Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held an oversight hearing on “American Energy Jobs: Opportunities for Skilled Trades Workers.” The hearing examined the well-paying jobs opportunities for technical and skilled workers that have been created by the recent American energy boom. Unemployment in the United States remains at 6.7 percent, whereas states like North Dakota with a… Read more »

The House Committee on Natural Resources’ majority website today was recognized, for a third consecutive Congress, one of the best websites in Congress by the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF). The Committee received a Gold Mouse award, one of only three House Committees to receive this honor for the 113th Congress. “For three consecutive sessions of Congress, the Natural… Read more »

H. Rept. 113-420 Read more »

H. Rept. 113-421 Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) delivered the following speech today at the University of Washington, School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, Symposium on the Magnuson-Stevens Act: “Thank you for having me here today to discuss the Magnuson-Stevens Act and our current efforts in Congress to update and modernize the law. I have the privilege of serving… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) delivered the following speech today at the Western Regional Forest Resources Association Spring Meeting in Pasco, WA. In the speech, Chairman Hastings talked about the House bill (H.R. 1526) that would put tens of thousands of Americans back to work, provide stable funding for counties to use for education and… Read more »

OP ED: Welders Make $150,000? Bring Back Shop Class Josh Mandel Wall Street Journal In American high schools, it is becoming increasingly hard to defend the vanishing of shop class from the curriculum. The trend began in the 1970s, when it became conventional wisdom that a four-year college degree was essential. As Forbes magazine reported in… Read more »

Today, all 26 lawmakers representing Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho urged President Obama to make the future of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty a priority for 2014. In a letter led by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA), and House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR), the 26 lawmakers highlighted the… Read more »

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released a comprehensive audit of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The audit found that the federal government does not have a system to track data and costs associated with performing NEPA reviews, NEPA delays are lengthy and vary agency to agency, and that litigation is a major driver in the environmental review process. The… Read more »

H. Rept. 113-393 Read more »