Dear Ms. Kendall:
According to the Inspector General Act of 1978 ("IG Act"), each Inspector General is responsible for conducting, supervising, and coordinating audits and investigations relating to the programs and operations of their respective agency or department. Although intended to be an independent watchdog against waste, fraud, and abuse, an Inspector General is also expected to… Read more »
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today joined Congressman Francisco “Quico” Canseco (TX-23) and Congressman Mike Conaway (TX-11) in Midland, TX for the “2012 American Energy and Jobs Tour: Promoting the Economy Through American Energy” led by the House Energy Action Team (HEAT).
The Members toured a drilling rig and hydraulic fracturing site and then held… Read more »
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) yesterday sent a letter to the Department of the Interior’s Acting Inspector General (IG) Mary Kendall to question her about discrepancies between her testimony before the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources and documents recently provided to the Committee that suggest she was involved in the process of producing the… Read more »
Interior inspector defends impartiality in report probe
By: Gregory Korte
USA Today
May 23, 2012
When questions came up about how the White House edited an Interior Department report to justify a moratorium on offshore drilling, acting Inspector General Mary Kendall investigated and reported back to Congress only that the report "could have been more clearly worded."
Now documents… Read more »
Dear Ms. Kendall:
As you know, the Committee on Natural Resources ("Committee") has for almost two years been seeking information about how a May 27, 2010 Department of the Interior ("Department") report entitled "Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf" ("Drilling Moratorium Report") was drafted and then edited in a manner that misrepresented… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands held an oversight field hearing in Longview, Washington on, “Failed Federal Forest Policies: Endangering Jobs, Forests and Species.” The hearing examined how federal implementation of the Northwest Forest Plan and Endangered Species Act has affected local economies, forest health and the Northern Spotted Owl.
“To put it… Read more »
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today released internal documents and audio recordings obtained by the Committee through outside sources, which raise further questions into the highly unusual manner in which the Obama Administration is rewriting a coal production regulation, the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule. The documents detail “catastrophic” impacts to… Read more »
Reporting H.R. 1192 Out of Committee (Passed 27-10. View Roll Call Vote)
This bill extends the current Soda Ash royalty rate through October 12, 2016.
Lamborn Amendment #1 – Technical Amendment (Agreed to by Voice Vote.)
This amendment changes the short title of the bill from ‘2011’ to ‘2012’.
Tonko Amendment #001 – Royalty Rate Changes (Failed 11-27. View Roll Call Vote)
This… Read more »
Reporting H.R. 4381 Out of Committee (Passed 24-14. View Roll Call Vote)
This bill establishes common sense steps to create an all-of-the-above American energy plan for using federal lands to meet our Nation’s energy needs.
Tipton Amendment #1 – Leasing Availability (Agreed to by Voice Vote.)
This amendment directs the Secretary to consider leasing Federal lands available “at the time… Read more »
