Press Releases
Chair Grijalva Pushes for Clarity on Federal Coronavirus Response in Indian Country – Asks for Documentation of Testing Equipment at Tribal Centers
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today sent a letter to Rear Admiral Michael Weahkee, principal deputy director for Indian Health Services (IHS), citing a number of concerns about the pace and scope of the Trump administration's response to the spread of coronavirus in Indian Country and at urban Indian health centers. Grijalva's letter, available at http://bit.ly/2IWbxxp, asks for documentation of the availability of intensive care unit beds, ventilators and other resp… Continue Reading
03.10.20
Ahead of Thursday Hearing, Chair Grijalva Speaking at Wednesday Capitol Hill Rally on Ariz. Mining Project That Threatens Native American Sacred Site
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) will speak at approximately 2:15 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, March 11, at the Save Oak Flat rally on the southeast lawn of the U.S. Capitol, across the street from the Cannon House Office Building. The event will feature Native American tribal leaders, advocates and lawmakers united in opposition to the proposed Resolution Copper mining project east of Phoenix, which would destroy the Chí'chil Bi?dagoteel (Oak Flat) Historic D… Continue Reading
03.09.20
Natural Resources Committee Threatens Subpoena if Seven-Day Deadline for Interior Department Document Production is Unmet – New Letter Sets Timeline
Washington, D.C. - In a new letter to Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt today, Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) says the Natural Resources Committee will begin issuing subpoenas unless the Interior Department hands over a variety of documents the Committee has requested - some for more than a year - as part of its legislative and oversight responsibilities. The letter caps the Committee's longstanding effort to learn more about a series of scandals and reports of mismanagement thr… Continue Reading
03.06.20
GAO Contradicts Trump Admin on Forced BLM Move – Finds Interior Officials Failed to Follow Basic Practices, Resulting in Damaging Staff Attrition
Washington, D.C. - The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released a highly anticipated report finding that the Trump administration's attempt to move Washington, D.C.-based Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employees to Grand Junction, Colo., and elsewhere across the West failed to follow a number of widely accepted best practices for agency reform and has already resulted in a damaging level of staff attrition. Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said the findings confirm widesprea… Continue Reading
03.02.20
Hearing This Wednesday Will Focus on Interior Department Budget Request, Severe Costs of Admin Attacks on Agency Missions and Professional Staff
Washington, D.C. – The House Natural Resources Committee is holding a hearing at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, March 4, examining the Interior Department’s budget request for fiscal year 2021 and assess the impacts of the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on agency missions and career staff morale. The administration witness will be Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget Susan Combs. The hearing comes shortly after the Trump administratio… Continue Reading
03.02.20
Democrats Holding March 19 Field Hearing in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Public Health, Environmental Impacts of Expanded Oil and Gas Drilling
Washington, D.C. - The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a field hearing in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Thursday, March 19, to explore the environmental and public health impacts of oil and gas development, and how the Trump administration's efforts to open new drilling in California have impacted local communities. The hearing is at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time at the headquarters of Direct Relief at 6100 Wallace Becknell Rd. Speakers will include Reps. Salud Carbajal, Alan Lowenthal and Ja… Continue Reading
03.02.20
Grijalva Says “Maintaining Status Quo Isn’t Enough” as Center for American Progress Releases Report on House Dem Conservation Successes
Washington D.C. - The Center for American Progress (CAP) released a new report today highlighting the efforts of House Democrats "to reverse a decade of legislative obstruction and stagnation in U.S. land, water, and wildlife conservation." The report contrasts the actions taken by the Democratic majority in the 116th Congress with the efforts by Republicans in previous Congresses, underscoring the many ways in which Democrats prioritize natural resource conservation for the benefit of the Ameri… Continue Reading
02.27.20
Following Year-Long Collaborative Effort, Chair Grijalva and Rep. McEachin Introduce Landmark Environmental Justice Legislation
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) introduced their landmark Environmental Justice for All Act at a press conference today on Capitol Hill. The event marked the culmination of a yearlong process with advocates and stakeholders in which Members of Congress met with and gathered feedback from the public and the environmental justice community to craft the legislation. “Justice and equity must be at the center of environmental and conservation p… Continue Reading
02.26.20
As Blasting Continues, Dems Highlight Cultural Destruction of Trump’s Racist Border Wall – Republicans, Trump Admin Dismiss Lack of Tribal Consultation
Washington, D.C. - Democrats at today's hearing of the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States highlighted the environmental, cultural and historical damage the Trump administration's racist border wall has done to Native American communities, questioning the administration's repeated and seemingly intentional failures to consult with tribal leaders before destroying sacred sites or bulldozing sensitive areas for wall construction. The hearing took place just hours after U.S Cus… Continue Reading
02.26.20
Dems Push Big Climate Solutions as Republicans Repeat Tired, Years-Old Climate Denial Talking Points After Weeks of Touting New Thinking
Washington, D.C. - Republicans at today's recently concluded hearing on the ways to address climate change with public lands repeated the same years-old climate denial talking points they've used to reject action in previous congresses, calling their recent attempted pivot on the issue into question and underscoring Republican leadership's inability to produce serious plans that rank-and-file members support. The hearing - on Chair Raúl M. Grijalva's (D-Ariz.) American Public Lands and W… Continue Reading
