Press Releases

03.24.23

Ranking Member Grijalva Applauds Court Ruling to Limit Funds Entitled to Bondholders in PREPA Bankruptcy Case

Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain's Wednesday ruling that holders of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) bonds do not have a secure claim to the utility's current and future revenue and are only entitled to the value of funds in existing PREPA reserve accounts. The U.S. District Court also ruled that bondholders had an unsecured claim to the … Continue Reading


03.24.23

Congressional Budget Office Says H.R. 1, Republicans’ “Polluters Over People” Bill, Will Increase the Deficit

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) newly released estimate that Republicans' H.R. 1, the "Polluters Over People Act," will increase the federal deficit by $2.4 billion over the next ten years. CBO further warned that the bill would add another $5 billion or more to that number in a subsequent ten-year period. "We already knew that Republicans' H.R. 1 was throwing the A… Continue Reading


03.22.23

Ranking Member Grijalva, Rep. Lee, Senators Duckworth and Booker Introduce the A. Donald McEachin Environmental Justice For All Act

Washington, D.C. - Today, on World Water Day, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) reintroduced the newly named A. Donald McEachin Environmental Justice For All Act at a bicameral press conference, joined by Vice Ranking Member Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) and a diverse array of grassroots groups, youth advocates, and environmental justice community leaders from across the country. WAT… Continue Reading


03.21.23

Ranking Member Grijalva Cheers Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range National Monuments, Pacific Remote Islands Conservation

Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on President Biden's designation of two new national monuments: Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada and Castner Range National Monument in Texas. President Biden also announced that he will be directing the Secretary of Commerce to initiate a new National Marine Sanctuary designation for the U.S. waters surrounding the Pacific Remote Islands, as well as s… Continue Reading


03.13.23

Grijalva, Ocasio-Cortez, Huffman, and Sen. Markey Issue Joint Statement on Willow Project Decision

Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety today issued the following joint statement on the Biden administration's fina… Continue Reading


03.09.23

Committee Republicans Pass Polluter Giveaway Bill to Fast-Track Dirty Energy by Ignoring Community Voices and Climate Change

Washington, D.C. - At today's House Natural Resources Committee markup, the Republican majority voted to pass their Polluter Giveaway bill, the TAPP American Resources Act (H.R. 1335), introduced by Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.). No Democrats voted for the bill. The legislation includes Republicans' so-called "permitting reform," which guts our fundamental environmental and public health protections, namely the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), in order to fast-track oil, gas, and minin… Continue Reading


03.07.23

Grijalva, Territorial Delegates Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Address Disparities in Data Collection for U.S. Territories

Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and the delegates of the five U.S. Territories-Rep. Aumua Amata Radewagen (R-American Samoa), Rep. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-CNMI), Rep. Jim Moylan (R-Guam), Rep. Jenniffer González Colón (R-Puerto Rico), and Rep. Stacey E. Plaskett (D-USVI)- introduced the bipartisan Territories Statistics Collection Equity Act to address disparities in available data and data collection methods relat… Continue Reading


03.06.23

Ranking Democrat Grijalva Introduces Save Oak Flat From Foreign Mining Act to Protect Sacred Site in Central Arizona

Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today announced the introduction of the Save Oak Flat From Foreign Mining Act to permanently protect Tonto National Forest's Chí'chil Bi?dagoteel Historic District, also known as Oak Flat, from foreign mining operations that will permanently desecrate the area and destroy its tribal cultural and religious heritage sites. CLICK HERE for full bill text of the Save Oak Flat From Foreign Min… Continue Reading


03.03.23

Ranking Democrat Grijalva and Senator Markey Lead Call on President Biden to Reject the Willow Project

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 the National Petrol… Continue Reading


02.28.23

Republican Majority Holds Hearings on So-Called “Permitting Reform” Bills that Fast-Track Polluter Projects by Gutting Environmental Review

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Natural Resources Republicans held two legislative hearings-one in the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee and one at the Full Committee level-to examine three bills that will advance their so-called "permitting reform" agenda to fast-track fossil fuel development and mining, at the expense of the environment and communities. Similar to numerous Republican bills introduced in the past, these bills aim to severely hamstring the environmental review and publi… Continue Reading


