Press Releases
Chairs Grijalva, Cummings Lead Letter to Acting Secretary Bernhardt Pressing for More Information on New FOIA Policies, Lack of Public Responsiveness
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Chair Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform today sent a letter to Acting Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt pressing him for information on recently announced changes to the Department of the Interior's (DOI) handling of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The letter, available at http://bit.ly/2UBvH3I, is also signed by Rep. TJ Cox (D-Cal… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Chairs Grijalva, Neal, Engel Lead Team of House Lawmakers Pushing Trump Officials to Answer Questions, Take Action on New Japanese Whaling Efforts
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.); Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), who chairs the House Committee on Ways and Means; and Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), who chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, sent a letter today with a team of House Democratic lawmakers to four Trump administration officials expressing “alarm and deep concern” about Japan’s recent announcement that it will withdraw from the International Whaling Commission and the International Convention for the Regulation… Continue Reading
03.11.19
Chair Grijalva, Subcommittee Chair Lowenthal Request BLM Oil and Gas Enforcement Data, Release New GAO Report on BLM Enforcement Deficiencies
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Alan S. Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Chair of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, sent a letter today to Acting Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt requesting information on the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) safety and environmental enforcement efforts. Alongside the letter, Grijalva and Lowenthal released a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report finding that BLM has failed to complete internal contro… Continue Reading
03.11.19
Chair Grijalva on Trump Budget Cuts: Republicans Cut Taxes for the Super-Rich and Then Claim We Don’t Have Enough Money to Protect the Environment
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on today's "skinny budget" released by the Trump administration. The plan proposes a roughly 14 percent cut for the Department of the Interior without providing specifics on how those cuts would be implemented. "This budget is the Republican approach to governing in a nutshell: cut taxes for the super-rich and then, when it's time to fund national priorities, lecture us about tightening our belts. If you… Continue Reading
03.08.19
Chair Grijalva Invites Island Residents to Register for March 15 Public Listening Session With Members of Congress in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) is inviting island residents to participate in a March 15 public listening session in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Doors open at 4:45 p.m. local time. The session is being held at Roberto Clemente Coliseum on Av. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The event is part of the Committee's delegation visit to Puerto Rico - first announced yesterday - to learn more about the impacts of austerity and failed hurricane recovery. As Chair Grijalva says in a vid… Continue Reading
03.08.19
Chair Grijalva Questions Army Corps Headquarters Decision to Issue Final Permit for Rosemont Mine in So. Arizona, Vows More Oversight
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today questioned the Army Corp of Engineers headquarters decision to grant a final permit to the Rosemont Mine, which is expected to damage water resources and wildlife in Southern Arizona. The proposed Rosemont Mine, a project outside Tucson, Ariz., being promoted by Hudbay Minerals Inc., is within the Cienega Creek watershed, home to the endangered Chiricahua leopard frog and other sensitive species. Grijalva for years has highlight… Continue Reading
03.06.19
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Democrats Demand Answers From Trump Administration Officials on Offshore Drilling
Washington, D.C. - Today, Natural Resources Committee Democrats held an Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee hearing to examine the drilling policies and practices of the Trump administration. Subcommittee Chair Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) and committee Democrats pressed Trump administration witnesses from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) for answers on President Trump's irresponsible offshore drilling plan that puts communit… Continue Reading
03.06.19
Chair Grijalva, Subcommittee Chair Lowenthal Renew Request for Offshore Oil Regulator’s Phone Records
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), chair of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, today sent a letter to Acting Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt requesting phone records for Scott Angelle, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. The request comes shortly before the Committee convenes a hearing at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time today on offshore drilling issues at which Angelle declined to testify. T… Continue Reading
03.06.19
LIVESTREAM LINKS: Today’s Hearing on Offshore Drilling Regulations, Thursday Hearing on Risks to Right Whales Are Available to Watch Live Online
Washington, D.C. - Livestream links are now available for today's hearing at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time and Thursday's hearing at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. Energy and Mineral Resources Today's hearing at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time in the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee will - as previously announced - examine the Trump administration's offshore drilling policies and whether agency decisions sufficiently protect our environment. The event will be livestreamed and archived at http://bit.ly/2XD… Continue Reading
03.06.19
Chair Grijalva Releases “The Sporting Digest,” a New Series Devoted to News for Outdoor Enthusiasts and Conservation Policy Watchers
Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released a new Medium series today titled The Sporting Digest. The first installment investigates how S.47, commonly known as the "public lands package," impacts sporting, outdoor recreation, and our economy. The bill, which the House recently passed in a historic vote, includes permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), among many other major conservation priorities, and will be… Continue Reading
