Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Energy and Mineral Resources
Ranking Member Grijalva Applauds Biden Administration Recommendations for Reforming Severely Outdated Mining Law of 1872
Washington, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior-led (DOI) Interagency Working Group on Mining Laws, Regulations, and Permitting released a new report outlining 65 recommendations for modernizing the country’s severely outdated mining system. The report was informed by tens of thousands of public comments, as well as dozens of working group meetings with external stakeholders. Upon release of the report, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) iss… Continue Reading
09.06.23
Ranking Member Grijalva Commends Cancellation of Oil and Gas Leases in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on the U.S. Department of the Interior’s decision to cancel the seven remaining 2021 oil and gas leases sold under the Trump administration’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) leasing program. The leases were previously suspended due to multiple legal flaws in the Trump administration’s leasing program, including a failure to adequately analyze a reasonable ran… Continue Reading
07.26.23
Reps. Kamlager-Dove, Ocasio-Cortez, and Ross Introduce CLEAN Energy NOW Acts
Washington, D.C. – Top Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee today introduced the CLEAN Energy NOW Acts to advance clean energy development on our public lands and waters by repealing ties to fossil fuel leasing requirements mandated by last year’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA includes $369 billion for climate and clean energy, the biggest investment in history. However, provisions that tie clean energy to fossil fuel development increase harmful carbon polluti… Continue Reading
05.19.23
Ranking Member Grijalva, Sen. Heinrich Introduce Mining Reform Legislation to Protect Communities, Tribal Consultation, and Environment
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) today introduced House and Senate versions of the Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act to modernize the nation's severely antiquated Mining Law of 1872. The bills will address major environmental justice concerns, protect the environment, and ensure a fair return for the American people. Ranking Member Grijalva's Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act resources: BILL TEXT | SECTI… Continue Reading
05.11.23
At Subcommittee Hearing, NEPA Expert Debunks Industry-Driven Rhetoric about Energy Project Delays and Permitting Reform Needs
Washington, D.C. - At today's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing with Ranking Member Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), witness Jamie Pleune, Professor of Law at the University of Utah's S.J. Quinney College of Law, provided testimony highlighting her extensive research on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA is critical in protecting communities against pollution, particularly those that have been overburdened by irresponsible industry action for too long. CLICK HERE to w… Continue Reading
03.30.23
Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on House Republicans’ Passage of Polluters Over People Act
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on Republicans' passage of H.R. 1, the Polluters Over People Act, through the House. The Polluters Over People Act is a shameless giveaway of handouts and loopholes to the oil, gas, mining, and other polluting industries. This legislation puts Americans in harm's way by gutting our bedrock and environmental and public health laws and ignoring the climate cris… Continue Reading
03.28.23
Ranking Member Grijalva Blasts House Republicans' H.R. 1, The Polluters Over People Act
Washington, D.C. - On the House floor today, Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) spoke against Republicans' H.R. 1, the Polluters Over People Act, which is a shameless giveaway to the oil, gas, mining, and other polluting industries. The Polluters Over People Act puts Americans in harm's way by gutting our bedrock and environmental and public health laws and ignoring the climate crisis-all in the name of fast-tracking polluter projects. WATCH Ranking Mem… 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
03.13.23
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
03.03.23
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… 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
02.01.23
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
07.01.22
Chair Grijalva Statement on Interior Department’s Proposed Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program
Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) took the next step in finalizing a new five-year National Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program by proposing no more than 11 lease sales between 2023 and 2028 in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Alaska. "Holding any new offshore oil and gas lease sales over th… Continue Reading
06.13.22
Chair Grijalva, Rep. Porter Request Oil and Gas Public Relations Campaign Materials
Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Katie Porter (D-Calif.) sent letters to five public relations (PR) firms-FTI Consulting, Story Partners, DDC Advocacy, Blue Advertising, and Singer Associates-that conduct PR campaigns on behalf of fossil fuel industry clients. The lawmakers also sent a letter to the American Petroleum Institute, a major oil and gas industry trade group that plays a major, ac… Continue Reading
02.09.22
Chair Grijalva and Sen. Hirono Introduce Bill to Promote Climate Science at the U.S. Geological Survey
Washington, D.C. – Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) today introduced the Climate Adaptation Science Centers Act, or the “CASC Act,” which permanently authorizes the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs). The CASCs connect scientists at USGS and other research institutions to natural and cultural resource managers who are facing the increasingly challenging impacts of climat… Continue Reading
02.04.22
Grijalva Hails New Labor and Environmental Standards Passed in COMPETES Act
Tucson, AZ Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) issued the following statement on House passage of the COMPETES Act, which includes provisions that tackle illegal fishing and slave labor in the seafood supply chain, expand renewable energy, address the illegal wildlife trade, bolster marine science and strengthen protection of marine life on the high seas. "America's greatest strength is the promise of economic opportunity for all. This bill reinforces that promise by ensuring that today's … Continue Reading
01.26.22
Grijalva Commends Biden Administration, DOI, for Protecting Boundary Waters, Superior National Forest
Washington, D.C. - Today, Chair Raúl M. Grijalva released the following statement following the decision from the Biden administration to cancel two mineral leases adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. "I applaud the Biden administration for thoughtfully reviewing the shady legal underpinnings of these two leases and coming to today's decision. These potential mines threatened the health and safety of the American people, as well as one of our most cherished natural pla… Continue Reading
12.17.21
Grijalva, Committee Leaders Call for Amplify Energy to Brief Committee Members on Southern Calif. Oil Spill, Urge Sec. Haaland to Consider Canceling Amplify Leases
Washington, D.C. – Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today sent a letter with Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) calling on Amplify Energy Corp., the company responsible for the October oil spill off the coast of Southern California, and two of its subsidiaries to brief members of the Natural Resources Committee on their actions leading up to the disaster. The letter, available here, follows two Committee oversight hearings (see here and here) on the oil s… Continue Reading