In The News
Currently showing results related to Energy and Mineral Resources
Watch Out! Here Comes the Climate Deal's Other Shoe.
by Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva
The Democrats' health, climate, and corporate tax plan—the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—was just signed into law by President Biden. If projections are accurate, this legislation will not only drive down prescription drug costs for millions of Americans, it could also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an unprecedented 40 percent by 2030. Despite some serious flaws, the IRA is still the most significant climate legislation in history, and as chair of the Natural Resources Committee,… Continue Reading
03.30.22
Uranium industry is the latest to hop on the opportunism bandwagon taking advantage of tragedy in Ukraine
by Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva
This Thursday, March 31, at 10:00 a.m., the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing examining the country’s supply of critical minerals. The hearing should be an opportunity for Congress to determine how we can safely and sustainably secure minerals needed to power American’s transition to a clean energy economy. At top of mind should be reform of our antiquated mining law, which is more than 150 years-old. So, you might be surprised to see that one of the … Continue Reading
10.29.21
Oil spills keep happening. It’s time for offshore drilling to go
by Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva
The recent oil spill near Huntington Beach, Calif., when a nearly 18-mile-long offshore pipeline released thousands of gallons of crude oil not far south of Los Angeles, was the latest example in a long line of disasters caused by the fossil fuel industry. In a world where the climate crisis is quickly accelerating, putting our coastlines at serious risk from rising sea levels and more intense storms, we can’t afford any more business as usual from the offshore oil and gas industry. We hav… Continue Reading
05.07.20
Trump is using a pandemic to weaken environmental law. First victim: The Grand Canyon
by Chair Raúl M. Grijalva
President Trump is using the worst pandemic in a century to weaken our environmental laws without public oversight, and he isn't sparing the Grand Canyon. While Americans shelter at home, waiting for the administration to offer a more effective medical response than injecting bleach, an administration advisory group just released a report recommending opening more public lands to uranium extraction. The steps recommended in a new report by the Nuclear Fuel Working Group, an industry-stacked pa… Continue Reading
06.05.18
Republican moves on Arizona coal plant show they don’t believe their own rhetoric
by Rep. Raul M. Grijalva
The Navajo Generating Station (NGS), a coal-fired power plant in Northern Arizona, has in the past provided reliable power for consumers and good-paying jobs for tribal communities. As with other sites of this type, increased competition from natural gas and renewable energy has rendered NGS unprofitable. Instead of helping tribes prepare for the future, Republican coal loyalists are abusing congressional power to extend the life of NGS beyond 2019. In the process, they are acknowledging the fai… Continue Reading
05.15.18
Our Mining Laws Are More Than a Century Old—Time to Update Them
by Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.)
My Republican friends on Capitol Hill often complain that our nation's bedrock environmental laws are out of date. Their argument, which I disagree with, is that laws written in the 1960s and 1970s aren't relevant in the modern world. Unfortunately, their concern about updating laws written in the 1970s doesn't extend to at least one law from the 1870s. The General Mining Act of 1872 still governs all the mining for gold, silver, copper, and other metals that happens on our federal lands-and t… Continue Reading
05.08.18
Rep. Raul Grijalva: America risks being left behind on clean energy
by Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.)
French President Emmanuel Macron's recent visit to the U.S. offers a stern reminder that even as the Trump administration tries to withdraw our country from the global community, our friends and foes around the world continue to respond to climate change, and those responses will have long-lasting implications. Economies both large and small have begun a shift from fossil fuels to renewable and low-carbon energy sources. Unfortunately, for ideological reasons, Republicans in Washington are blin… Continue Reading
04.12.18
Opinion: When Trump Dreams About Our National Parks, He Sees Oil
by Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.)
For most Americans, the mention of national parks brings to mind the scenic vistas of the Grand Canyon and Yosemite Valley or contemplative memorials like the Statue of Liberty and Pearl Harbor. Few people think of the tremendous amount of infrastructure - from roads and bridges to visitors centers and sewer systems - that supports 330 million annual visitors and $34.9 billion in annual economic output. The National Park Service manages a broad network that requires routine repairs, rehabili… Continue Reading
03.14.18
Industry should comply with the Methane Waste Prevention Rule
by Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.)
Before leaving office, President Obama instituted a rule limiting the oil and gas industry's wasting of natural gas on public and tribal lands. The standard, formally known as the Methane Waste Prevention Rule, was a set of commonsense updates - such as requiring companies to detect and fix leaky equipment - projected to bring in an additional $23 million annually in royalties to states, tribes and federal taxpayers, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 950,000 cars off the r… Continue Reading
12.19.17
Stop trying to militarize Interior, Ryan Zinke
by Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.)
During his confirmation hearing and throughout his time in office, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has presented himself as an admirer of Teddy Roosevelt and a believer in conservation. But less than a year into his tenure, his leadership has produced an existential crisis at the Department of the Interior. Zinke has surprised many with his willingness to support President Donald Trump's extreme environmental policies, including the recent attempt to erase most of two national monuments in Utah f… Continue Reading
11.27.17
Stop seeing the Grand Canyon as potential strip mine
by Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.)
For all its grandeur, some people see the Grand Canyon as a potential strip mine. Unfortunately, a new report from the Trump administration just opened the door to new uranium mining in the region - and raised questions about who's really making federal environmental policy. Since January of 2012, approximately 1 million acres of federal land outside Grand Canyon National Park have been protected by a moratorium on new uranium mining claims. The policy was created after a public outreach process… Continue Reading
11.16.17
A Democratic approach to energy: promote the interests of citizens, not industry
by Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.)
Donald Trump claims to have an “America First” energy plan. His administration’s actions over the past 10 months have made it clear that what he truly puts first are the interests of oil, gas and coal executives. Everyday Americans and our iconic American landscapes come last, if he considers them at all. Time after time Trump has capitulated to oil and gas industry deregulatory demands by gutting safety standards, decreasing royalty rates, advantaging f… Continue Reading
01.31.17
Stand Up, Environmentalists — There’s More to Fight For Now Than Ever
by Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.)
Most of us who worry about environmental issues did not support Donald Trump for president. His tweeted claim that the very idea of global warming "was created by and for the Chinese" and his eagerness to repeal environmental protections make him ill-suited to head federal agencies that protect our natural world. So now what? What should committed environmentalists, in Congress and in communities around the country, be preparing for? The Trump administration and its House and Senate alli… Continue Reading
01.25.17
The Keystone pipeline will create just 35 permanent jobs. Don't believe the lies
by Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.)
For those who still insist fossil fuels are the future, the Trump administration represents a new day for some old ideas. In an early sign of things to come, the president showed his faith in big oil when he signed documents Tuesday pressuring federal agencies to support construction of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL oil pipelines. Each of these projects faced enormous protests and was put on hold by the Obama administration because of legitimate environmental and due process concerns. Congr… Continue Reading
03.31.16
Rep. Raúl Grijalva: How to Prevent the Next Oil Spill
by Rep. Raúl Grijalva
A little more than six years ago, a Senate committee held a hearing about a major blowout on a rig off the coast of Australia. At that hearing, we were assured such an environmental tragedy couldn't happen in the United States. "Releases from oil and gas operations are rare," a BP executive said, "and the application of technology has enabled a dramatic reduction of releases from our industry over the last 30 years." Less than six months later, the Deepwater Horizon exploded, and the BP oil spi… Continue Reading
08.28.15