Letters

10.13.23

Reps. Grijalva & Lee, Sens. Duckworth & Markey Lead Nearly 100 Members in Letter to White House Supporting NEPA Updates, Urging Strong Climate, EJ Provisions

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) led a bicameral letter signed by 94 members of Congress to the White House’s Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) expressing support for the Biden administration’s recently proposed National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Phase II regulations. The letter also makes suggestions for strengthening climate a… Continue Reading

09.22.23

Grijalva, Hawai'i Members Ask Interior Department to Support Environmental and Cultural Restoration in Maui Wildfire Recovery Efforts

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawai'i), and Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawai'i) sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Deb Haaland requesting DOI’s support for environmental restoration and cultural preservation in recovery efforts in Maui and Hawai'i Island. DOI played a critical role in fire evacuation and search and recovery efforts on the island. Read the full letter. Last month’s w… Continue Reading

09.19.23

Committee Democrats Send Letter Seeking Accountability for Fishery Council’s Mismanagement of Taxpayer Dollars & Improper Lobbying

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Rep. Rep. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-CNMI), and Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) sent a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) requesting information about the agency’s authority to enforce accountability measures for the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WESPAC). W… Continue Reading

08.21.23

Ranking Member Grijalva, Reps. Velázquez, Clarke, Porter, Nadler, Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib Urge Army Corp of Engineers to Cancel San Juan Bay Dredging Contract

WASHINGTON, D.C.?- House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) today sent a letter? to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) urging it to cancel its contract and plans to dredge San Juan Bay in Puerto Rico to accommodate larger liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil tankers. … Continue Reading

07.20.23

Ranking Member Grijalva, Reps. Velázquez, Ocasio-Cortez, Torres Ask Government Watchdog to Examine Excessive Tax Breaks for Wealthy in Puerto Rico

Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Rep. Nydia M. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) today sent a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting an assessment of certain tax breaks provided to individuals and businesses under Puerto Rico’s Act 60 of 2019. While the provisions are intended to lure individuals and businesses to the island, there are conc… Continue Reading

05.24.23

Additional Members Sign Letter to President Biden, Democratic Leadership Opposing Environmental Rollbacks in Must-Pass Legislation, Totaling 83

Washington, D.C. - Following requests from additional members to sign on, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today sent an updated letter to President Joe Biden, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urging them to oppose environmental rollbacks—misleadingly called “permitting reform”—in any must-pass legislation. The updated letter is signed by a total of 83 House Democrats, including 12 committ… Continue Reading

05.19.23

Ranking Member Grijalva Leads 79-Member Letter to President Biden, Democratic Leadership Opposing Environmental Rollbacks in Must-Pass Legislation

Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today sent a letter signed by a total of 79 Democrats, including 11 committee ranking members, to President Joe Biden, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urging them to oppose environmental rollbacks—misleadingly called “permitting reform”—in any must-pass legislation. Co-leads on the letter include Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Debbie D… Continue Reading

04.26.23

Grijalva, Huffman, & Beyer Request to FWS Director Williams on Gray Wolf & Grizzly Bear Protections

Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.); Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee Ranking Member Huffman (D-Calif.); Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.); and Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) sent a letter to Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Martha Williams urging the agency to thoroughly evaluate the impact that existing and proposed state laws and regulations could have on gray wolf and grizzly bear populations. Despite some recent suc… Continue Reading

04.26.23

Amid Republican Push to Remove Protections for Wolves and Grizzlies, Grijalva, Huffman, Dingell, and Beyer Urge Fish and Wildlife Service to Thoroughly Assess Species Threats

Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.); Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee Ranking Member Huffman (D-Calif.); Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.); and Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) sent a letter to Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Martha Williams urging the agency to thoroughly evaluate the impact that existing and proposed state laws and regulations could have on gray wolf and grizzly bear populations. Despite some recent successes in p… Continue Reading

04.05.23

Grijalva Letter to Secretary Vilsack on Saving Oak Flat from Foreign Mining – April 05, 2023

Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urging him to withhold publication of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on proposed copper mining operations in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest. These mining operations threaten to violate religious freedoms by permanently destroying Oak Flat, or Chí’chil Biłdagoteel , which is sacre… Continue Reading

04.05.23

Grijalva Letter to Chair Westerman on Saving Oak Flat from Foreign Mining – April 05, 2023

Washington, D.C. – In a separate letter sent to Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) yesterday, Grijalva aligned concerns about Rio Tinto’s connections to CCP with comments Chair Westerman made during last week’s debate on Republicans’ H.R. 1, the Polluters Over People Act. As Chair Westerman said, “The way we push back against China and the CCP is we produce our energy and minerals here. And we for sure don’t let China come to America an… Continue Reading

03.27.23

Grijalva Letter to Chair Westerman on Alarming Findings in IPCC Report – March 27, 2023

Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter calling on Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) to hold a hearing to examine the findings of last week’s Sixth Assessment Report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report asserts that we must pursue “urgent, effective, and equitable mitigation and adaptation actions” to stop global warming. Access the pres… Continue Reading

03.03.23

Grijalva, Markey, et al. Request to President Biden on Rejecting Willow Project – March 03, 2023

Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, today led their colleagues in sending a letter to President Joe Biden calling on his administration to reject ConocoPhillips’ Willow Master Development Plan (MDP), a massive 30-year oil and gas development proposal on public lands in… Continue Reading

02.03.23

Grijalva Letter to the Executive Director of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico – February 03, 2023

Washington, D.C. – Natural Resources Committee Ranking Democrat Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter last week to welcome the newly appointed Executive Director of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, Robert Mujica, Jr. The letter requests Mr. Mujica’s responses to several questions about the island’s finances and the recent privatization of Puerto Rico’s energy system. Access the press release here.… Continue Reading

12.08.22

Grijalva & 10 California Members Letter to Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management – December 08, 2022

Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today sent a letter signed by 10 other Members of Congress from California to the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) outlining needed improvements to the decommissioning process for offshore oil and gas infrastructure off the California coast. Together, BOEM and BSEE are the agencies primarily responsible for managing an… Continue Reading

09.22.22