02.27.23

Grijalva Introduces Bill to Protect Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) introduced the Restoring Effective Science-based Conservation Under Environmental Laws Protecting Whales Act (RESCUE Whales Act) to repeal language passed in December's FY2023 omnibus funding package that significantly threatens the survival and recovery of the North Atlantic right whale. "The language passed into law in the omnibus poses an existential threat to the dwindling North Atla… Continue Reading


02.13.23

Government Watchdog: Cleaning Up Abandoned Mines Costs American Taxpayers Millions, Future Costs Unknown

Washington, D.C. - Today, the nonpartisan Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) released a report, requested by then-Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and then-Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Chair Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), highlighting the need for improved reporting on total cleanup costs for abandoned hardrock mines on public lands. Currently, there are 22,500 known abandoned mine features on public lands that pose environmental hazards. GAO previously estimated that th… Continue Reading


02.08.23

On Heels of Big Oil’s Record-Breaking Profits, Committee Republicans Hold Hearing on Expanding Fossil Fuel Development Even Further

Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Natural Resources Committee Republican majority held the Committee's first oversight hearing to examine how Congress and the federal government can enable even more oil and gas drilling and mining on public lands and waters. Over the past few weeks, four of the biggest oil companies-Exxon, Shell, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips-reported their highest profits in history, making $1 trillion in sales in 2022. Meanwhile, climate disasters cost the country $165 billion… Continue Reading


02.07.23

Republican Majority Passes Industry Wish List Agenda, Rejects Amendments on Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Puerto Rico Recovery

Washington, D.C. - At this morning's House Natural Resources Committee markup, the Republican majority voted to pass their Authorization and Oversight Plan for the 118th Congress, along party lines. The plan, as Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) pointed out in his opening statement, is a check list of the fossil fuel and mining industries biggest asks, including opening public lands and oceans to more drilling, stripping public input from permitting, and attacking essential protec… Continue Reading


02.03.23

Grijalva Requests Updates on Puerto Rico’s Finances and Energy from New Oversight Board Executive Director

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. The full letter is available here. The Oversight Board is responsible for overseeing Puer… Continue Reading


02.01.23

Ranking Democrat Grijalva Slams Move to Approve Massive Willow Oil and Gas Development Project

Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Ranking Democrat Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on the U.S. Department of the Interior's decision to take the next step forward in approving ConocoPhillips' massive Willow project, which will lock in oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska for the next 30 years. A final Record of Decision will be made in no fewer than 30 days. Approval of the Willow project, which includes 250 wells, m… Continue Reading


01.31.23

Ranking Democrat Grijalva Welcomes Full Roster of House Natural Resources Committee Democrats, Announces Top Positions

Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Democrat Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on welcoming the Committee's full roster of Democratic members for the 118th Congress. Grijalva also announced the Committee's top Democratic positions, which are noted in the list below. "The climate crisis requires nothing short of our most committed leaders in Congress, and this group of Natural Resources Democrats is just that," said Grijalva. "I'm pro… Continue Reading


01.26.23

Ranking Democrat Grijalva Celebrates Protection of Popular Boundary Waters Area from Mining

Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Ranking Democrat Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's decision to withdraw more than 225,000 acres in the Superior National Forest from mineral and geothermal leasing for 20 years. The withdrawal will protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, one of the most popular wilderness areas in the country, from major environmental damage. "Some places are … Continue Reading


01.25.23

Ranking Democrat Grijalva Cheers Repeal of Reckless Trump-Era Rule for Tongass National Forest

Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Ranking Democrat Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on the U.S. Forest Service's repeal of the Trump administration's 2020 Roadless Rule, which exempted the Tongass National Forest from roadless rule protections, exposing the area to major, environmentally devastating logging and construction projects.. This move by the Biden administration will effectively restore roadless protections for more than 9 million acre… Continue Reading


01.06.23

Ranking Democrat Grijalva Blasts Republicans’ Proposed House Rules Changes and Bogus Accounting to Allow Public Land Giveaways

Washington, D.C. - As the House continues to wait for a successful vote on speakership, Natural Resources Committee Ranking Democrat Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on a provision in Republicans' proposed House Rules package that would make it easier for Congress to give away our nation's public lands without getting a fair return for American taxpayers. The proposed rule would ban the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) from accurately accounting for lost re… Continue Reading

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