Press Releases
Grijalva, González-Colón Lead Bicameral Letter to Puerto Rico Oversight Board Urging Protection of Solar Net Metering
WASHINGTON - U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón (R-Puerto Rico) today sent a bipartisan, bicameral letter signed by 21 Members of Congress to the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) for Puerto Rico urging it to protect net metering on the island. Net metering makes household renewable energy sources, like rooftop solar, more affordable for families by ensuring they are reimbursed for the extra energy they… Continue Reading
05.16.24
At Hearing, Vice RM Kamlager-Dove Praises CEQ Chair Mallory for Acting on Climate, Environmental Justice
WASHINGTON - At today’s full committee hearing titled, Examining the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request and Related Policy Matters, CEQ recently finalized its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Phase II regulations, which take a positive step in requiring agencies to consider the climate and environmental justice impacts of major federal actions, while also undoing harmful Trump-era changes that undermined NEPA’s environmental review process. Republican… Continue Reading
05.15.24
Grijalva, Dingell, Beyer Lead Letter Urging Science-Based Protections for Critically Endangered Rice’s Whale
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) led a letter signed by 16 House Democrats urging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to swiftly finalize and implement measures to protect Rice’s whales — one of the most endangered marine mammals, with only an estimated 51 individuals remaining — from extinction. In their letter, the lawmakers commend NOAA’s actio… Continue Reading
05.08.24
Natural Resources, CCP Select Committee Ranking Members Request Inquiry into Foreign-Controlled Companies Mining Our Public Lands
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) led a request to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the extent to which foreign-controlled companies are extracting minerals from our federally-managed public lands, as well as recommendations for ensuring that these companies comply with U.S. environmental and human rights standards. The full list of signers includes Ranking Member Grijalva, Select Committee on the Strat… Continue Reading
05.07.24
70+ Senate, House Lawmakers Call on Biden to Ensure LNG Exports Are Fully in the Public Interest
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-07), Nanette Barragán (D-CA-44), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-04), and Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13) led their colleagues on a bicameral letter thanking President Biden and Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm for pausing approvals of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. The group applauds DOE for evaluat… Continue Reading
05.02.24
Following Procedural Embarrassment for Toxic Mining Free-For-All Bill, Grijalva Sends Chair Westerman Letter Opposing Attempts to Bypass Committee
WASHINGTON - U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today sent a letter to Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) emphasizing the need for regular order for H.R. 2925, the so-called Mining Regulatory Clarity Act, which was sent back to the Natural Resources Committee after several Republicans broke ranks on the House floor and voted for a motion to recommit the bill. Throughout his congressional career, Chair Westerman has consistently advocated for regular … Continue Reading
05.02.24
Grijalva Celebrates Expansion of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument
WASHINGTON - U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on President Joe Biden’s action to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in California using authorities under the Antiquities Act. “With today’s expansion of the San Gabriel Mountains and Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monuments, President Biden is once again showing that this administration is committ… Continue Reading
05.01.24
Grijalva Blasts House Passage of Five Pro-Polluter, Pro-NRA Bills, Cheers Procedural Embarrassment for Toxic Mining Bill
WASHINGTON - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on House passage of five Natural Resources bills that benefit the gun lobby, Big Oil, and the mining industry, the nation’s number one source of toxic pollution. However, one bill, H.R. 2925, the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act (Amodei, R-Nev.), which would have doubled down on the flaws of the Mining Law of 1872 to make toxic dumping waste the “highest and best use” of ou… Continue Reading
05.01.24
At Hearing, Vice RM Kamlager-Dove Praises Interior Secretary Haaland for Bold Climate Action, Calls Out GOP Inaction
WASHINGTON - At today’s full committee hearing, Examining the President's FY 2025 Budget Request for the Department of the Interior, featuring testimony from Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, House Natural Resources Committee Vice Ranking Member Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) delivered the opening statement below. Vice Ranking Member Kamlager-Dove highlighted several newly finalized and widely celebrated rules from the Interior Department, including the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands R… Continue Reading
04.30.24
Ranking Member Grijalva Applauds Biden Administration’s NEPA Updates
WASHINGTON - Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) issued the following statement on the release of the Biden administration’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Phase II regulations. Previously, Ranking Member Grijalva led two letters on the proposed NEPA regulations, including a bicameral letter with nearly 100 Members of Congress, outlining suggestions to strengthen climate and environmental justice considerations in the environmental review … Continue Reading
