“The IG was supposed to be independent, was supposed to have unfettered access to all material, and was to share whatever they found with the Congress,” said Rep. Doc Hastings, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee that oversees the Interior Department. “With Mary Kendall, we have found that to be simply not the case. She has… Read more »
IGs Form Front Line of War on Waste and Fraud, But Weak Links Remain
Mark Flatten
The Washington Examiner
December 1, 2014
Allegations against top officials at the State Department were devastating and had to be suppressed, so the agency’s inspector general quickly obliged, delivering what amounted to a cover-up of a cover-up.
What… Read more »
ICYMI: Lawmakers urge agencies to cut red tape on power-line maintenance
Phil Taylor
E&E Daily
Published: Thursday, May 8, 2014
In a rare show of bipartisanship, Republicans and Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee yesterday urged federal agencies to make it easier for utilities to manage power lines crossing federal forests.
The Forest Service and Bureau… Read more »
With stuffed elephants donated by conservation groups lining lawmakers' desks, everyone at a House Natural Resources subpanel hearing yesterday agreed that African elephants could be driven to extinction within a decade if something is not done about poaching driven by demand for ivory.
"The plight of the elephants demands our undivided attention," said Ian Somerhalder, "Vampire Diaries"… Read more »
As the Wall Street Journal article below notes, increased U.S. oil production is the best way to protect our country from volatile gasoline price spikes caused by international conflicts, such as the current violence in Iraq. Next week, the U.S. House of Representatives will take further action to expand domestic energy production and improve our energy security by considering H.R.… Read more »
Yesterday, the House Committee on Natural Resources held an oversight hearing on “American Energy Jobs: Opportunities for Skilled Trades Workers.” The hearing examined the well-paying jobs opportunities for technical and skilled workers that have been created by the recent American energy boom. Mike Rowe, former host of Discovery’s “Dirty Jobs” and CEO of mikeroweWorks testified at this… Read more »
This week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released new data showing that federal onshore oil and natural gas leases and permits are at the lowest levels in more than a decade. According to the data:
BLM leased 1.2 million acres in 2013, down from 1.8 million acres leased the year before and the smallest area since at least 1988, the earliest year BLM reported data.
… Read more »
A Wyoming first: No bids for coal mining tract in Powder River Basin
By Laura Hancock
At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, U.S. Bureau of Land Management employees in Cheyenne gathered to unseal envelopes containing bids and checks from coal companies hoping to score the rights to dig in the Powder River Basin.
But there were no envelopes to open. No companies bid on the coal lease, said BLM… Read more »
Yesterday, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power held a field hearing in West Plains, Missouri on “Stopping Federal Land and Water Grabs: Protecting Property Rights from Washington, DC Edicts.” The hearing examined the harmful effects of the Obama Administration’s National Blueways Order that imposes a unilateral federal watershed designation process with… Read more »
