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Vote Check: Committee Approves Hastings’ Amendment to Require Prompt Response from Fed Government on States Permit Requests to Respond to Oil Spill

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The House Natural Resources Committee during markup on the CLEAR Act (H.R. 3534), approved an amendment offered by Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) to require timely response from the federal government on permits and applications from states and local governments attempting to respond to oil spills of national significance. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has repeatedly spoken of the…

Choo! Choo! All Aboard the Democrats’ Christmas Tree Express: Congressman Admits to Democrat Strategy of Exploiting Oil Spill to Pass Controversial Legislation

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During a House Natural Resources Committee markup of the CLEAR Act (H.R. 3534), Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA) admitted to using this bill –which has been promoted as a response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill – as a vehicle to pass legislation completely unrelated to the Gulf Coast disaster. When asked at the markup why he was introducing an amendment to attach his Geothermal…

Vote Check: Democrats Block Republican Amendment to Ensure Press Has Free, Open Access to Cover Gulf Coast Oil Spill Cleanup

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Today, during a Full Committee markup of the CLEAR Act (H.R. 3534), Rep. Paul Broun (GA-10) introduced an amendment to hold the Obama Administration accountable and ensure members of the news media are allowed full and open access to coastal areas in the Gulf of Mexico affected by the Deepwater Horizon spill. Democrats refused to allow a vote on this amendment, raising a point of order…

Vote Check: Amendment Defeated to Remove Provisions Unrelated to Oil Spill from the CLEAR Act

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Today during a Full Committee markup on the CLEAR Act (H.R. 3534), Democrats voted against an amendment offered by Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) to strike all parts of the bill except Title I, creating new Department of Interior agencies to replace the Minerals Manage Service, and Title VIII, creating a long-term Gulf of Mexico restoration program. All other sections of the bill are…

Vote Check: Natural Resources Committee Unanimously Approves Creation of Non-Partisan, National Oil Spill Commission

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Today, in a Full Committee markup of the CLEAR Act (H.R. 3534), the House Natural Resources Committee voted in favor of a Republican amendment to establish a non-partisan, independent Congressionally approved National Commission on Outer Continental Shelf Oil Spill Prevention to study the events leading up to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The amendment, offered by Rep. Bill Cassidy…

Hastings Opening Statement at Full Committee Markup on the CLEAR Act

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House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) delivered the following opening statement, as prepared for delivery, at today’s Full Committee markup on H.R. 3534, The CLEAR Act: “When it comes to the Gulf oil spill, it couldn’t be clearer what the focus of Congress should be right now: making certain the well is permanently capped, the oil is cleaned up, BP is held…

Hastings: Administration’s New Drilling Moratorium will Harm Economy, Send U.S. Jobs Overseas

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House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) today released the following statement after Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a new moratorium on offshore drilling: “The Obama Administration’s latest attempt to impose a moratorium on offshore drilling will only cause further harm to Gulf State economies. Too many jobs have already been lost…

Hastings Statement on June Unemployment Numbers

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House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its June unemployment report: “Today’s job report confirms what Republicans have been saying for months—temporary government jobs are not a catalyst for economic recovery.  It’s ironic that the Obama Administration is calling this the…

Bill Allows Interior Dept. to Divert Money Away from Border Patrol to Buy Up Private Land

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Today, the House of Representatives will vote on the FY 2010 Supplemental Appropriations bill that contains a provision allowing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to transfer an unlimited amount of funds to the Department of the Interior (DOI) in the form of environmental mitigation payments demanded in return for allowing the U.S. Border Patrol to simply do its job to secure the…

Hastings: Summer Spill Results in Higher Energy Prices, Not Saved Fish

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House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to NOAA’s Northwest Regional Administrator Will Stelle, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Administrator Steve Wright, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Brigadier General Jon McMahon expressing on-going concerns with the 2010 Summer Fish Operations plan.  Click here to read the full text of the…