04.19.24
Grijalva Cheers Biden Administration Action to Stand with Alaska Native Communities and Protect Arctic Wilderness, Reject Harmful Ambler Road
WASHINGTON - 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 final rule to protect more than 13 million acres from oil and gas drilling in the western Arctic, as well as its decision to select the “no action” alternative in its final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Ambler Road. Ambler Road is a proposed industrial mining road that would have been constructed through 211 miles… Continue Reading
04.18.24
Grijalva Praises Biden Administration Action to Protect Public Lands, Balance Multiple Uses
WASHINGTON - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) final Public Lands Rule, which will better balance the agency’s multiple-use mandate by putting conservation on equal footing with oil, gas, and mineral extraction on our public lands. “The Public Lands Rule is a win for the American people who overwhelmingly want to protect our nation’s rich natural and cultural heritage and en… Continue Reading
04.17.24
Members of Congress, Civil Rights Groups, and Other Allies Call on Justice Department to Denounce Insular Cases
WASHINGTON - At a press conference today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.; represented by staff) and Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett (D-V.I.) were joined by civil rights groups and other allies to call on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to condemn and cease its reliance on the Insular Cases, a series of racist U.S. Supreme Court decisions that broke from prior precedent to justify colonial governance in the U.S. Territories. The Members also anno… Continue Reading
04.15.24
Grijalva Statement on Biden Administration Action to Hold Big Oil Accountable for Offshore Drilling Cleanup Costs
WASHINGTON - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement commending the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) final rule to strengthen financial assurance requirements for offshore drilling. “For too long, insufficient financial protections have allowed Big Oil to let their equipment sit idle off our coasts — or worse, let them walk away from their cleanup responsibilities altogether — creating untold risks for coastal communiti… Continue Reading
04.12.24
Grijalva, Committee Democrats Applaud Biden Administration’s Oil and Gas Rule to Ensure a Fairer Return for American Taxpayers
WASHINGTON - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.), and Mike Levin (D-Calif.) today issued the following statements applauding the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) final rule for onshore oil and gas leasing on public lands. The rule reflects long overdue fiscal reforms that were passed in the Inflation Reduction Act (IR… Continue Reading
04.11.24
Grijalva Cheers Biden Administration Action to Boost Clean Energy Development on Public Lands
WASHINGTON - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement applauding the Biden administration’s announcement of a final rule for renewable energy development on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The Biden administration also announced that it has permitted nearly 29 gigawatts of renewable energy projects, far surpassing President Biden’s ambitious goal of 25 gigawatts by 2025. “Our public lands must… Continue Reading
04.09.24
Grijalva, Norton Request Comprehensive Review of Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Implementation
WASHINGTON - U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) today sent a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting a comprehensive review of the federal government’s implementation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), including the identification of potential best practices for improving repatriation. The lawmakers’ letter draws attention to a range of… Continue Reading
03.28.24
Grijalva Statement on Biden Administration Action to Finalize Endangered Species Act Rules
WASHINGTON - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on three finalized rules from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to improve critical protections for imperiled species and their habitats under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). “I applaud the Biden administration for closing the book on the most egregious pro-polluter, Trump-era regulations that undermined the End… Continue Reading
03.27.24
Grijalva Applauds Biden Administration Action to Curb Harmful Methane Waste
WASHINGTON - 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 issuance of a final rule at the Bureau of Land Management to reduce methane waste from oil and gas production on public lands and provide American taxpayers a fairer return on those resources. “With nearly a quarter of the country’s carbon pollution coming from our public lands, this rule is a much-needed step towards fighting t… Continue Reading
03.22.24
Opinion | As Big Oil’s Mess in Our Oceans Grows, Their Bonding Requirements Should Too
House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), and Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) authored a new opinion piece for The Hill on a new U.S. Government Accountability report, which found that Big Oil is neglecting their responsibilities to properly decommission their offshore oil and gas infrastructure in a timely manner. The authors recommend that the U.S. Department of the Interior implement a stronger financial assurance rule to hold Big Oi… Continue Reading