Skip to Content

News List

Bishop: Special Interests Will Not Prevent Congress from Modernizing LWCF, Protecting State and Local Recreational Access

| Posted in Press Release

House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) today issued the following statement on efforts to modernize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Act of 1965. “Both Republicans and Democrats support the original intent of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, but the program has drifted far from the original intent.  Under my chairmanship, the status quo will…

Bishop: Sage Grouse Decision Is De Facto Listing Aimed at Controlling the West

| Posted in Press Release

House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) today issued the following statement in response to the Obama Administration’s decision on the greater sage grouse. “Do not be fooled. The announcement not to list the sage grouse is a cynical ploy.  With the stroke of a pen, the Obama Administration’s oppressive land management plan is the same as a listing. Now,…

Chairman Bishop, Senator Daines, and Rep. Westerman Announce Press Call to Discuss Wildfire Legislation and Funding

| Posted in Press Release

On Wednesday, September 23, 2015 at 4:00PM EST, Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT), Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), and Representative Bruce Westerman (R-AR) will hold a press call to discuss catastrophic wildfire legislation and the Obama Administration’s recent request to Congress for wildfire suppression funding. Details are as follows:   …

Resurrecting 'Eureka' in California

| Posted in Op-Eds and Speeches

OP-ED: Resurrecting 'Eureka' in California National Review Chairman Rob Bishop “Eureka!” (“I have found it.”) Coined for the discovery of gold that brought adventurers and entrepreneurs flocking to the elusive western border of our continent, California’s state motto has held true for generations: It’s a uniquely American sentiment,…

Bloomberg BNA: Wildfires May Spur FY 2016 Funding Changes While Leaving Policy Issues for Another Day

| Posted in In Case You Missed It

The severe fire season in western U.S. forests has intensified calls for funding changes so that the U.S. Forest Service does not have to borrow money from other accounts to finish out a fiscal year of wildfire suppression. The situation has revived the question of whether a solution can be accomplished through fiscal changes alone or whether a stepped-up level of active forest…

Bishop: “You violated the law. Period.”

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a joint hearing with the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Animas River spill, which resulted in 3 million gallons of toxic water spilling into the Animas and San Juan Rivers from Colorado and into New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) questioned EPA…

AP: New Mexico official says EPA refused to share water data after toxic mine spill fouled rivers

| Posted in In Case You Missed It

Federal regulators refused to share water-quality data for weeks following a blowout of toxic wastewater from a Colorado mine that fouled rivers across the Southwest, a New Mexico official said Thursday. The move by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency aimed to downplay the severity of the spill, hobbling the state's response, said Ryan Flynn, New Mexico secretary of Environment and…

Bishop: Obama Administration’s Regulatory Agenda will Result in Virtual Moratorium on Gulf Offshore Energy Development

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held an oversight hearing in New Orleans, LA, on the current state of offshore oil and gas activity in the Gulf of Mexico.  The panel received testimony from U.S. Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), industry representatives, and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement…

Bishop Statement on Obama Administration’s Catastrophic Wildfire Request to Congress

| Posted in Press Release

House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) today issued the following statement in response to the Obama Administration’s request for Congress to change the way the nation pays for wildfire suppression. “Changing the way we pay for wildfire suppression is only one small part of a much more serious land management crisis that we must address – now.  Our national…

Washington Post: The Forest Service just had to divert another $250 million to fight wildfires

| Posted in In Case You Missed It

Top administration officials wrote Congress on Tuesday to urge it–once again–to change the way it budgets for firefighting in light of the disastrous wildfire season in the western U.S. The Agriculture Department just informed lawmakers this week that it will have to transfer $250 million to fighting the forest fires now raging, which brings this fiscal year’s emergency spending total to…