Press Releases
Natural Resources Democrats Slam GOP Attempts to Gut Environmental Protections and Silence Communities Under Guise of Permitting Reform
Washington, D.C. - Today, Ranking Member Huffman pushed back against Republicans’ so-called SPEED Act, a sweeping bill that would gut core provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and rig the rules to fast-track polluter projects and silence community voices. Excerpts and Highlights from Ranking Member Huffman’s Opening Remarks:“Today, we have three bills on the agenda relating to the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. Two of them, H.R. 573 and H.R. 4503, aim to enh… Continue Reading
09.09.25
Following Damning Reporting, Huffman, Dexter, Neguse Lead Oversight Push to Safeguard Wildland Firefighters
Washington, D.C. — Congressman Jared Huffman (CA-02), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, Congresswoman Maxine Dexter, M.D. (OR-03), the Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Congressman Joe Neguse (CO-02), the Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands, led lawmakers in an oversight effort to address the federal government’s failure to protect wildland firefighter health. The lawmak… Continue Reading
09.03.25
Huffman, Dexter Demand Records on Interior Official’s Conflicts of Interest
Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) are demanding answers from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about Tyler Hassen, the outgoing Principal Deputy Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget, citing his sweeping powers at the Department of the Interior and deep ties to industries he regulated. In their letter, Huffman and Dexter detail how Hassen “reviews ‘every s… Continue Reading
09.02.25
Huffman Raises Alarm Over USDA Plan to Gut Forest Service Research and Regional Offices
Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins raising serious concerns about the Department’s July 24, 2025 proposal to reorganize the U.S. Forest Service by phasing out its nine Regional Offices and consolidating its stand-alone Research Stations into a single location in Fort Collins, Colorado.“I support efforts to modernize the Forest Service so it better serves the American people and can address t… Continue Reading
08.29.25
Ranking Member Huffman Statement on Trump’s Clean Energy Decimation
Washington, D.C. - Today, Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) released the following statement on the Trump administration’s latest attack on clean energy: “This is a new level of idiocracy, where the Trump administration is trying to destroy an entire sector of clean energy, kill thousands of good paying jobs, and drive up electricity prices for American consumers. “Surrendering the future to China by dragging America back to dirty, climate-wrecking fossil fuel dependency while most of th… Continue Reading
08.27.25
Huffman Statement on Trump’s Roadless Rule Rollback and Taxpayer-Funded Lumber Giveaway to China
Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) released the following statement after Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the next step in its rule-making process to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule by opening a public comment period from this Friday to September 19 — less than 30 days.“Secretary Rollins is steamrolling ahead with Trump’s plan to deliver America’s last wild forests to corporate polluters. Forcing a rollback with only a matter of d… Continue Reading
08.26.25
Huffman, Markey Lead Colleagues in Opposing Reckless Offshore Drilling Plan
Washington, D.C. - Today, Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Vice Ranking Member Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), and Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) wrote to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management urging the agency to reject BP’s proposed Kaskida project in the Gulf of Mexico.“This ultra-deepwater project represents an unacceptable threat to Gulf communities, ecosystems, and the climate… Continue Reading
08.19.25
Ranking Member Huffman Statement on Federal Appeals Court Decision to Halt Oak Flat Land Transfer
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) released the following statement: “The 9th Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision to pause the transfer of sacred Oak Flat to Resolution Copper is a victory for tribes, the environment, and everyone in this country who has the right for their voices to be heard. And we have the San Carlos Apache Tribe, the Inter-Tribal Association of Arizona and the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, and the … Continue Reading
08.06.25
Huffman, Colleagues Sound Alarm on Trump Order Whitewashing American History in National Parks
Washington, D.C. - Today, Natural Resources Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) led 12 Democratic colleagues on a letter demanding answers from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to rewrite American history by scrubbing national parks of accurate, inclusive, and science-based content. The lawmakers detail widespread censorship stemming from Secretarial Order No. 3431 and Executive Order 14253, which direct the National Park Service to revise inter… Continue Reading
08.05.25
Ranking Member Huffman Statement on Trump Dismissal of Puerto Rico Oversight Board Members
Washington, D.C. - Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) released a statement following reporting that President Donald Trump has dismissed five members of Puerto Rico’s financial oversight board: “The shocking reports of another sudden Trump firing spree raise serious questions: Who made this decision, and why now? Who stands to benefit if the board is left without a quorum? And what happens to the PREPA bankruptcy—and most importantly the people of P… Continue Reading
08.05.25
