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House Passes Bill to Modernize the Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Process

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5577, the “Innovation in Offshore Leasing Act,” by voice vote. Introduced by Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA) and Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), it provides the Interior Secretary with the authority to conduct internet-based oil and natural gas lease sales for the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.  “This bill brings much needed modernization to our…

House Passes Thompson Bill to Protect Private Mineral Rights in the Allegheny National Forest

| Posted in Press Release

Tonight, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3881 (Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson), the Cooperative Management of Mineral Rights Act of 2016, by a vote of 395-3. In the Allegheny National Forest (ANF) the federal government owns the surface rights, but the subsurface mineral rights have always been privately owned. Through a liberal interpretation of an antiquated statute and a…

BLM’s Sage Grouse Land Use Plan Is Bad News For Western States

| Posted in Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released seven memos on its land use plans for the sage grouse, covering 10 Western states. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement: “The Administration’s decision not to list the sage grouse last year was a cynical ploy all along. These plans, written as if the sage grouse were listed, are proof it was an…

Legal protection for Good Samaritans who want to clean up mines

| Posted in Op-Eds and Speeches

OP-ED: Legal protection for Good Samaritans who want to clean up mines By: Chairman Rob Bishop The biblical story of the Good Samaritan is a familiar one to virtually all young children. A man is robbed, brutally beaten, and left for dead. Two men pass him turning a blind eye to his predicament. A third man, however, a Samaritan, takes pity on him. He tends his wounds and pays for…

Bishop Statement on President’s PROMESA Oversight Board Appointments

| Posted in Press Release

House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement on President Obama’s appointments to the Financial Management and Oversight Board (Oversight Board) established through the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (Public Law No. 114-187). “We applaud the President’s swift action on these appointments so that the…

Rep. Gohmert Letter to USGS Director Suzette Kimball

| Posted in Letters

TO: The Honorable Suzette Kimball FROM: Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Louie Gohmert Dear Director Kimball: In June 2016, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of the Interior (DOI) released a report entitled "Scientific Integrity Incident at USGS Energy Geochemistry Laboratory." Read the entire letter HERE. 

Bishop, Amata: Hawaii Marine Monument Expansion is Unjustified, Devastating for Local Economies

| Posted in Press Release

Today, President Barack Obama expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument off the coast of Hawaii by 442,781 square miles. Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) and Congresswoman Aumua Amata (American Samoa) issued the following statements: “The sweeping size of this expansion is unjustified,” Bishop stated. “It will impose great harm to a critical local…

Bishop: National Park Service Centennial Serves as an Opportunity to Address Management Challenges

| Posted in Press Release

House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement commemorating the Centennial of the National Park Service:   “Our national parks are a uniquely American concept. Unfortunately, 100 years after its inception, the National Park Service is encumbered by management failures. Limited resources are siphoned to new acquisitions while the…

President’s Maine Monument Decree Subverts Representative Democracy to Advance Elite Special Interests

| Posted in Press Release

Today, President Obama, despite opposition by Maine’s local residents and elected officials, unilaterally created a national monument in Maine’s North Woods. House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement: “The President is using the Centennial as a cover to subvert the will of Maine’s citizens and leaders. The only votes taken on this…