Newsletters
Leading Democrats Introduce a Mining Reform Bill
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
05.08.18
This Week in Committee: Markup on Nine Bills
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
04.24.18
This Week in Committee: Floor Vote on a Bill that Would Drive the Pacific Northwest's Salmon Runs Closer to Extinction
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 H.R. 3144 attempts to mandate an outdated recovery plan that won't recover salmon and that has been deemed illegal by federal courts.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
04.17.18
This Week in Committee: Markup on Seven Public Lands Bills
The Department of the Interior (DOI) Inspector General's office issued a report yesterday afternoon that revealed Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke spent taxpayer funds on a chartered flight for personal reasons. The report concluded that agency officials did not properly vet the use of a $12,375 chartered flight that could have been avoided had the Secretary's staff better-coordinated the timing of the trip. DOI's careless actions highlights the lack of Committee oversight and the need to hold Se… Continue Reading
03.12.18
Department of the Interior's Budget Cuts
After a year of controversial spending and unpopular priorities at the Department of the Interior (DOI) - encompassing everything from wasteful spending and expensive personal travel to potentially illegal political activities - the Committee will hold a hearing with Secretary Zinke on the agency's proposed fiscal year 2019 budget. DOI's proposed budget slashes agency funding overall by 14 percent and makes drastic cuts to important climate research and science programs, ongoing operations fundi… Continue Reading
03.05.18
Republicans Want to Open our Public Places to More Oil and Gas Drilling to Reduce DOI’s Maintenance Backlog
Republicans are holding a hearing tomorrow at 10 a.m. to promote gimmicks and trickery under the guise of addressing a serious issue - deferred maintenance on public lands. Addressing the more than $16 billion of deferred maintenance across the Department of the Interior (DOI) will require a dedicated source of funding and significant investment from Congress. Instead of putting forward real solutions to this challenge, the administration and its allies on the committee have proposed non-starter… Continue Reading
02.12.18
Trump's FY2018 Budget Aims to Cut Popular Environmental Programs and Fails to Address Climate Change
The Trump administration's budget, released today, makes deep cuts to popular environmental programs and does nothing to prevent climate change - which our own security experts warn is a continued national security vulnerability. The proposal represents an overall 17 percent cut to the Department of Interior and deep cuts to operations at the National Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and other important agencies. The Trump plan also make… Continue Reading
02.05.18
2017: A Year of the Resistance
Ranking Member Grijalva spent 2017 fighting the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress as they tried to undermine our nation's key environmental policies. In one year, Committee Democrats sent more than 45 letters questioning administration officials' actions, called for Congressional hearings, requested five reviews by the Government Accountability Office and another four by the Interior Department Inspector General, published dozens of op-eds, introduced several bipartisan pieces of … Continue Reading
01.30.18
Democrats Demand a Second Bears Ears Hearing to Highlight Tribal Voices
Today, thanks to a Democratic procedural maneuver, the Committee will continue a hearing from Jan. 9 on H.R. 4532, a bill by Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) that formalizes President Trump's illegal shrinking of Utah's Bears Ears National Monument by more than 80 percent. President Obama established the monument in 2016 based on years of public input, including by five local Native American communities that were shut out of the Jan. 9 hearing. By making Trump's move permanent, Rep. Curtis' bill would … Continue Reading
12.12.17
Protecting Our Fisheries: Public Opposition to the Republican-Backed Fisheries Bills
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) has come a long way since the law was first enacted in 1976. Initially, provisions to "Americanize" our fisheries worked so well that by the late 1980s, some of our iconic fish species -- among them New England cod and Gulf of Mexico red snapper -- were severely overexploited. To address these problems, fishermen, environmental groups, congressional leaders, and others came together to improve the law, resulting in what is now on… Continue Reading
11.06.17
Our Fellow Americans in Puerto Rico Need Our Help!
