Today, the House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held a field hearing in Shreveport, Louisiana titled “Giant Salvinia: How Do We Protect Our Ecosystems?” Subcommittee Chairman John Fleming (LA-04) and Representative Louie Gohmert (TX-01) attended the hearing and heard from Administration, state and local experts on the status of the fight against giant… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after the Obama Administration announced a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency  to address air quality issued associated with onshore oil and natural gas development: “When a… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after the Obama Administration announced a release of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve: “The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is intended for situations when there’s a dramatic supply shut down, not to achieve short-term political gain. However, this is a clear… Read more »

Today, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) and Parks, Forest and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Rob Bishop (UT-01) met privately with Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey and Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary David Hayes to discuss the Wild Lands Secretarial Order. The meeting was intended to clarify the intentions of Secretary Salazar’s… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a six month extension of a ban on uranium mining outside the borders of the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. “Today’s announcement by the Obama Administration plunges America even deeper into the depths of dependence on… Read more »

Today, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) adopted a resolution supporting H.R. 887, legislation by Indian and Alaskan Native Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Don Young (AK-At Large) and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) to cap attorneys’ fees in the Cobell v. Salazar Settlement Agreement at $50 million. At a conference on May 16-19th, the Affiliated… Read more »

House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Minerals today held a legislative hearing on Chairman Doc Hastings’ (WA-04) H.R. 2150, the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act, a bill to cut through bureaucratic red tape and unlock the full potential of energy resources in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). As part of the American Energy Initiative, this legislation… Read more »

Today, the House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held a legislative hearing on H.R. 946, the “Endangered Salmon Predation Prevention Act,” a bipartisan bill introduced by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings to protect endangered Columbia River salmon from predation by California sea lions. Endangered salmon populations in the Pacific… Read more »

As part of House Republicans’ American Energy Initiative, Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, Energy and Minerals Subcommittee Chairman Doug Lamborn and Reps. Raúl Labrador, Kristi Noem and Rob Wittman today introduced a series of bills to expand renewable energy production and create jobs. The four renewable energy bills would streamline bureaucratic impediments to the… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement in response to Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Ken Salazar’s letter to Congress concerning wilderness area designations: “Based on the Obama Administration’s track record in this area, I’m taking a ‘trust but verify’ approach to their actions. The Administration only set aside its… Read more »