Today, during a Full Committee markup of the CLEAR Act (H.R. 3534), Rep. Paul Broun (GA-10) introduced an amendment to hold the Obama Administration accountable and ensure members of the news media are allowed full and open access to coastal areas in the Gulf of Mexico affected by the Deepwater Horizon spill. Democrats refused to allow a vote on this amendment, raising a point of order… Read more »

House, Senate call for new oil spill panel The Hill’s E2-Wire July 14, 2010 By Darren Goode The House Natural Resources Committee has joined a Senate panel in approving the creation of a bipartisan oil spill commission that would effectively compete against President Obama’s. The House panel agreed by voice vote Wednesday to set up a 10-member panel whose members would be appointed… Read more »

Today during a Full Committee markup on the CLEAR Act (H.R. 3534), Democrats voted against an amendment offered by Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) to strike all parts of the bill except Title I, creating new Department of Interior agencies to replace the Minerals Manage Service, and Title VIII, creating a long-term Gulf of Mexico restoration program. All other sections of the bill are… Read more »

Today, in a Full Committee markup of the CLEAR Act (H.R. 3534), the House Natural Resources Committee voted in favor of a Republican amendment to establish a non-partisan, independent Congressionally approved National Commission on Outer Continental Shelf Oil Spill Prevention to study the events leading up to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The amendment, offered by Rep. Bill Cassidy… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) delivered the following opening statement, as prepared for delivery, at today’s Full Committee markup on H.R. 3534, The CLEAR Act: “When it comes to the Gulf oil spill, it couldn’t be clearer what the focus of Congress should be right now: making certain the well is permanently capped, the oil is cleaned up, BP is held… Read more »

The Consolidated Land Energy and Aquatic Resources Act (H.R. 3534) July 14, 2010 Full Committee Markup Reporting H.R. 3534 out of Committee (View Roll Call Vote) Although promoted as a bill to establish new laws and regulations in response to the Deepwater Horizon spill, The CLEAR Act includes numerous provisions that are unrelated to the spill response or reforms to offshore drilling.… Read more »

Note: “The really odd moment came when Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement that he was looking to the commission for information that could inform the administration’s position on halting deepwater drilling. Salazar’s statement stunned the commission’s two co-chairmen, William K. Reilly and Bob Graham, who said they had been assured by Salazar’s office and the White House… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) today released the following statement after Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a new moratorium on offshore drilling: “The Obama Administration’s latest attempt to impose a moratorium on offshore drilling will only cause further harm to Gulf State economies. Too many jobs have already been lost… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its June unemployment report: “Today’s job report confirms what Republicans have been saying for months—temporary government jobs are not a catalyst for economic recovery.  It’s ironic that the Obama Administration is calling this the… Read more »

Today, the House of Representatives will vote on the FY 2010 Supplemental Appropriations bill that contains a provision allowing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to transfer an unlimited amount of funds to the Department of the Interior (DOI) in the form of environmental mitigation payments demanded in return for allowing the U.S. Border Patrol to simply do its job to secure the… Read more »