H.R. 5987, a bill to establish the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, was brought to the House floor today under “suspension of House rules.” This “suspension” process allows for an expedited and abbreviated process for considering and voting on bills. However, in order for a bill to pass under suspension, it has to receive two-thirds support rather than a simple majority. While… Read more »

The House Natural Resources Committee today released a report detailing information uncovered in its more than 18-month ongoing investigation into the Obama Administration’s rewrite of a coal production regulation, the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule. The report, entitled “President Obama's Covert and Unorthodox Efforts to Impose New Regulation on Coal Mining and Destroy American Jobs,”… Read more »

House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) and National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Rob Bishop (UT-01) sent a letter yesterday to Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar urging the Administration to comply with outstanding requests for documents regarding the Obama Administration’s decision to institute a 20-year ban on uranium development on… Read more »

Next week, the House of Representatives will consider the Stop the War on Coal Act of 2012, a package of five bills that will help end the Obama Administration’s war on coal that threatens thousands of American jobs and could increase the price of energy on millions of American families and small businesses. Included in the package is a Natural Resources Committee bill, H.R. 3409, the… Read more »

The House Natural Resources Committee today held an oversight hearing which examined bipartisan concerns that Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s memorandum to the Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs), including the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), could significantly increase electricity rates on 40 million Americans. Through the Chu memo, the Obama Administration seems determined to… Read more »

Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3397, the Cabin Fee Act of 2011, by voice vote. Sponsored by Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04), the bill modifies the current cabin fee formula to make it more predictable and affordable for families who own cabins in our National Forests. Recently, cabin owners have been faced with arbitrary, skyrocketing fees as a result of a faulty appraisal… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement on the Bureau of Labor Statistics August jobs report that unemployment continued to stay above 8 percent: “While any job growth is positive, there is no doubt that the majority of Americans are not better off today than they were four years ago. Under President Obama’s failed leadership… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent letters to two Interior Department officials inviting them to appear at a Full Committee hearing on September 13, 2012 to answer questions regarding the Department of the Interior’s Drilling Moratorium Report that was edited to appear as though the moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico was supported by a panel of… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu inviting him to testify at a Full Committee hearing on Tuesday, September 11th regarding his Memorandum to the Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs). Secretary Chu was originally invited to testify at a hearing on April 26, 2012, but declined due to… Read more »

Today, the House Natural Resources Committee held a Full Committee oversight field hearing in Panama City, Florida entitled, “Fishing = Jobs: How Strengthening America’s Fisheries Strengthens Our Economy.” Florida’s fishing industry contributes billions of dollars in fishing–related expenditures each year and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. The hearing today focused on the… Read more »