Letters
Grijalva Letter to Zinke on Canceling EITI Advisory Committee Meeting June 6
A June 6, 2017, letter from Ranking Member Grijalva to Secretary Zinke on the Interior Department's cancellation of a meeting of the advisory committee to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which publicizes extractive industry payments to governments to reduce corruption.… Continue Reading
05.25.17
Grijalva Letter to Zinke on Censoring USGS Climate Change Report Press Release May 25
A May 25 letter to Secretary Zinke asking for information on who censored a U.S. Geological Survey press release on newly published climate science.… Continue Reading
05.25.17
House Democratic Letter to Sec. Zinke on National Monuments May 25
05.18.17
Grijalva Letter to Zinke on Grizzly Bears
Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva sent a letter to Secretary Zinke stating his opposition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to remove endangered species protections for Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) grizzly bears.… Continue Reading
05.04.17
Grijalva Letter to Zinke on ONRR Valuation Rule Cancellation May 4
A May 4, 2017, letter from Ranking Member Grijalva to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke pressing him to explain how the Interior Department can "delay" implementation of a rule on the value of federal natural resources that already went into effect. The rule was estimated to generate up to $85 million in revenue for taxpayers each year and would have closed industry loopholes that allowed companies to pay lower royalties than generally charged.… Continue Reading
05.04.17
Grijalva Letter to President Trump on Civil War Sites
Ranking Member Grijalva sent President Trump a letter inviting him on a tour of Civil War sites protected by the National Park Service (NPS), offering Trump a chance to learn more about a defining moment in American history.… Continue Reading
05.02.17
Grijalva McEachin Lettter to Zinke on Cason Review Authority May 2 2017
A letter from Ranking Member Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. McEachin (D-Va.) asking Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for more information about the newly expanded authority of Deputy Secretary James Cason to review major decisions and grants of more than $100,000. The scope of Cason's authority to cancel grants of $100,000 or more or to reverse decisions with "nationwide, regional or statewide impacts" -- a term Zinke did not define in his relevant memo -- is unclear.… Continue Reading
05.02.17
Grijalva McEachin Lettter to Zinke on DOI Deregulation Task Force May 2 2017
A May 2, 2017, letter from Ranking Member Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. McEachin (D-Va.) to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke requesting information on a deregulation "task force" Zinke created that seems to operate without public scrutiny or input from relevant career staff with subject matter expertise.… Continue Reading
04.20.17
Ranking Members Letter to DOI on Secretarial Order Documents
Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and the Ranking Members of all five Natural Resources Subcommittees sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke asking him to provide the first set of reports outlined in the March 29, 2017, Secretarial Order on "American Energy Independence" to all Members of the House Natural Resources Committee.… Continue Reading
04.12.17
Grijalva Letter to BLM Acting Dir. Michael Nedd on Pending ADPs
Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter today to the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Acting Director Michael D. Nedd expressing his deep disappointment in the agency's plans to prioritize leasing and permitting for oil, gas, and coal above all other uses on America's public lands.… Continue Reading
04.05.17
Beyer Lowenthal McEachin Letter Requesting Hearing for Miners Protection Act April 5
An April 5, 2017, letter from Reps. McEachin (D-Va.), Beyer (D-Va.) and Lowenthal (D-Calif.) urging Chairman Rob Bishop to hold a hearing on H.R. 179, the Miners Protection Act of 2017.… Continue Reading
03.30.17
Grijalva Lowenthal GAO Request for ONRR Royalty and Enforcement Review March 30 2017
A letter from Ranking Member Grijalva and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, requesting a Government Accountability Office review of the Interior Department program that oversees oil and gas royalty collections for the American public.… Continue Reading
03.29.17
Grijalva Letter to Zinke on FWS Congressional Liaison Silence March 29
A letter from Ranking Member Grijalva to Interior Secretary Zinke on March 29, 2017, urging him to reverse a gag order on the Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs. The Office told Democratic staff in the course of preparing for a hearing on the Endangered Species Act that it could not answer questions about the hearing or related issues because no administration witness would be testifying.… Continue Reading
03.22.17
Grijalva Letter to Bishop Urging Invite to Zinke to Explain Budget March 22
A letter from Ranking Member Grijalva to Chairman Bishop urging him to hold a hearing with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to discuss the future of the Interior Department in light of the Trump administration's proposed 12 percent budget cut, and to discuss other issues the administration has yet to acknowledge.… Continue Reading
03.17.17
Arnold & Porter Legal Memo on Revocation of National Monuments
A legal opinion from the firm of Arnold & Porter finding that presidents alone do not have the legal authority to revoke national monument status on federal land once it is established.… Continue Reading
03.16.17
Grijalva Letter to Coast Guard and NOAA on Seafood Labor Practices March 16 2017
Ranking Member Grijalva sent a letter to the U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA asking for more information about seafood labor practices.… Continue Reading
03.08.17
Grijalva Letter to Zinke on Antiquities Act and National Monuments March 8 2017
03.08.17
Grijalva Lowenthal Letter to Pruitt on Methane Emissions March 8 2017
A letter from Ranking Member Grijalva and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) urging EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to reinstate an information request to the oil and gas industry on methane emissions from production activities. Pruitt canceled the request, initially published by the Obama administration, as a favor to industry despite the importance of the information to climate and air quality policy.… Continue Reading
03.07.17
Grijalva Letter to Army Corps and NRC on Biscayne Bay March 7 2017
Ranking Member Grijalva sent this letter to the Army Corps of Engineers and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on March 7, 2017, urging them to provide information about the risks of approving two new nuclear reactors in "Hurricane Alley" along the South Florida coastline. The agencies published a Final Environmental Impact Statement in late 2016 for the projects that did not account for climate change, storm surge, sea level rise or other risks to the plants' safety.… Continue Reading
02.28.17
Letter to DOI on ONRR Postponed Final Rule
Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva sent a letter to the Department of the Interior's Acting Secretary Haugrud requesting answers on a new rule enacted this year that closed a loophole in the coal valuation regulations that allowed companies to sell coal at reduced prices to their own subsidiaries for the purposes of reducing the amount of royalties owed to the American people.… Continue Reading