The House Natural Resources Committee has confirmed that Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) Director Joseph Pizarchik will testify at a July 19th oversight hearing on the status of the Department of the Interior’s rewrite of a 2008 coal regulation that could cost thousands of jobs and economic harm in 22 states, as well as the failure of the Department to respond… Read more »
On Sunday, the New York Times Editorial Board rushed to the defense of President Obama who’s feeling the pressure this election season for proposing an offshore drilling plan that keeps 85 percent of America’s offshore areas off-limits to energy production. The President’s plan, under law, is currently undergoing a mandatory 60-day Congressional review. As part of this review, House… Read more »
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) on Friday, July 13 sent a letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar regarding the Committee’s request for transcribed interviews with five Department officials who were personally involved in developing the May 2010 Interior Department report that falsely stated independent engineers had peer reviewed and… Read more »
Just two weeks ago, President Obama released his five year offshore no-new-energy plan that closes 85 percent of America’s offshore areas to new energy production, opens no new areas to drilling and sidelines over a million jobs. Today, the President is making multiple campaign stops throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia—a state he denied the ability to create over 2,000 jobs and help… Read more »
Dear Mr. Watson:
Greenpeace is pledging to impede planned exploratory drilling operations in arctic waters off the north coast of Alaska this summer. A protest fleet, including a 216-foot ice class ship, two large rigid hull and four small inflatables, two submarines, and a drone is reportedly en route to participate in these activities. Allowing intrusions by any group to disrupt or… Read more »
Dear Mr. Secretary:
In a July 6, 2012, letter, the Department of the Interior (“Department”) was provided a final opportunity to establish by the close of business on July 12, 2012 a mutually agreed upon schedule for transcribed interviews of five Department officials by Committee on Natural Resources (“Committee”) majority oversight staff. These interviews were to be conducted the week… Read more »
The House of Representatives today passed H.R. 4402, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act, sponsored by Rep. Mark Amodei (NV-02), by a bipartisan vote of 256-160. The bill would streamline government red tape to allow the U.S. to more efficiently develop our Nation's strategic and critical minerals, such as rare earth elements, that are vital to job creation,… Read more »
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) delivered the following statement, as prepared for delivery, on the House floor today in support of H.R. 4402, The National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act:
“The United States of America is rarely last at anything. Unfortunately, that is not the case when it comes to permitting mining projects. In 2012, the… Read more »
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today unveiled draft legislation, H.R. 6082, the Congressional Replacement of President Obama’s Energy-Restricting and Job-Limiting Offshore Drilling Plan, to implement a new lease plan for developing the United States’ offshore energy resources over the next five years. A Full Committee markup of the bill will be held on… Read more »
