Press Releases
Chairman Grijalva Calls On Trump To End Shutdown, Asks American Public To Share Trump Shutdown Stories
Washington, D.C. - Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva today launched a new online tool for Americans to share personal stories of how ongoing government shutdown is impacting their lives. The online platform will enable people across the country to take action and share their experiences of being furloughed, forced to work without pay, turned away from visiting public lands, and how the shutdown has affected them and their communities. Grijalva called on President Trump to end the shutdown, now e… Continue Reading
01.09.19
Chairman Grijalva: Trump Withholding California Wildfire Money Shows the White House Now Only Governs by Threat
Washington, D.C. - Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva today said that President Trump's announcement on Twitter this morning that he will instruct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to withhold any wildfire recovery money from the state of California until it changes its "Forrest Management" (sic) policies is a sign that Trump knows how to govern only by threats and cannot be treated as a rational actor at this point. Trump said in the tweet, which was subsequently deleted, that Califo… Continue Reading
01.08.19
Chairman Grijalva Praises House Environmental Leaders For New Legislation to Protect Americans From the Harms of Offshore Drilling
Washington, D.C. - Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today praised a coalition of House Democrats on their newly introduced suite of bills to protect America's coastal communities from offshore drilling. The bills are being introduced on the same day that similar state-level legislative announcements took place at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time by the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators. The efforts come as the Trump administration prepares to release the Bureau of Ocean Energy Manage… Continue Reading
01.03.19
Grijalva: Shutdown Has Damaged Public Lands, Indian Country, U.S. Economy – Dem Funding Plan to End Shutdown is Best Step Forward
Washington, D.C. - Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who is expected to chair the House Natural Resources Committee during the 116th Congress, said today that President Trump's ongoing government shutdown has significantly damaged the economy and our national parks and public lands, and that he will support the package of House Democratic bills to fund the government and end the shutdown. The House is expected to vote on that package this evening. "This is not self-inflicted damage, this … Continue Reading
12.17.18
Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on Interior Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt
Deputy Secretary Bernhardt's conflicts of interest are well known. His years of lobbying on behalf of clients who stand to profit from Interior policy decisions are cause for serious concern. We intend to continue conducting vigorous oversight of how Interior political appointees arrive at major policy decisions, who they consult, who they ignore, and who stands to benefit financially. Deputy Secretary Bernhardt should be prepared to answer those questions early in the new Congress, and so shoul… Continue Reading
12.07.18
Grijalva, Udall Highlight Trump Admin Efforts to Muzzle Congress on Utah Monuments in New Denver Post Op-Ed
Washington, D.C. - In a new op-ed in the Denver Post, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) highlight the Trump administration's unusual efforts to block a congressional legal filing objecting to the 2017 destruction of Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. President Trump signed an executive order last year, supported by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, illegally eliminating monument status for major portions of both s… Continue Reading
12.06.18
Grijalva: Newly Announced Attack on Sage-Grouse Habitat Protections Especially Ironic Given Latest News on Public Lands Climate Emissions
Washington, D.C. - The Department of the Interior today released new land management plans for the greater-sage grouse that pave the way for more oil and gas development on sensitive public lands habitats. The plans significantly reduce protections for essential sage-grouse habitat across the western United States and eliminate requirements for industry to compensate for habitat loss. The move, being undertaken at the request of the oil and gas industry, undermines decades of bipartisan, collab… Continue Reading
12.03.18
In New “Watchdog” Series Installment, Committee Democrats Expose the Damage Done by Secretary Zinke’s Climate Denial
Washington, D.C. - In today's new installment of their ongoing Medium series Watchdog, Natural Resources Committee Democrats examine the real-world consequences of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's climate change denial. The article tracks Zinke's lockstep support for the timber industry as a member of Congress and examines his unwillingness to discuss climate change's implications for wildfires or other increasingly common environmental and public health hazards. The new post comes days after Ra… Continue Reading
11.30.18
Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on Secretary Zinke Tweet
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who will seek to chair the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, released the following statement on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's recent tweet. Grijalva called on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to resign this morning in a USA Today op-ed available at http://bit.ly/2SlZLz0. "The American people know who I'm here to serve, and they know in whose interests I'm acting. They don't know the same about Secretary Zinke."… Continue Reading
11.30.18
Ranking Member Grijalva Calls on Interior Secretary Zinke to Resign in New USA Today Op-Ed
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who will seek to chair the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, called on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to resign this morning. In a USA Today op-ed available at http://bit.ly/2SlZLz0, Grijalva lays out Zinke's scandals, corporate favoritism, dumbing down of science, destruction of employee morale and twisting of Interior's mission and concludes that Zinke does not offer "credible leadership" of the agencies he ove… Continue Reading
