESA (last reauthorized in 1988) may be…

Witnesses to House Committee: Federal Government Must Stay Out of Hydro-Fracking Regulation

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Today, the House Natural Resources Committee held an oversight hearing entitled “DOI Fracturing Rule: A Recipe for Government Waste, Duplication, and Delay.” This hearing focused on the potential impact that the Obama Administration’s proposed hydraulic fracturing regulations on federal lands would have on job creation, economic growth, and energy development in America. For over 60…

Chairman Hastings Discusses Magnuson-Stevens Act Reauthorization at Fisheries Conference

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Today, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA -04) spoke at the third Managing Our Nation’s Fisheries Conference coordinated by the Regional Fishery Management Councils and hosted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. During his remarks, Chairman Hastings discussed the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, President Obama’s National Ocean Policy, and the…

House Subcommittee Examines Federal Impediments to Job Creation, Economic Growth, & Recreation on Public Lands

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Today, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation held an oversight hearing on “Impediments to Public Recreation on Public Lands.” This hearing examined obstacles put in place by the federal government that put more costs and burdens on small businesses and limit public access to public lands. “Increased fees, bureaucracy, restrictions,…

House Passes Bipartisan Legislation to Prevent Global Helium Shortage, Protect Jobs, & Ensure a Fair Return for Taxpayers

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Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 527, the “Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act” by a vote of 394– 1.  This bipartisan legislation, introduced by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA), Ranking Member Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), and Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX), is a common sense plan to sell helium from the Federal…

Witnesses Highlight the Importance of Water Rights For Job Creation & Economic Growth and Local Control

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Today, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power held an oversight hearing entitled “Federal Impediments to Water Rights, Job Creation and Recreation: A Local Perspective."  The hearing examined growing federal intrusion that costs American jobs and threatens to divert water supplies away from agricultural, recreational, and municipal water use. The hearing focused…

Witnesses Stress Importance of Transboundary Agreement, Developing Shared Energy Reserves

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Today, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held an oversight hearing on the U.S. - Mexico Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreement to examine steps needed for its implementation and a legislative hearing on H.R. 1613, the “Outer Continental Shelf Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreements Authorization Act.” This important legislation implements the U.S. – Mexico…

Committee Passes Bipartisan Bill to Establish Manhattan Project National Historical Park

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Today, the House Natural Resources Committee approved by unanimous consent H.R. 1208, a bipartisan bill introduced by Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04), Congressman Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03) and Congressman Ben Lujan (NM-03) to establish a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that will include facilities at Hanford, Washington, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Los Alamos, New…