Deputy Secretary Bernhardt's conflicts of interest are well known. His years of lobbying on behalf of clients who stand to profit from Interior policy decisions are cause for serious concern. We intend to continue conducting vigorous oversight of how Interior political appointees arrive at major policy decisions, who they consult, who they ignore, and who stands to benefit financially. Deputy Secretary Bernhardt should be prepared to answer those questions early in the new Congress, and so shoul… Continue Reading
In a new op-ed in the Denver Post, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) highlight the Trump administration's unusual efforts to block a congressional legal filing objecting to the 2017 destruction of Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. President Trump signed an executive order last year, supported by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, illegally eliminating monument status for major portions of both sites in southern Ut… Continue Reading
The Department of the Interior today released new land management plans for the greater-sage grouse that pave the way for more oil and gas development on sensitive public lands habitats. The plans significantly reduce protections for essential sage-grouse habitat across the western United States and eliminate requirements for industry to compensate for habitat loss.
The move, being undertaken at the request of the oil and gas industry, undermines decades of bipartisan, collaborative efforts to … Continue Reading
Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) is holding a Democratic forum tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. ET in Washington, D.C. to give tribal members and public land defenders a platform to discuss the importance of protecting Alaska's pristine wilderness in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Last year, Republicans inserted a provision in their Tax Scam bill that mandates oil and gas leasing in the iconic Arctic Refuge. This damaging provision mandates two lease sales within 10 years, each at lea… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) is holding a press conference tomorrow at 9:15 a.m. in Washington, D.C. to give Tribal leaders a platform to voice their concerns about the Republican-backed bill that aims to shrink Bears Ears National Monument by nearly 85 percent. The press conference is being held before a 10 a.m. Committee hearing on the Republican Bears Ears bill - H.R. 4532 - that would drastically reduce the monument and put critical Tribal cultural, historical, and scient… Continue Reading
House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) is holding a press conference tomorrow afternoon in Washington, D.C. to introduce the Tribal Heritage and Grizzly Bear Protection Act (H.R. 3894), a bill that aims to strengthen conservation standards for grizzly bears and ensures tribal leaders are consulted in all conservation and management efforts. Ranking Member Grijalva and key tribal leaders will talk about the importance of protecting grizzly bears beyond … Continue Reading
It was only about three weeks after the midterm elections, and tensions had reached a boiling point between one of President Trump's Cabinet members and the top Democrat set to oversee his department next year.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, called on Ryan Zinke to resign over his "ethical and managerial failings." In response, the interior secretary accused Grijalva of being a drunk.
After that remarkably personal and public attac… Continue Reading
The Bureau of Land Management announced today that it has used Land and Water Conservation Fund money to purchase nearly 1,000 acres in southwest Montana in an effort to protect wildlife and improve access to public lands for big-game hunters.
The purchase of the 960 acres, which are bordered on three sides by BLM-managed lands and the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, comes after Congress allowed the LWCF to expire Sept. 30, though there is still money in the fund derived primarily by roya… Continue Reading
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - It is the last great stretch of nothingness in the United States, a vast landscape of mosses, sedges and shrubs that is home to migrating caribou and the winter dens of polar bears.
Aside from a Native village at its northern tip, civilization has not dented its 19 million acres, an area the size of South Carolina. There are no roads and no visitors beyond the occasional hunter and backpacker.
But the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - a federally protected place of austere … Continue Reading
Anti-government extremists disguising themselves as populists have already latched on to President Donald Trump's July 10 pardon of Dwight and Steven Hammond, a father-and-son ranching duo who set fire to federal lands, to argue that attacking public property is now legal activism. The public should not be fooled by this argument or misunderstand where it leads, and Congress needs to exercise its oversight authority to clarify that the Trump administration hasn't written a blank check to a dangerous ideology.… Continue Reading
Opinion: Uranium would enjoy looser environmental and permitting standards because of its importance to 'national security and economic prosperity,' U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva says.
On May 18, the Department of the Interior released a list of 35 minerals set to enjoy looser environmental and permitting standards because of their importance to "national security and economic prosperity." The list includes uranium even though DOI's screening tool suggested it didn't meet the criteria.
The Grand Can… Continue Reading
Both the utilities that own NGS and the entities that purchase its power have stated, repeatedly, that competition from cheaper energy sources on the open market has led them to move away from NGS. This sounds like a perfect example of competition working its magic to provide consumers with a cheaper product.
Rather than embracing the market's decision, Republican lawmakers have doubled down on their allegiance to coal companies like Peabody Energy for the sake of artificially propping up NGS. In doing so, they have tossed their professed commitment to limited government out the window. On May 9, my colleague Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) unveiled a draft bill that would force the CAWCD to purchase above-market-price power from NGS for the foreseeable future.… Continue Reading
Last week Ranking Member Grijalva and Rep Lowenthal, the top Democrat on the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, introduced the Hardrock Leasing and Reclamation Act of 2018.
The Grijalva-Lowenthal bill requires hardrock mining operations to meet some of the same requirements and standards that already apply to oil, gas, and coal development on public lands. Among other measures, the bill would:
Eliminate the antiquated use of mining claims, and create a leasing system for hardrock mi… Continue Reading
Today marks the 230th day since our fellow Americans living in Puerto Rico lost power and were devastated by Hurricane Maria. Many people living on the island are still lacking power and still need assistance from the federal government. Instead of addressing the immediate needs of the people, Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) traveled to Puerto Rico to promote oil and gas projects and discuss importing fossil fuels to the island. Bishop has continuously ignored the fact that renewable energy sources… Continue Reading
The House is voting on H.R. 3144 on Wednesday - also known as the Columbia River Salmon Extinction Act - which will drive the Pacific Northwest's salmon runs closer to extinction. Federal agencies have been ordered by the courts to develop a new salmon recovery plan to bring back dwindling salmon populations. H.R. 3144 attempts to mandate an outdated recovery plan that won't recover salmon and that has been deemed illegal by federal courts. Ranking Member Grijalva opposes the bill for the follow… Continue Reading
A June 19, 2018, report by the Government Accountability Office on the oil and gas industry frequently leasing public land and doing nothing with it.… Continue Reading
A June 5, 2018, GAO report on the high cost to taxpayers of orphaned oil and gas wells. The report finds that the Bureau of Land Management has not kept accurate records of such costs.… Continue Reading
