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Hastings: Address Immediate Crisis At Hand, Don’t Exploit Gulf Tragedy to Push National Energy Tax or Legislation Unrelated to Spill Response

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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 legislative hearing on the discussion draft of H.R. 3534, The CLEAR Act: “This hearing today should continue to focus on the crisis unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. At this very moment: the well is not capped and oil is still…

Hastings: Interior Dept. Gives Inadequate, Vague Reasons for Delayed PILT Payments

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House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a follow-up letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar seeking clarification on the Department’s vague explanation of why the distribution of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funds is being delayed from June until mid-July.  Click here to read the full text of the letter. A DOI press release from June 18,…

Cassidy Statement at Natural Resources Subcommittee Hearing on State Planning for Offshore Energy Development

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Congressman Bill Cassidy (LA-06) delivered the following opening statement as the acting Ranking Member at today’s Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee hearing on “State Planning for Offshore Energy Development: Standards for Preparedness”: Click here to watch “Madam Chairwoman, I want to compliment you for scheduling this series of oversight hearings on the Deepwater…

Rural America Solutions Group Co-Chairs Call for Committee Hearings on Federal Power Grab of Clean Water Act

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Today, Co-Chairs of the Rural America Solutions Group Frank Lucas (R-OK), Sam Graves (R-MO) and Doc Hastings (R-WA) sent a letter to Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar, Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall asking for hearings on H.R. 5088,…

Hastings Demands Fast Answers From Interior Dept. Over Sudden, Unexplained Delay in Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Distribution

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House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar regarding the recent, abrupt and unexplained Department of Interior (DOI) notice that the distribution of Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funds would be delayed until “late July.” Nearly 2000 counties in 49 states that are due to be paid their PILT funds in June of…

Drug Cartel Violence Along Open Southern Border Endangers Drinking Water Supplies

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Today the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on H.R. 4719, a bill to establish a Southwest Border Region Water Task Force to assess the water supply needs of the region. As part of the hearing, the Subcommittee heard that drug cartel activity along the U.S./Mexican border presents major threats to water infrastructure, including the federally owned…

Bipartisan Committee Vote Calls for Interior Department to Release Secret National Monument Documents

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The House Natural Resource Committee today approved, with favorable recommendation, a Resolution of Inquiry (H. Res. 1406) introduced by Ranking Member Doc Hastings and National Parks, Forest and Public Lands Subcommittee Ranking Member Rob Bishop to direct the Department of Interior to turn over to Congress the missing pages and related documents of an “internal memo” detailing plans to…

Hastings: Oil Spill is No Excuse to Impose Job-Killing Energy Policies, Focus Must Be on Stopping Leak, Making American Drilling the Safest in the World

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House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings released the following statement regarding President Obama’s address to the nation on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: “There is an on-going crisis in the Gulf and the priorities of the Administration should be simple: stop the leak and cleanup the oil.  Such a devastating crisis shouldn’t be used as leverage to push a…

Cassidy Statement at Natural Resources Subcommittee Hearing on the Deepwater Horizon Spill

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Congressman Bill Cassidy (LA-06) delivered the following opening statement as the acting Ranking Member at today’s Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife hearing on “Ocean science and data limits in a time of crisis: Do NOAA and the Fish and Wildlife Service have the resources to respond?”: “Madam Chairwoman, I appreciate your scheduling this hearing on the resources and knowledge…