Today, House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) led a Republican forum titled "Biden's Afghanistan Crisis: Forfeiting U.S. Investment in Critical Minerals to the Taliban."
"For 15 years, the U.S. Geological Survey spent more than $81 million to survey Afghanistan’s minerals and sent its scientists on more than 250 trips to research the country’s… Read more »
Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requested a 20-year mineral withdrawal from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) within the Superior National Forest in Northern Minnesota. This announcement automatically triggers a two-year pause on new federal mining permits and leases in the area while this application is reviewed.
"The Biden administration can't even figure… Read more »
Today, three Democrat members of the House Committee on Natural Resources held an in-person field hearing to discuss the effects of the recent oil pipeline rupture off the coast of California. Committee Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement in response:
"Our supply chain is… Read more »
Today, President Joe Biden will be hosting a listening session on the global supply chain bottlenecks. This comes alongside news that the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles will begin working 24/7, a move the administration hopes will alleviate the backlog of cargo ships. Yet while the Biden administration is finally turning its attention to one crisis of its own making, other… Read more »
Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a markup of 15 bills. Five Republican bills passed the committee with unanimous consent:
H.R. 442, offered by U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), conveying approximately 10 acres of land in Sitka, Alaska for the purposes of expanding and improving access to healthcare for Alaska Natives.
H.R. 1975, offered by… Read more »
Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-Mo.), and U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) released the following joint statement regarding the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposal to roll back recent reforms cutting red tape in the National Environmental Policy… Read more »
Today, President Joe Biden announced he will be unilaterally expanding the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah.
"In a pattern that's becoming all-too-familiar, the Biden Administration is once again making a major decision with no congressional input, no prior notice, and no basis in fact. These monuments are far more… Read more »
This week, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation reinitiated consultation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service 2019 biological opinions related to the coordinated long-term operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project. House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement in… Read more »
Today, the U.S. Senate confirmed Tracy Stone-Manning as the next director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in a vote of 50-45. House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement in response:
"The very least we should expect from our leaders is honesty and transparency. Unfortunately, Tracy Stone-Manning's alarming track… Read more »
Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior finalized a proposed rule regarding the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), which would repeal the Trump administration's January 2021 rulemaking. House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement in response:
"It's disappointing but not surprising to see the Biden administration… Read more »
