Press Releases
Chair Grijalva Rejects Bernhardt Offer to “Discuss” BLM Relocation, Presses Standing Demand for Cost-Benefit Analysis and Other Documents
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today sent a letter to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt reiterating the Committee's long-standing demand for the Trump administration's cost-benefit analysis and other documents related to the decision to move Bureau of Land Management (BLM) headquarters staff to Grand Junction, Colo. Grijalva's letter is a response to a Dec. 31, 2019, letter from Bernhardt, in which he claims without any justification that "the Department can conclude… Continue Reading
12.20.19
Chair Grijalva Releases Natural Resources Climate Action Report, Highlights Top Accomplishments of 2019
Washington D.C. - The House Natural Resources Committee spent 2019 tackling climate change from every angle. Today, Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released his Climate Action Report detailing the work done by the Committee to combat the climate crisis, including holding 22 hearings on the topic, since taking the majority of the U.S. House of Representatives in January. The Climate Action Report can be viewed at http://bit.ly/2sR8aTG. The release of this r… Continue Reading
12.17.19
Chair Grijalva, Committee Leaders Introduce Landmark Climate Change Legislation Slashing Emissions From Public Lands and Waters
Washington D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and leaders from the Natural Resources Committee released their flagship legislation to fight the climate crisis at a press conference on Capitol Hill this morning. Original cosponsors and supporters from the advocacy community hailed the introduction of H.R. 5435, the American Public Lands and Waters Climate Solution Act, which directs the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the United States Forest Service (USFS) to achieve net-zero gr… Continue Reading
12.16.19
Chair Grijalva Asks Sec. Bernhardt for Data on Staff Losses Due to Forced Bureau of Land Management Transfers, Expected Exodus of Senior Employees
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) wrote to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt today requesting a full analysis of the staffing consequences of Bernhardt's forced transfer of D.C.-based Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employees to locations across the West. The forced move, which has been widely criticized as poorly planned and incompetently executed, is likely to result in approximately 80 percent of affected employees leaving the agency. In today's letter, available at… Continue Reading
12.10.19
Chair Grijalva Hails House Passage of Bipartisan Coastal Resilience Package That Fights Climate Change, Helps Communities Prepare
Washington D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives today approved a package of bills originally heard in the Natural Resources Committee to protect vulnerable coastal and Great Lakes communities impacted by the climate crisis. Rep. Derek Kilmer's (D-Wash.) Coastal and Great Lakes Communities Enhancement Act (H.R. 729) is a package of 10 bipartisan coastal resilience bills that aid coastal ecosystems and economies, improve ocean monitoring and research, and offer coastal managers tools to protec… Continue Reading
12.10.19
Chair Grijalva, Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Write to House and Senate Interior Appropriators Urging Clarity, Funding Limits on BLM Horse Program
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers today wrote to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate appropriations panels with oversight of the Department of the Interior (DOI) to urge funding limits and additional clarity on a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) pilot program to manage wild horse populations in the West. The letter, available at http://bit.ly/2RDM29C, is directed to Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Tom Udall (D-N… Continue Reading
12.10.19
TIME CHANGE: Chair Grijalva, Rep. Haaland, Former BLM Administration Officials to Speak at Wednesday Press Conference on Forced Transfer of D.C.-Based Employees
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, will lead a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday morning at the U.S. Capitol to discuss the Trump administration's forced move of hundreds of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employees to Grand Junction, Colo., and elsewhere across the West. Former BLM Director Bob Abbey and former BLM Deputy Director Henri B… Continue Reading
12.10.19
POSTPONED: Chair Grijalva Press Conference Scheduled for Today at 12:00 p.m.
