Ranking Republican Doc Hastings (R-WA) Next week the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 2499, the Puerto Rico Democracy Act, which gives the people of Puerto Rico the opportunity to vote on their political future including the possibility of becoming America’s 51st state.  Officially, the… Read more »

Next week, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on H.R. 2499, the Puerto Rico Democracy Act.  This bill would authorize a federally sanctioned plebiscite (vote) of the Puerto Rican people regarding their political future. The bill mandates a two-step voting process.  The first vote would allow the people of Puerto Rico to choose between selecting a “different political… Read more »

Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) sent a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requesting that, in light of this year’s low water supplies, endangered juvenile salmon should be transported past dams rather than flushed downstream by… Read more »

Today, the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife will hold a joint oversight hearing with the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands to examine non-native constrictor snakes as invasive species in the Florida Everglades. The hearing follows Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Ken Salazar’s announcement to list nine non-native snakes (non-venomous… Read more »

Today, the House will consider The Ocean, Coastal, and Watershed Education Act (H.R. 3644), which would authorize funding for two programs within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): the Environmental Literacy Grant Program and the Bay-Watershed Education and Training Regional Program (B-WET). However, this legislation includes a significant spending increase that… Read more »

Following a request from House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services announced today that it would extend the public comment period on its draft proposal to revise the critical habitat designation for bull trout until April 5, 2010. “I appreciate Fish and Wildlife Service’s willingness to allow more time for public comment,”… Read more »

Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) sent a letter to Department of Interior Secretary Salazar requesting a 60-day extension of the public comment period on U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s draft proposal to revise the critical habitat designation for bull trout in streams, lakes and reservoirs in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Nevada. In the… Read more »

Letter to DOI Secretary Salazar Requesting Extension for Comment Period on USFWS Proposed Revision of Bull Trout Critical Habitat Designation Read more »

.bullet { LIST-STYLE-IMAGE: url(/UploadedPhotos/HighResolution/24715874-45fd-4a8e-b9b6-0e12a18eff1b.jpg) } Exactly one year ago today, the newly confirmed Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar delivered his first speech to Department employees, outlining his vision for the future of the agency. Unfortunately, Secretary Salazar’s rhetoric stands in stark contrast to… Read more »

Republican Views on H.R. 3644, the "Ocean, Coastal and Watershed Education Act" Read more »