On Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 10:00 AM in 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold a legislative hearing on a Discussion Draft of the “Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017” (Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-AR). Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) and Rep. Westerman issued the following statements:
“This draft builds upon the work of the prior Congress… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans held a legislative hearing on two bills to lessen the costs of federal water and power infrastructure to American ratepayers.
H.R. 2083 (Rep. Jaime Herrera-Beutler, R-WA), the bipartisan supported “Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act,” allows states and tribes to lethally take non-native sea lions under certain… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a hearing to examine how litigation and increasingly excessive environmental analysis facing the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has exacerbated the ongoing forest health crisis.
“We are bankrupting the future,” witness Lyle Laverty, Certified Forester and President of the Laverty Group, said. “America’s green infrastructure is on life support,… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held an oversight hearing on the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement’s (OSMRE) Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) Program.
The Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Act of 1977 (SMCRA), which created the AML program, is the primary federal law regulating the environmental effects of coal mining in the United States.… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs held a legislative hearing on a series of bills that would empower Indian and Alaska Native communities to direct their own affairs. They place decision-making power in the hands of those most qualified to make decisions on local issues: the tribes and communities themselves.
H.R. 1074 repeals a previous act of Congress… Read more »
TO: The Honorable Ryan Zinke
FROM: Subcommittee Chairman Raúl Labrador
Dear Secretary Zinke,
The Committee on Natural Resources' Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is conducting oversight of settlements negotiated in lawsuits against the Department of the Interior (DOI) and its subagencies.
Read the entire letter HERE. Read more »
Yesterday, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed a Secretarial Order to jump-start oil and gas production in Alaska and update resource assessments in the North Slope. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement:
“This Order further demonstrates the Trump administration’s commitment to harnessing America’s domestic energy resources to support economic growth, empower local… Read more »
Today, President Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement:
“The Paris Agreement has always been a political sideshow to America's energy renaissance and its contributions to reducing emissions through innovation. We should not be taking any form of energy off the table, we should be… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held the first of a series of oversight hearings to examine the impacts of federal natural resources laws gone astray. The panel focused on three laws in particular: the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA), the Wilderness Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA).
“For too long, federal agencies have been… Read more »
NOTE: “Consider how far the Antiquities Act has strayed from its original intent: The act states that monument designations should be limited to “the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” In recent years, however, it has been used as a large-scale conservation policy, dictated by presidential decree. Many recent monuments have… Read more »
