Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Federal Lands
Grijalva on Zinke Statement That Hanford Reach, Craters of the Moon are Safe From Arbitrary Review: “Pulling Names Out of a Hat”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on today's announcement by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke that he is no longer considering recommending status or acreage changes to Craters of the Moon National Monument (Idaho) or Hanford Reach National Monument (Washington) as part of his ongoing, arbitrary "review" process of more than two dozen national monuments around the country: "The news that Secretary Zinke has decided not to attempt t… Continue Reading
06.30.17
Ahead of Bundy Retrial, Grijalva Requests GAO Report on Threats, Attacks Against Federal Land Managers and Agency Property
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today requested a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study of the scale of recent threats against and attacks on federal land management agency officials and property. The request comes shortly ahead of the July 10 retrial date for four alleged perpetrators of the 2014 armed standoff near Bunkerville, Nev. The full request letter is available at http://bit.ly/2urAuHp. Noting that the 2015 armed standoff at Malheur National… Continue Reading
06.15.17
Grijalva Bill Reverses Giveaway of Sacred Tribal Land to Foreign-Owned Mining Company – Sen. Sanders Offering Senate Companion
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva today introduced the Save Oak Flat Act, which repeals an unjustified congressional giveaway of sacred Native American land to a mining company called Resolution Copper co-owned by multinational mining conglomerates Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is introducing a companion bill in the upper chamber today. Section 3003 of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the transfer of 2,422 acres in Arizona'… Continue Reading
06.13.17
Republicans Betray Hunters and Anglers, Let Gun Lobby Hijack Sportsmen’s Bill
Hearing Cancelled Until Further Notice Washington, D.C. - In a brazen and callous effort to help gun peddlers pad their bottom lines at the expense of the safety and security of American families, House Natural Resources Committee Republicans are holding a hearing tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. on a National Rifle Association (NRA)-backed bill that would weaken rules governing the importation of dangerous firearms, preempt state and local gun safety laws and deregulate silencers and armor-piercing bul… Continue Reading
06.12.17
Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on Zinke Report on Bears Ears National Monument: “Not Worth the Paper It’s Printed On”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's report to President Trump recommending major changes to the protected status and conserved acreage of Utah's Bears Ears National Monument: "The Secretary's report is nonsense. The memo released today doesn't give any accounting of the public comments the Interior Department received as part of this review process. It doesn't reference any maps or specify legisl… Continue Reading
06.06.17
As Republicans Demand More Drilling & Mining on Public Land, Grijalva Presses Zinke on Delaying Extractive Industries Transparency
Washington, D.C. - As Republicans in Washington demand increased oil and gas drilling and expanded coal and minerals mining on public lands, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke today pressing for information on Zinke's decision to delay the upcoming meeting of the U.S. advisory committee for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international framework on fighting corruption and increasing transparency in the extr… Continue Reading
05.25.17
Grijalva to Zinke: Who Removed Reference to Climate Change Science in U.S. Geological Survey Press Release?
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke today requesting information on the administration's censoring of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) press release put out after three USGS scientists and three outside colleagues published new climate change research in the journal Nature Scientific Reports. The administration, as the Washington Post reported, removed a reference in the press release to the relationship between climat… Continue Reading
05.25.17
86 Democrats to Zinke: Congress, Not Trump, Controls the Future of Existing National Monuments
Washington, D.C. - In light of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's ongoing review of 27 national monuments across the country, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter along with 85 House Democratic colleagues to Zinke today highlighting Congress' long-established legal authority over national monuments and other federally protected sites. The letter points to the executive branch's lack of authority to rescind or substantially reduce the size of any national monument - the ost… Continue Reading
05.23.17
Grijalva: This Budget is What Republicans Signed Up For When They Supported Trump – and It Would Destroy Our Environment
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today highlighted four environmental policy areas the Trump administration's proposed budget would hit especially hard, calling on Republicans to reject it out of hand or explain why they continue to support an administration that has lost all credibility. "This budget is the reality of the Republican vision for the country, and Republicans in Congress need to admit it," Grijalva said today. "It treats our environment as a spee… Continue Reading
05.22.17
Democrats Release First in a Series of Features on National Monuments Threatened by Trump’s Interior Department Executive Order
Washington, D.C. - Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee today released a fact sheet on Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, the first in a weekly series on the national monuments threatened by the Trump administration's ongoing "review" stemming from an April 26 Executive Order. Democrats will release a new fact sheet each Monday throughout the review period, which is expected to end with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recommending weakened protections for, or even full revoca… Continue Reading