03.05.19
In New Letter, Chair Grijalva Rejects Ranking Member Bishop Claim That Climate Change is Outside Committee Jurisdiction – And Promises More Hearings
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today comprehensively rejected Ranking Member Rob Bishop's (R-Utah) complaints that climate change is outside the Committee's jurisdiction, writing in a new letter that hearings on the issue will continue. Grijalva notes that while Bishop seems to believe the Committee cannot and should not examine climate change - holding no related hearings during his four-year chairmanship - Grijalva disagrees and will lead the Committee accordingly. … Continue Reading
03.01.19
Chair Grijalva, Chairs McCollum and Lowenthal Demand Answers on Trump Administration Advancing Mining Near Boundary Waters Wilderness
Washington, D.C. - In a new letter sent today, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the Chair of the Committee on Natural Resources; Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), the Chair of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources; and Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), the Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, ask Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to explain unusual actions their respective agencies too… Continue Reading
02.28.19
Committee Chairs Question Rationale for Proposed NSC Climate Change Panel
Washington, DC - Today, four House Committee Chairs sent a letter to President Trump expressing concerns and raising questions about recent reports that the National Security Council (NSC) plans to assemble a secret panel to counter the scientific consensus on climate change and question its impacts on the national security of the United States. The letter was sent by Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA), Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Natural Resources Chairman Ra… Continue Reading
02.28.19
Chair Grijalva, Rep. Kirkpatrick Signal Serious Concern That Army Corps of Engineers is About to Issue Widely Opposed Mining Permit in South Arizona
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.) today released the following statement on the pending Army Corps of Engineers permit for the Rosemont Mine, which is awaiting federal clearance to operate in Kirkpatrick's district in Southern Arizona. Both lawmakers just concluded a briefing with the Army Corps, which is set to issue the last remaining permit for the mine. "We requested today's meeting to ask for additional information on why the Corp… Continue Reading
02.26.19
Chair Grijalva Cheers Passage of Historic Public Lands Package That Protects Our Environment, Boosts Our Economy and Conserves American History
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today cheered passage of the historic Natural Resources Management Act, a bipartisan conservation and public lands package that includes permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and designates approximately 1.3 million acres of wilderness, 693,000 acres of recreation and conservation areas, and two mineral withdrawal areas totaling 370,000 acres, protecting nearly 2.4 million acres of public lands in total… Continue Reading
02.26.19
Chair Grijalva Formally Introduces Bill to Protect Grand Canyon Area From New Mining Claims – Effort Enjoys Extraordinary Grassroots, Tribal Support
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today formally introduced the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, which protects an area of approximately 1 million acres north and south of Grand Canyon National Park from new mineral extraction activities. Today's introduction falls on the hundredth anniversary of the establishment of Grand Canyon National Park and follows last Saturday's press conference at the Grand Canyon, which featured speakers from grassroots and Native Ameri… Continue Reading
02.19.19
Chair Grijalva Will Announce Push for Permanent Grand Canyon-Area Mining Moratorium at South Rim Press Conference This Saturday
Tucson, Ariz. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) will announce a legislative push for a permanent moratorium on new mining claims near the Grand Canyon at a press conference this Saturday at Mather Point Amphitheater, located just east of Mather Point at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Grijalva will unveil the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, which he will formally introduce on Feb. 26, the one-hundred-year anniversary of the park's establishment. In 2012, then-Interi… Continue Reading
02.15.19
Natural Resources Committee Hosts Forum on African-American Cultural Heritage and Environmental Justice
In honor of Black History Month, the Natural Resources Committee hosted a forum led by Congressman A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) to openly discuss the countless contributions the African-American community has made to the environmental and conservation movements. The Members of Congress and panelists discussed the important roles the African-American community plays in protecting our natural and cultural resources, including preserving historical sites, combatting climate change, supporting renewab… Continue Reading
02.14.19
Grijalva, Cummings and Speier Express Concern with Forest Service’s Failure to Address Sexual Harassment
Washington, D.C. (Feb. 14, 2019)-Today, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, the Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources; Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform; and Rep. Jackie Speier, the Chairwoman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, issued the following statement in response to a new report from the Department of Agriculture Inspector General identifying numerous failures by management in U.S. Forest Service Region 5. The report i… Continue Reading
02.13.19
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: At Hearing Today, Natural Resources Committee Assesses Climate Change Risks to Public Lands and Treasured Sites
Washington D.C. - Today the Natural Resources Committee continued its historic series on climate change impacts across the country with a hearing in the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest and Public lands - led by Chair Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) - on Climate Change and Public Lands: Examining Impacts and Considering Adaptation Opportunities. Expert witnesses suggested our public lands, national parks, and historic sites face a grim future without more aggressive action to combat climate change. … Continue Reading