Washington D.C. - The press conference previously scheduled by Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) has been postponed. New details will be made available at a later date.… Continue Reading
12.05.19
Natural Resources Committee Advances Bills to Protect Native Women, Children and Families, Designate Wilderness, and Recover Wildlife
Washington D.C. - Today Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) led a Committee markup to advance key Natural Resources priorities, including bills to protect Native women, children and families from violence. Among other measures, the Committee approved H.R. 3977, sponsored by Committee Vice Chair Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), which expands the jurisdiction of tribal courts to prosecute non-Native perpetrators who commit crimes of sexual violence on tribal lands, and H.R. 4957, sponsored by Subco… Continue Reading
12.04.19
New Letter: Chair Grijalva Warns Bernhardt of Potential Liability on Forced BLM Staff Move Without Disparate Impact Analysis – Reiterates Doc Requests
Washington, D.C. - In a new letter to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt this morning, Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) warns of potential legal liability for the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) stemming from BLM's forced move of employees based in Washington, D.C., to Grand Junction, Colo., and elsewhere throughout the West. Without analyzing the forced move's potential impacts on BLM staff diversity, Grijalva writes, the Trump administration is o… Continue Reading
11.21.19
Chair Grijalva, Reps. Velázquez and Soto Respond to Puerto Rico Fiscal Board Filing That Seeks to Block Lawmakers’ PREPA Amicus Brief
Washington D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Small Business Committee Chair Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) responded yesterday to a filing by the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority that sought to block consideration of the amicus brief the trio of lawmakers filed last month. A federal judge is expected to rule as soon as this week on wh… Continue Reading
11.21.19
Natural Resources Committee Advances Legislation To Protect Wilderness, Fight Climate Change
Washington D.C. - Today Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) led a Committee markup to advance key Natural Resources priorities, including four bills that protect 1.3 million acres of wilderness in California and Colorado. The bills' passage is the most recent step in the Committee's ongoing efforts to protect public lands, promote access for all Americans and combat the climate crisis. Following the markup, Natural Resources Democrats released the first edition of their new Climate Solution… Continue Reading
11.20.19
House Passes Collection of Bipartisan Conservation Bills, Including Ban on Trade in Shark Fins, Extension of Wetlands Conservation Program
Washington, D.C. - The House of Representatives today passed a collection of bipartisan conservation measures, including the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, a bill from Rep. Gregorio Sablan (D-CNMI) making it illegal to possess, buy, or sell shark fins or any product containing shark fins. The North American Wetlands Conservation Extension Act from Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) reauthorizes the North American Wetlands Conservation Act - which provides matching grants to wetlands conservation pr… Continue Reading
11.20.19
Chair Grijalva, Rep. Lowenthal and Sen. Markey Introduce Bill Ending Loophole That Lets Big Oil Avoid Paying Billions in Offshore Drilling Royalties
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Chair of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today introduced the Stop Giving Big Oil Free Money Act, a bill repealing a loophole in the Deepwater Royalty Relief Act of 1995 (DWRRA) that allowed oil and gas companies to avoid paying approximately $18 billion in royalties to the American people between 2000 and 2018. As recently detailed by the New York Times, the… Continue Reading
11.19.19
Committee Reviews Broken Promises Report That Links Chronic Underfunding to Poor Outcomes in Indian Country
Washington D.C. - Today the House Natural Resources Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States held an oversight hearing to review the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans. The report, released in December of 2018, confirms what tribes across the country already know: that the federal government is not meeting its trust responsibilities and that federal agency spending in Indian country is woefully inadequ… Continue Reading
11.18.19
Chair Grijalva, Subcommittee Chairs Write to Bernhardt Urging No Action on Utah Monument Area Management Plans Pending Lawsuit, GAO Findings
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter with all five subcommittee chairs to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt today urging no action be taken on proposed Resource Management Plans (RMP) and Final Environmental Impact Statements (FEIS) for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Kanab-Escalante Planning Area, pending the outcome of ongoing litigation on President Trump's illegal shrinking of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The letter, … Continue Reading
11.15.19
Chair Grijalva, Rep. McEachin Release Discussion Draft of Environmental Justice Bill, Marking New Public Input Phase of Historic Collaborative Effort
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) today unveiled a discussion draft of their environmental justice bill, which has been prepared through a collaborative effort with environmental justice advocates and grassroots groups across the country. Release of the draft at a press conference today on Capitol Hill marks the opening of a new public participation phase of the process, and anyone interested in reviewing and commenting on the draft sh… Continue Reading
11.06.19
Chair Grijalva Leads Letter Highlighting Irregularities of Protected Shark Exports, Expresses Concern About Overfishing
Washington D.C. - Today, Natural Resources Chair Raúl M. Grijalva sent a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) expressing concern that shark species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) are being exported from the United States in violation of the law and at risk of the species. The letter was cosigned by Rep. … Continue Reading
10.30.19
Chair Grijalva Hails Passage of Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act to Block New Uranium Mining – Thanks Allies for Victory a Decade in the Making
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today hailed House passage of the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, which advanced on a 236-185 vote. The bill sets a permanent moratorium on new uranium mining claims on just over 1 million acres of federally protected public lands to the north and south of Grand Canyon National Park. Its passage represents a legislative victory more than a decade in the making for Grijalva, who first introduced the Grand Canyon Watersheds Protec… Continue Reading
10.30.19
Chair Grijalva Leads Amicus Brief With Reps. Velázquez and Soto Opposing PREPA Debt Restructuring Agreement
Washington D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico expressing opposition to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA). Grijalva's brief was signed by Small Business Committee Chair Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), both members of the Natural Resources Committee. Grijalva, Velázquez and Soto have helped lead ove… Continue Reading