04.08.22

Natural Resources Chair Grijalva and Rep. McEachin Named to America COMPETES Act Conference Committee

Washington, D.C. – In an announcement yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) to the committee that will go to conference with the Senate over the House-passed America COMPETES Act of 2022. The lawmakers will represent the Committee on Natural Resources in conference.

“I’m honored to a part of the conference process and will work to make sure this legislation maintains America’s position as a leader in research, science, and technology across the globe,” Chair Grijalva said. “But to be clear, this bill won’t just ensure that we’re a leader—it will make sure we’re leading in a way that demands the highest standards of respect for working people and the environment we live in.”  

The House version of the America COMPETES Act includes provisions that address several major Natural Resources Committee priorities, including protecting our oceans, combatting wildlife trafficking, and ensuring that seafood imported into the country does not come from illegal or slave-harvested fishing practices. The Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee held a hearing yesterday to examine the importance of expanding our current seafood tracking and tracing system, which will prevent the import of seafood caught from illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing practices and ensure the recent ban on Russian-caught seafood is effective. The COMPETES Act would put expansion of that system into law.

The House-passed legislation also makes critical investments in the expansion of clean energy development on public lands and waters. The bill codifies the Biden administration’s goal of reaching 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 and ends an arbitrary ban on future offshore wind leasing put in place by the Trump administration.

The COMPETES Act also includes an amendment from Chair Grijalva to create the Office of Education Technology in the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), which will work to improve high speed internet access and technology for tribal students and BIE staff.

These provisions, along with provisions championed by other House committees, further strengthen the country’s high environmental and labor standards, securing America’s competitive advantage in the global market.

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