About The Committee

Find Committee rules here. Find House Rules here. 

The House Committee on Natural Resources advances the interests of the indigenous peoples and residents of the territories of the United States, and considers legislation and oversees federal conservation and species protection programs under the leadership of Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva.

The Committee’s responsibilities include the following:

Full Committee, Insular Affairs

  • Fostering political and economic development of the insular areas.
  • Providing oversight of the Puerto Rico, Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act, (PROMESA) and the Oversight Board.
  • Seeking to improve the economies, local financial management and a process for the orderly political development of all the territories.
  • Continuing efforts to advance economic self-sufficiency of the Freely Associated States

Energy and Mineral Resources

  • Monitoring the development of oil and gas onshore and offshore
  • Establishing renewable energy sources - solar, wind, geothermal, and ocean energy
  • Overseeing coal and hardrock mining regulations
  • Ensuring a fair return for the American people for energy & mineral development

National Parks Forests and Public Lands

  • Enhancing America’s National Parks
  • Protecting wilderness and conservation sites
  • Fostering opportunities for hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation
  • Developing environmental regulation and public participation

Water, Oceans, and Wildlife

  • Protecting our oceans, coasts and vulnerable sea life from pollution, climate change, and other threats
  • Growing sustainable fisheries and resilient coastal and ocean economies
  • Creating new water supplies to aid communities affected by the drought
  • Securing water supply certainty for tribal communities
  • Preparing communities for climate-change impacts on water supplies
  • Conserving and recovering American species and their habitats
  • Protecting our ecosystems and growing the outdoor recreation economy
  • Enhancing international wildlife conservation efforts
  • National wildlife refuges 

Indigenous Peoples of the United States

  • Protecting tribal sovereignty authority over lands and natural resources
  • Empowering tribal governments with enhanced self-governance authorities
  • Ensuring that tribal communities have access to resources they need and are legally entitled

Oversight And Investigations

  • Administering congressional oversight
  • Evaluating the committee’s efforts to ensure effective management of our limited natural resources
  • Ensuring policies are grounded in science that is free of financial conflicts of interest