02.26.20
Chair Grijalva Cheers House Passage of Bipartisan Bills To Establish First Outdoor Women’s Suffrage Monument, Promote Conservation
Washington D.C. - Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed seven bipartisan Natural Resources Bills under suspension of the rules, including Rep. Joe Neguse's (D-Colo.) bill to establish the first outdoor monument honoring the women's suffrage movement in Washington, D.C. "I'm proud of the work that members on and off our Committee are doing to preserve the environment, history, and culture of our nation," said Chair Grijalva. "The bipartisan pieces of legislation the House passed today r… Continue Reading
02.14.20
Nat. Resources Committee Holding Feb. 26 Hearing on Chair Grijalva’s Public Lands and Waters Climate Change Bill, Rep. Westerman’s “Trillion Trees Act
Washington, D.C. - The Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on Feb. 26 at 10:00 a.m. in Longworth 1324 on two bills introduced by Committee members designed to address climate change. H.R. 5435, the American Public Lands and Waters Climate Solution Act, was introduced on Dec. 16, 2019, by Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.). It requires public lands and waters to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. H.R. 5859, the Trillion Trees Act, was introduced on Feb. 12, … Continue Reading
02.12.20
Chair Grijalva Highlights House Passage of Conservation Bill Protecting More Than 1.3 Million Acres of New Wilderness as Latest Democratic Measure to Prevent Climate Change
Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today hailed House passage of the Protecting America's Wilderness Act (H.R. 2546), which combines six previously separate bills that together recognize more than 1.3 million acres of wilderness across the West and protect more than 1,000 river miles under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The package, which passed by a 231-183 vote, will help prevent climate change by improving land management and by limiting … Continue Reading
02.12.20
Natural Resources Committee Approves Resolution Authorizing Chair to Issue Subpoenas, Bills to Increase Access to Clean Water
Washington D.C. - The House Natural Resources Committee today voted to grant Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) the authority to issue subpoenas, and approved several water and energy bills. "This Committee, regardless of who is in power, cannot be an inconvenience to whatever administration happens to be in power," Chair Grijalva said. "And we have never confronted an administration like the Trump administration that sees the role of this branch of government as irrelevant and inconvenien… Continue Reading
02.07.20
Chair Grijalva Votes for Emergency Puerto Rico Earthquake Funding, Criticizes President Trump for Failing the People of Puerto Rico
Washington D.C. - Today Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) spoke on the House floor in favor of H.R. 5687, which provides $4.67 billion in emergency funding to Puerto Rico following 12 earthquakes of greater than 5.0 magnitude that have destroyed homes and infrastructure, led to major rockslides, and caused at least one fatality on the island. The bill provides funds to invest in community development, restart school operations, fund technical assistance related … Continue Reading
02.06.20
Chair Grijalva Blasts Interior’s Latest Efforts to Shrink Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments to Favor Extractive Industries
Washington D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today released the following statement blasting President Trump's Department of the Interior final management plans for the reduced Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. Trump's action today is a continuation of his illegal 2016 decision to shrink both monuments by approximately two million acres. "President Trump's campaign to dismantle our national monume… Continue Reading
02.05.20
Committee Markup on Subpoena Authority Rescheduled to Feb. 12 Due to National Prayer Breakfast
Washington, D.C. - The Committee on Natural Resources markup previously scheduled for Feb. 6, where the Committee was set to vote on granting Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) subpoena authority, has been moved to the morning of Feb. 12 due to the National Prayer Breakfast. Natural Resources is one of only a few committees in the House not to grant the chair such authority automatically at the beginning of each Congress. The Committee held a hearing in September 2019 specifically on the T… Continue Reading
02.04.20
New Report Details Damage Caused by Earthquakes in Puerto Rico, Actions Needed to Help Island Recover
Washington D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva released a new report today based on firsthand Committee staff reviews of recent earthquake damage in Puerto Rico. The report provides lessons learned during a Committee research trip in January and suggests a series of actions to speed recovery for the people of Puerto Rico. The full report is available online at http://bit.ly/2SmDpig. Since Dec. 28, 2019, Puerto Rico has experienced a series of seismic events, inclu… Continue Reading
02.03.20
Committee Holding Markup This Thursday to Vote on Chair Grijalva’s Authority to Issue Subpoenas
Washington, D.C. - The Committee on Natural Resources will hold a markup at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday, Feb. 6, on a resolution to grant Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) the authority to issue subpoenas. Natural Resources is one of only a few committees in the House not to grant the chair such authority automatically at the beginning of each Congress. Chair Grijalva and Democrats on the Committee have sent 25 formal requests to the Department of the Interior for information. Onl… Continue Reading
01.29.20
Natural Resources Committee Advances Bills Tackling Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss by Protecting Endangered Species and Habitats
Washington D.C. - Today Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) led a Committee markup to advance nine pieces of legislation, including key Natural Resources measures to reverse President Trump's efforts to gut the Endangered Species Act and to reduce climate change impacts on at-risk species. Among the measures advanced today, the Committee approved H.R. 4348, Chair Grijalva's bill repealing the misguided Endangered Species Act regulations the Trump administration issued last year. Under Trump… Continue Reading