It's been more than six weeks since Hurricane Maria hit the island of Puerto Rico, leaving 3.4 million American citizens without power, clean water or stable living conditions. Ranking Member Grijalva and Democrats in Congress have urged Republicans to address the growing humanitarian crisis, but the Trump administration has failed to provide basic assistance. Instead of addressing the immediate problems on the island, Committee Republicans are holding a hearing tomorrow on Puerto Rico's recove… Continue Reading
10.30.17
Trump Expected to Shrink Two Utah National Monuments
President Trump is expected to sign an executive order as early as this week that would unilaterally shrink Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Bears Ears National Monument. Bears Ears was designated by President Obama last year to protect sacred tribal land and artifacts. The move to shrink these Utah monuments puts historical tribal artifacts at risk of being destroyed, puts the wildlife who inhabit the land in danger, and could hurt the local tourism and outdoor retail indu… Continue Reading
10.10.17
Democrats Force Committee Markup on Secretary Zinke’s Secret National Monument Review Process
Democrats on the Committee have set the agenda this week by forcing Committee Republicans to talk about Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's secret "review" of our national monuments. A markup will be held tomorrow afternoon on a Democratic proposal, called a resolution of inquiry, that requires the administration to release Secretary Zinke's final report to the president on shrinking several national monuments, as well as all supporting documents the Secretary and his office may have. Secretary Zin… Continue Reading
10.03.17
In the Wake of the Las Vegas Shooting, Grijalva and Conyers Call on Speaker Ryan to Pull the Gun Silencer Bill From the House Floor
In the wake of the tragic shooting in Las Vegas, Ranking Member Grijalva and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan calling for him to remove the SHARE Act - the NRA-backed bill that would make it easier for people to purchase gun silencers and make it harder to regulate armor-piercing bullets - from the House calendar indefinitely. The firearms-related provisions of the SHARE Act would: Weaken regulation of the interstate … Continue Reading
09.25.17
Our Fellow Americans in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Need Our Help!
It's inhumane that our fellow Americans devastated by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) continue to be ignored. Three and a half million Americans in Puerto Rico are without food, access to clean water or stable living conditions. AndThe New York Times reported it could be four to six months before power is restored on the island. We can't go another day without taking action to make sure the people of Puerto Rico and USVI know help is on its way. We need the T… Continue Reading
09.11.17
This Week has Turned into a Showcase for the National Rifle Association (NRA)
Unfortunately, this week has turned into a showcase for the National Rifle Association (NRA). Committee Republicans are holding a hearing tomorrow on a bill that would make it easier for people to purchase gun silencers and make it harder to regulate armor-piercing bullets - supposedly to help sportsmen hunt deer. The Republican-authored Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement or SHARE Act pushes the NRA's agenda at the expense of actual conservation and sportsmen's priorities. The Com… Continue Reading
09.07.17
New report documents the strong influence the energy and mining industries have over the Trump administration’s “review” of 27 national monuments
A new report released by House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) documents the strong influence of the oil and mining industries over the soon-to-be-completed Trump administration "review" of 27 national monuments around the country and sheds new light on the review's unpopularity. The report finds that the administration's review, far from being based on a desire for more public input, suffers from a nearly complete lack of public transparency and tha… Continue Reading
07.18.17
THIS WEEK: Republicans Want to Build an Environmentally Damaging Road through a Wildlife Refuge in Alaska
The controversial King Cove Road Land Exchange Act (H.R. 218), a bill that would greenlight an environmentally damaging road through a wildlife refuge in Alaska, is being brought to the House Floor for a vote on Thursday. Ranking Member Grijalva urges all Members of Congress to vote no on the Republican-backed bill for the following reasons: It revives an ill-advised project that has been rejected by numerous federal agencies on numerous occasions over the past 30 years. Building a road thro… Continue Reading
07.11.17
House Voting on a Water Bill that Provides NO NEW WATER
House Republicans are pushing a water bill (H.R. 23) to the House Floor tomorrow for a vote. Ranking Member Grijalva urges all Members of Congress to vote no on the Republican bill for the following reasons: It's a water bill that provides NO NEW WATER Threatens thousands of fishing industry jobs Preempts state water law Guts environmental protections and weakens bedrock environmental laws In addition, the bill hasn't been vetted by the Committee of jurisdiction, state or federal water … Continue Reading
06.20.17
THIS WEEK IN COMMITTEE: ZINKE TALKS ABOUT BUDGET CUTS
On Thursday, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is testifying at our Committee hearing on the president's Fiscal Year 2018 budget request that slashes the Department's budget by 10 percent. Secretary Zinke is proposing to make the largest cuts to the National Park Service since WWII, push career staff out of their jobs, and eliminate key programs important for land management agencies. Democrats on the Committee are outraged that Secretary Zinke has already broken his promise to protect and pr… Continue Reading