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Energy and Mineral Resources

Hot Air Alert: If President Obama Supports Bipartisan Efforts to Increase Natural Gas Production, Why is His Administration Making it More Difficult?

| Posted in Hot Air Alert

On November 3, 2010, the day after the election, President Obama woke up to the stark reality that he would have to work with Republicans in Congress. During a press conference, the President identified natural gas as an issue where Republicans and Democrats could come together in a bipartisan way: “Let’s find those areas where we can agree…We’ve got, I think, broad agreement that we’ve…

CQ Weekly: A Burst of Energy For Natural Resources?

| Posted in In Case You Missed It

A Burst of Energy For Natural Resources? By Margaret Kriz Hobson, CQ Staff CQ Weekly November 28, 2010 Doc Hastings, a 69-year-old former paper executive from Washington state, has kept a low profile during his 16 years in the House, working on the lesser-known Rules and ethics committees and earning a reputation as a party loyalist. But as the 112th Congress prepares to convene,…

Interior Department Presentation Shows No Gulf Lease Sales Planned Until 2012

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement regarding news reports that the Department of the Interior has postponed the planned lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico until 2012. “These are exactly the type of irrational decisions by the Obama Administration that have gone largely unchecked in the 111th Congress and that Republicans…

Ranking Member Hastings Proposes Creation of Energy and Natural Resources Committee

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) sent the following letter to Members of the House Republican Conference of the 112th Congress proposing the creation of an Energy and Natural Resources Committee by consolidating the energy portfolio from the Energy and Commerce Committee to the Natural Resources Committee. In asking his colleagues to consider the…

USGS: America Has Abundant Supply of Rare Earth Elements

| Posted in Resourceful Information

On the heels of a Wall Street Journal report outlining America’s dependence on China’s tightening rare earth element (REE) market, the USGS released a report today revealing 13 million metric tons of REEs exist within known deposits in 14 U.S. states.  While the largest deposits exist in California, Alaska and Wyoming, additional known REE deposits are found in Colorado, Florida,…

The National Academies Release Interim Report on Deepwater Horizon Incident

| Posted in Blog

The National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council released an interim report this morning on the April 20th Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. According to the report, BP demonstrated “an insufficient consideration of risk and a lack of operating discipline.” The 15-member panel of scientists and technical experts are still actively investigating the incident and will make…

Ranking Member Hastings Statement on DOI Inspector General Report on Decision to Impose Drilling Moratorium

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement on the Department of the Interior (DOI) Inspector General report regarding changes made to DOI’s 30-Day Safety Report that recommended a drilling moratorium.  This report comes after Hastings and other Natural Resources Committee Republicans called for an Inspector General…

Hastings Outlines Natural Resources Committee Priorities

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) outlined the following broad priorities for the Republican Majority on the Natural Resources Committee.  Hastings is seeking to become Chairman of the Committee in the 112th Congress. “Now is the time for Republicans to get to work and prove that we have truly listened to the American people. “Like all committees, one…