Committee Democrats Denounce NEPA Rollbacks at Interior and USDA: “Dangerous,” “Unprecedented,” and “Profoundly Unjust”
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), and Indian and Insular Affairs Subcommittee Ranking Member Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) condemned the Trump administration’s attempts to gut one of America’s most important tools to defend public health, protect the environment, and ensure government transparency. In formal comments to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Agricu… Continue Reading
08.04.25
Top Democrats Condemn Trump’s Federal Workforce Purge, Back Bills to Block Mass Firings at Interior, Forest Service
Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Vice Ranking Member Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), Federal Lands Subcommittee Ranking Member Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee Ranking Member Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Indian and Insular Affairs Subcommittee Ranking Member Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Yassamin A… Continue Reading
08.04.25
Huffman, Lofgren Introduce Legislation to Defend Federal Workforce Amidst DOGE Attacks
Washington, D.C. - U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) introduced legislation to prevent politically-motivated workforce reductions at the Department of the Interior (DOI), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and the Department of Energy (DOE). The Senate companion bills were introduced by Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committ… Continue Reading
08.04.25
Huffman, Markey Lead Colleagues in Opposing Trump’s Reckless Threats to the Western Arctic
Washington, D.C. - Today, Natural Resources Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and 27 Democratic colleagues wrote to the Department of the Interior condemning the Trump administration’s move to eliminate protections for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, one of the most ecologically sensitive and culturally important regions in the Arctic.“The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) is home to many of our nation’s Arctic treasures, including … Continue Reading
07.25.25
Ranking Member Huffman Blasts “SPEED Act” as Polluter Giveaway that Guts Environmental Protections, Climate Accountability and Silences Communities
Washington, D.C. - Today, Natural Resources Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) denounced Chairman Bruce Westerman’s so-called SPEED Act as a sweeping effort to let fossil fuel and corporate polluters cut corners, suppress science, and silence communities during the environmental review process. “The National Environmental Policy Act is the foundation of America’s environmental successes and a critical tool for government transparency. Chairman Westerman has taken the most tired lie in Wash… Continue Reading
07.23.25
Huffman Slams Republican Effort to Undermine Property Rights and Grassland Conservation
Washington, D.C. - Today, Natural Resources Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) issued the following statement on the Committee’s passage of H.R. 839, a bill that would block the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge Land Protection Plan from being implemented: "This bill is one of the most backwards proposals I’ve seen in this committee — and that’s saying something. H.R. 839 would stop private landowners from establishing easements or voluntarily selling or donating their land to the U.S. Fis… Continue Reading
07.23.25
Jeff Corwin Testifies Before Natural Resources Subcommittee Hearing: “The ESA and MMPA are the last lifeline for hundreds of imperiled species.”
Washington, D.C. - Emmy Award-winning wildlife biologist and conservationist Jeff Corwin testified before the House Natural Resources Committee yesterday, warning that Republican proposals to rewrite the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) would undo decades of conservation success and lead to more deaths of whales, dolphins, manatees, and other vulnerable marine species. See post on Instagram Corwin appeared as the Democratic-invited witness at a Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries legislative hea… Continue Reading
07.21.25
Huffman Releases Interior Department Letter Opposing GOP Effort to Overturn Public Land Protections
Washington, D.C. - Today, Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) released a letter from the Department of the Interior (DOI) that rebukes House Republicans’ unprecedented attempt to roll back long-term land management plans in Alaska, North Dakota, and Montana through the Congressional Review Act (CRA).In a response to Rep. Huffman’s inquiry, DOI made clear that Resource Management Plans (RMPs) approved under Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act … Continue Reading
07.21.25
Huffman Demands Answers from President Trump Over Mishandling of Grand Canyon Wildfire
Washington, D.C. - Today, Natural Resources Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) wrote to President Trump demanding answers on the catastrophic federal response to the Dragon Bravo Fire, which has torn through the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The blaze, which ignited on July 4, was allowed to burn under “managed fire” protocols for days despite record-high heat, extreme drought, and volatile conditions — ultimately destroying the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and other irreplaceable… Continue Reading
07.18.25
Huffman, McCollum, Craig, Morrison, Omar, Pingree Demand Answers on Reverse of Mineral Withdrawal in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Dean of the Minnesota Congressional Delegation Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior Ranking Member Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Congresswoman Kelly Morrison (D-Minn.) sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Rollin… Continue Reading