11.29.18
Ranking Member Grijalva: Opening East Coast to Oil Company Seismic Testing “Ironic a Few Days After a Huge Climate Report”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who will seek to chair the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, said today that the newly announced National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) approval of five Incidental Harassment Authorization permits to allow seismic testing in federally owned Atlantic waters is an alarming sign of administration indifference to the fate of coastal communities and marine life, including the endangered North Atlantic right whale, … Continue Reading
11.26.18
Ranking Member Grijalva: President Trump Is Hurting Americans By Ignoring Climate Change Findings From His Own Administration
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement today following President Trump's attempt to bury the Fourth Annual Climate Assessment by releasing it the day after Thanksgiving, instead of next month as was expected. "The President's attempts to cover up the real and urgent findings of the most recent Climate Assessment shows that he will do anything to stop the American people from knowing the truth about our changing climate." Grijalva sai… Continue Reading
11.16.18
Ranking Member Grijalva Requests Phone Records of Top Offshore Regulator Scott Angelle, Seeks Explanation for Lack of Transparency
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who is expected to become Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee in the 116th Congress, today sent a letter to Joe Balash, the Department of the Interior (DOI) assistant secretary for land and minerals management, requesting all calls to and from the personal cell phone number of Scott Angelle, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), that occurred from May 23, 2017, through November 12,… Continue Reading
11.15.18
Ranking Member Grijalva Opposes Republican Effort To Delist Gray Wolves, Calls on Colleagues to Reject “Sad Waste of Time”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today called on his Democratic and Republican colleagues to join him in opposing H.R.6784, a bill by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wisc.) that removes the gray wolf from the endangered species list in the lower 48 states. The bill, which has only three cosponsors, is expected to receive a House vote tomorrow morning. "This bill is a sad, insulting waste of the country's time, especially with California on fire, and even Republican leaders… Continue Reading
11.14.18
Committee Leaders Announce Series of Climate Hearings Over Two Day Period Early Next Year
Washington, D.C. - As Democrats prepare to take the House Majority in January, three Democratic Committee leaders, whose committees have jurisdiction over climate change, announced today that their committees will hold a series of hearings over a two-day period early next year to assess the effects of climate change and the need for action. The announcement was made by Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Natural Resources Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) … Continue Reading
11.02.18
Natural Resources Committee Democrats Begin New Medium Series, Watchdog, Connecting Dots on Secretary Zinke’s Ethical Failures
Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Democrats today published the first post in a new Medium series called Watchdog, which connects the dots and offers the public a clear explanation of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's multiple ethical failures. The opening post brings publicly available information up to date, including recent reports that the White House is concerned Zinke may have broken federal rules. Watchdog follows closely on Democrats' recent Wasted Resources series highlighti… Continue Reading
11.01.18
Ranking Member Grijalva: DOI Reorganization is Zinke, Bernhardt “Smashing the Department to Pieces and Telling Employees to Pick up the Mess”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on recent reports that the Trump administration's reorganization of the Interior Department is expected to be complete by July 1, 2019. "Secretary Zinke and Deputy Secretary Bernhardt are smashing the Interior Department to pieces and telling employees to pick up the mess. The organizational plan described here is unworkable for a number of reasons and demands oversight that Republicans on this … Continue Reading
10.31.18
New Democratic Report Details Industry Influence Over Natural Resources Committee Republicans Throughout 115th Congress
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and the minority staff of the House Natural Resources Committee released a new report this morning, Unmasked: How The House Natural Resources Committee Tricks Taxpayers and Treats Industry, detailing Committee Republicans' campaign to stack full Committee and subcommittee hearings with industry interests in the 115th Congress. The report shows the many ways in which industry perspectives have heavily skewed the Committee's polic… Continue Reading
10.22.18
Forty-Four House Democrats Push BLM to Rescind Illegal Anti-Transparency Directive on Federal Oil and Gas Leasing, Postpone December Lease Sales
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter with 43 House Democratic colleagues to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Deputy Director Brian Steed today urging him to rescind a policy memorandum on oil and gas leasing that a federal judge has already partially enjoined. The lawmakers also ask Steed to delay lease sales planned for December that impermissibly limit public input based on the controversial memo's language. The full letter is available at http://bi… Continue Reading
10.19.18
Ranking Member Grijalva Pushes for Answers On Interior Dept. Weakening of Public Access to Endangered Species Records
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter today to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke seeking information about new guidance issued to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) employees restricting information released through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests specific to the Endangered Species Act. The full letter is available at http://bit.ly/2R1lEmj. Grijalva raises concerns that an internal document, as recently reported by The Guardian, recommended … Continue Reading