Today, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power held a legislative hearing on H.R. 678, the “Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act,” and H.R. 254, the "Bonneville Unit Clean Hydropower Facilitation Act.” Both bills are bipartisan plans to create new American jobs and expand production of clean, renewable hydropower by cutting… Read more »

The Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee held an oversight hearing today on “America’s Offshore Energy Resources: Creating Jobs, Securing America, and Lowering Prices.” The hearing focused on the significant economic growth that increased production of offshore oil, natural gas and wind energy. “In light of record debt and deficits, and the current sequestration cuts going into… Read more »

Ever since taking office, President Obama has erected barriers to increased offshore American energy production and systematically closed off new areas to drilling. Study after study has shown that increased offshore energy production will create jobs, grow the economy, lower prices and provide significant revenues to the states and federal government. As the chart (below) shows, under… Read more »

Dear Secretary Salazar: The Department of the Interior ("Department") established the Investigations and Review Unit ("IRU") in 2010, reportedly to respond to allegations of wrongdoing and unethical behavior by the offshore oil and gas industry and the Department officials who regulate those activities and to help coordinate the Department's response to significant… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today followed up on his previous request to Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu for detailed documents and communications related to the issuance of Chu’s March 16, 2012, Memorandum (Memorandum) to the Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs). Last Congress, the Natural Resources Committee held multiple hearings on the… Read more »

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) yesterday released disturbing new data that shows the United States has been increasing its dependence on oil from one of the most unstable regions in the world. Middle Eastern oil now accounts for more than 25 percent of American oil imports—a nine year high that has come at the same time as record gasoline prices. No wonder gasoline… Read more »

Dear Secretary Chu: As you know, the House Committee on Natural Resources ("Committee") is conducting oversight on issues surrounding your March 16, 2012 Memorandum ("Memorandum") to the Power Marketing Administrations. In an October 11, 2012 letter the Department of Energy ("Department") was asked to produce several categories of documents and communications related to the issuance… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to follow up on a more than two and a half year investigation into the Obama Administration’s decision to throw out the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone coal regulation, and write a new regulation that could destroy up to 7,000 coal mining jobs and cause economic… Read more »

Thank you for that warm welcome and introduction, Mike (LaPlant). For those of you who don’t know, Mike is the President of the Washington State Farm Bureau and a Director of the Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District.  Mike is not only a constituent from Ephrata, Washington, but a friend. And I want to thank you at the Family Farm Alliance for inviting me here today. We… Read more »

Dear Secretary Salazar: Two years ago you received the first in a series of letters asking for information and documents that would explain the deeply concerning decisions made by the Department and the Office of Surface Mining ("OSM") over the last few years related to the decision to discard nearly 5 years of rulemaking and begin a rewrite of Stream Buffer Zone Rule. The Committee has… Read more »