03.05.19

In New Letter, Chair Grijalva Rejects Ranking Member Bishop Claim That Climate Change is Outside Committee Jurisdiction – And Promises More Hearings

Washington, D.C. – Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today comprehensively rejected Ranking Member Rob Bishop’s (R-Utah) complaints that climate change is outside the Committee’s jurisdiction, writing in a new letter that hearings on the issue will continue. Grijalva notes that while Bishop seems to believe the Committee cannot and should not examine climate change – holding no related hearings during his four-year chairmanship – Grijalva disagrees and will lead the Committee accordingly.

Grijalva’s letter also responds to unfounded Republican complaints about Committee process and underscores Grijalva’s interest in restoring balance to the Committee’s agenda after years of hearings focused on industry demands. The full letter is available at http://bit.ly/2ISNsKA.

Grijalva’s response comes as Natural Resources Committee Republicans refuse to acknowledge climate change or debate solutions. Bishop last week attempted to gain media traction with a stunt in which he ate a hamburger and complained about an imagined version of the Green New Deal.

In today’s letter, Grijalva calls “unfortunate” the Republican use of a tactical procedure that prematurely ended a Feb. 26 hearing on the similarities between fossil fuel industry climate denialism and similar strategies by the opioid industry, tobacco industry, and college and professional football. Grijalva writes: “The similarities between industry schemes to mislead the public regarding cigarettes, traumatic brain injury, and opioids, and the current fossil fuel industry campaign to hide the impacts of climate change, are striking. The only reason to block the hearing was to assist the industry in perpetuating this fraud on the American people.”

Grijalva tells Bishop that the Committee will now focus on the consequences of lenient environmental regulations rather than endless industry demands for looser rules and less oversight:

For the entirety of your tenure as Chairman, virtually the only focus of this Committee was the economic benefit derived by multinational corporations if Congress would allow drilling, mining, dumping, clear cutting, and burning to happen faster, and with as little environmental review as possible, on federal lands. The shift under Democratic leadership to highlighting the economic impacts when ecosystems are degraded by these activities, or the incredible economic engine of renewable energy development, is significant.

The Committee will continue discussing the critical economic impacts of resource management decisions, but the focus will be on impacted communities and future generations, as opposed to industry profit margins.

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