Reporting H.R. 819 Out of Committee (Passed 24-17. View Roll Call Vote) This bill authorizes pedestrian and motorized vehicular access in Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area. * For complete legislative action for the May 15, 2013 Full Committee Markup, click here. Read more »

H. Rept. 113-56 Read more »

Today, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA -04) spoke at the third Managing Our Nation’s Fisheries Conference coordinated by the Regional Fishery Management Councils and hosted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. During his remarks, Chairman Hastings discussed the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, President Obama’s National Ocean Policy, and the… Read more »

I want to thank Dr. McIsaac, the Regional Fishery Management Councils – in particular, the Pacific Council - and NOAA for hosting this conference. Pulling together a conference involving this many people who have an interest in fisheries management cannot be an easy task. I would like to welcome all of you here to Washington, D.C. I know this is a commitment of time and energy, but I… Read more »

Yesterday, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held an oversight hearing examining the spending priorities outlined in the President’s FY2014 budget requests for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after President Obama released the final implementation plan for the National Ocean Policy and mandatory ocean zoning initiative. “This final implementation plan raises more questions than answers and provides even less information on what the Obama Administration will impose under the… Read more »

"The Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service has resurrected a Clinton-era tactic known as 'sue and settle.' With this strategy, outside green groups friendly to the Administration sue the government, demanding a particular regulatory action. The agency happily forswears court and sits down with the plaintiffs to reach a settlement." Fishing for Wildlife Lawsuits March 10,… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director Dan Ashe raising concerns of scientific integrity and the imposition of arbitrary deadlines surrounding the decision to potentially list the sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  The letter requests… Read more »

At the beginning of this Administration, President Obama placed significant emphasis on the importance of scientific integrity in his Administration's policies and practices. In the President's March 9, 2009 Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, he stated that "[t]he public must be able to trust the science and scientific process informing public policy… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today released the following statement after receiving a partial response from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe to his February 7th request for an extended public comment period for Lesser Prairie Chicken designation under the Endangered Species Act and to approve state and local plans to protect the Lesser… Read more »