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Chairman Hastings: Documents Raise Serious Questions about Thoroughness and Independence of Inspector General's Investigation into Drilling Moratorium Report

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to Department of the Interior’s Acting Inspector General Mary Kendall expressing deep concern with the thoroughness of the Office of Inspector General’s (IG) investigation into whether an Obama Administration report that recommended a six-month drilling moratorium was intentionally edited to incorrectly…

Chairman Hastings Letter to Acting Inspector General Mary Kendall Regarding Drilling Moratorium Documents and Committee's Investigation

| Posted in Letters

Dear Ms. Kendall: Thank you for meeting with me recently to discuss your response to the April 12, 2012 subpoena for documents related to the Office of Inspector General's ("IG") investigation into the May 27, 2010 Department of the Interior ("Department") report entitled, "Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf' ("Drilling Moratorium…

House Votes to Halt Funding for Obama Administration's Mandatory Ocean Zoning

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) and Representative Bill Flores (TX-17) released the following statements after the House passed, in a bipartisan vote of 246 to 174, an amendment offered by Rep. Flores to the FY 2013 Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill to halt funding for the implementation of Executive…

50 Billion Barrels of Oil Not Enough for Obama Administration to Stop Playing Politics with America's Energy Security

| Posted in Hot Air Alert

Apparently, an offshore oil find that would more than double America’s current proven oil reserves still wouldn’t be enough for the Obama Administration to stop playing politics with America’s energy security. Channeling his best auctioneer chant, Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01) gave Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Tommy Beaudreau a chance to say how much oil would need to be found…

Farm Bureau Supports Flores Amendment to CJS; Says Ocean Policy Could Reach Every Farm and Ranch in the United States

| Posted in Dear Colleagues

Dear Colleague, Today, the House continues consideration of H.R. 5326, making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and for other purposes. As part of House Republicans’ effort to combat unnecessary spending and burdensome federal regulations, Representative Flores (TX-17) will sponsor an…

Over 80 Groups Support Passage of Flores Amendment

| Posted in Dear Colleagues

Dear Colleague, Over 80 groups across a spectrum of sectors including agriculture, fishing, construction, manufacturing, mining, oil and natural gas, and renewable energy, have come together to support Representative Flores' (TX-17) amendment to prohibit funding for the implementation of President Obama’s National Ocean Policy. These industries support tens of millions of jobs and…

Witnesses: Bills to Amend Lacey Act Would Correct Unintended Consequences of Law, Protect from Over-Criminalization

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held a legislative hearing on two bills that would amend the Lacey Act, H.R. 3210, the “Retailers and Entertainers Lacey Implementation and Enforcement Fairness Act,” and H.R. 4171, the “Freedom from Over-Criminalization and Unjust Seizures Act of 2012.” The Lacey Act was first enacted in 1900 to protect native…