05.16.17
Democrats, Wildfire Expert Will Press for Forest Service Funding, GOP Climate Change Acknowledgment at Tomorrow’s Forest Hearing
Washington, D.C. - Democrats at tomorrow's Federal Lands Subcommittee hearing on federal forest management will stress the need to address climate change-related wildfire risks and reject Republican demands to weaken bedrock environmental laws in order to increase commercial logging on public lands. Climate change is leading to longer and more severe wildfire seasons characterized by more - and more intense - wildfires that the U.S. Forest Service is not being given adequate funding to combat. … Continue Reading
05.11.17
Grijalva on Congress Overturning Obama-era Rules: “Republicans Have Put the Health & Well Being of Everyday Americans in Jeopardy”
Washington, D.C. - As of today, Congress can no longer use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn Obama-era rules. The Republican-controlled Congress successfully voted to overturn thirteen rules issued under the Obama administration and President Trump signed them into law. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) points out that nearly a quarter of the rules were blatant attacks on our environment. "On our very first day in Congress, House Rep… Continue Reading
05.04.17
Grijalva Invites Trump on Tour of NPS Civil War Sites to Explore History, Legacy of American Slavery
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today invited President Trump 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. "While excellent programming relating to the War Between the States is available on cable television," Grijalva writes, "visiting sites that conserve and interpret Civil War history could provide a more informative and lasting experience." The… Continue Reading
04.26.17
Grijalva: If Trump Order on Monuments is About Public Engagement, When Does Secretary Zinke’s Nationwide Listening Tour Begin?
Washington, D.C. - After reading the fine print on President Trump's new executive order mandating an ill-defined Interior Department "review" of certain national monuments, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today questioned whether Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has enough time to hold a series of public meetings - which are typically held between federal officials and local stakeholders before a national monument is designated - at each of the more than 20 national monuments… Continue Reading
04.26.17
Grijalva on Antiquities Act Order: “Reviewing Natl. Monuments Will Show What We Already Know – They’re Popular and Beneficial”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today released the following statement on the newly announced executive order directing the Department of the Interior to review the establishment history and current status of national monuments created since 1996 under the Antiquities Act. The order comes as Republicans in Congress, including Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah), urge Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the Trump administration unilaterally to wipe out or shrink Utah's … Continue Reading
04.13.17
Internal Documents Refute GOP Narrative on Interior Department Consultation on Bears Ears National Monument
Washington, D.C. - A new memo detailing internal documents produced by the Department of the Interior in response to a request by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform shows a years-long record of extensive contact between agency officials and a wide array of federal, state, and local stakeholders leading up to the designation of Bears Ears National Monument-directly contradicting the Republican narrative that Bears Ears and other federal monuments designated pursuant to the Ant… Continue Reading
04.12.17
Ranking Member Grijalva, Center for Biological Diversity File Lawsuit Against Department of Homeland Security Over Border Programs
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today against Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly; Kevin McAleenan, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); and CBP as a whole seeking a court order for a supplemental programmatic environmental impact statement for the U.S.-Mexico border enforcement program. If successful, the suit will force a federal assessment under the National Environmen… Continue Reading
04.12.17
Rep. Grijalva Questions BLM’s Energy Priorities, Asks for Updated Data on Unused Permits
Washington, D.C. - 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. The letter expresses concern that the agency intends to focus on energy development at the expense of conservation, wildlife protection, recreation, air and water quality, an… Continue Reading
04.07.17
Grijalva Highlights Ongoing Environmental Troubles at Grand Canyon Mine as Evidence of Need to Continue Mining Moratorium
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today highlighted ongoing environmental problems at the Canyon Mine near the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park as evidence that the 20-year moratorium on new mining claims in the region instituted by the Obama administration needs to be maintained. Calls to lift the moratorium have increased since the beginning of the Trump administration despite the fact that, according to Interior Department information, approximately 3,… Continue Reading
04.07.17
After Four Weeks of Infrastructure-Related Hearings Heavy on Deregulation, Grijalva Asks Where GOP Infrastructure Plan is Hiding
Washington, D.C. - Following a month's worth of Natural Resources Committee hearings in which Republicans and their invited witnesses argued falsely that major environmental deregulation is the only way to improve our nation's infrastructure, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today asked where the Republican infrastructure plan is hiding and why the GOP is using infrastructure as the latest cover story for its unchanging pro-polluter agenda. Throughout the month, Republican lawma… Continue Reading