Press Releases
Grijalva: Ironic That Zinke Now Spends Public Money to Boost Trophy Hunting While His Wife’s Client Broke Hunting Permit Laws
Washington, D.C. - In the wake of today's news that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is forming a new federal advisory committee to promote trophy hunting overseas, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said that Zinke should drop the project and focus on overseeing hunting regulations here in the United States - including the permitting laws his wife's political client, Troy Downing, stands accused of violating in Zinke's home state of Montana. Grijalva and the staff of the Natural Res… Continue Reading
11.08.17
Grijalva: Today’s Republican Oil and Gas Giveaway Same as the Last One – And They’re Not Even Trying to Justify It
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said ahead of today's 10:00 a.m. markup of H.R. 4239, the latest in a never-ending string of Republican oil and gas deregulation efforts, that the entire premise of the bill has already been debunked and Republicans are only proceeding because they have no other ideas. "This bill has all the signs of mental exhaustion," Grijalva said. "It's the same polluter industry wish list they've presented for years dressed up in yesterday… Continue Reading
11.06.17
Ahead of Tuesday’s Puerto Rico Hearing, Grijalva Asks GOP to Seriously Address Human Suffering Before Pushing Deregulation
Washington, D.C. - Ahead of Tuesday's hearing on the reconstruction of Puerto Rico and the response to Hurricane Maria, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) urged Republicans in Washington to make reducing human suffering on the island their first priority rather than large-scale deregulation schemes and sweeping privatization efforts. "The people of Puerto Rico have been asking for more than a month now why the lights are still off and the water is too dirty to drink," Grijalva sai… Continue Reading
11.03.17
Grijalva Pushes for Answers, Committee Hearing As Forest Service Suggests New Uranium Mining Near Grand Canyon
Washington, D.C. - In a letter to Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) today, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) repeated his previously ignored request for a hearing on his bill - H.R. 360 - to create the Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument, an effort that has new resonance in the wake of a U.S. Forest Service report to the president opening the door to new uranium mining near the Grand Canyon. Grijalva first requested a hearing on the bill in January, which Chairman Bishop ig… Continue Reading
11.02.17
Grijalva Rejects Clovis Excuse for USDA Withdrawal, Calls on Senate to Show Independence and Respect for Government
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement today on the news that science and climate change denier Sam Clovis withdrew his name from consideration to be the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientist due to his involvement in the Trump campaign's Russia investigation. "Everyone knows Mr. Clovis withdrew because he's up to his neck in the Trump-Russia scandal, not because of the 'political climate in Washington.' President Trump ne… Continue Reading
11.02.17
Natural Resources Dems to Trump: Ocean Monuments Report Belongs to the American People
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and 19 House Democrats sent a letter to President Trump today urging him to release the Department of Commerce report sent to the White House last week on Secretary Wilbur Ross' review of 11 National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments. Secretary Ross promised to consider the 100,000 public comments the Department received, but has failed to inform the American people of his plans. In the interest of bipartisanship… Continue Reading
11.02.17
Democrats Ask Commerce Secretary Ross about Marine Monuments Report
Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and 19 House Democrats sent a letter to President Trump today urging him to release the Department of Commerce report sent to the White House last week on Secretary Wilbur Ross' review of 11 National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments.… Continue Reading
11.01.17
Ranking Member Grijalva on Trump Potentially Opening Grand Canyon to Uranium Mining: “No Boundaries to His Spite”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's recently published report to President Trump, which recommends - among other measures - rescinding the 20-year uranium mining moratorium around the Grand Canyon. "President Trump wants to turn one of the world's greatest natural wonders into a strip mine. There are no boundaries to his need to spite President Obama's legacy and everyone he perceives as his… Continue Reading
11.01.17
Grijalva: GOP Forest Fire “Management” Bill Just Sacrifices Trees to Logging Companies, Doesn’t Solve Fire Funding Problems
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today questioned House Republicans' expected passage this evening of H.R. 2936 - Rep. Bruce Westerman's (R-Ark.) "Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017" - given its failure to address the structural funding problems that cripple the U.S. Forest Service. Just as seriously, he pointed out, the bill undermines the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to elevate logging over all other uses, i… Continue Reading
10.27.17
Grijalva Criticizes the Return of “Sight-Unseen” Leasing Policies
Washington, D.C. - The Department of the Interior (DOI) released a report today that stated it will repeal the 2010 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) onshore oil and gas leasing reforms and stop developing Master Leasing Plans. Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva condemned the release of the Final Report: Review of the Department of the Interior Actions that Potentially Burden Domestic Energy, and points out that Leasing reforms and Master Leasing Plans are necessary to guarantee a safe land ma… Continue Reading
10.27.17
Grijalva: Trump Trying to Shrink Utah National Monuments is Illegal and Unpopular – and Republicans Admit It
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on today's news that President Trump will sign an order next week unilaterally attempting to shrink Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Bears Ears National Monument. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah), who has pressured President Trump for months to shrink both sites, recently introduced a bill that creates presidential authority to shrink or eliminate monuments - an admission that n… Continue Reading
10.27.17
Top Democrats Demand IG Investigation into Whitefish Energy No-Bid Contract in Puerto Rico
Washington, D.C.-Today Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Natural Resources Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Inspector General (IG) John Roth requesting a comprehensive audit and investigation of a $300 million no-bid contract between the Puerto Rico Electric Power Association (PREPA) and Whitefish Energy Holdings, LLC. "At the time PREPA … Continue Reading
10.26.17
Committee Dems Respond to Report that Threatens Fishermen, Declares Open Season on Marine Mammals and Endangered Species
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Committee Democrats today slammed a new Department of Commerce report issued under Executive Order 13783, which recommends unsupportable and dangerous changes to the way we manage our oceans. Among other moves, the report calls for weakening already inadequate consultation requirements for Essential Fish Habitat under the Magnuson-Stevens Act; requiring expensive and time-consuming cost-benefit analyses that would bias feder… Continue Reading
10.26.17
Grijalva and Pingree: Commerce, Justice Departments Must Take Stronger Enforcement Actions against ‘Codfather’ to Deter Pirate Fishing
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) sent a letter today to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Department of Justice (DOJ) Attorney General Jeff Sessions, urging them to penalize Carlos Rafael - the notorious 'Codfather' of New Bedford, Mass. - for violations of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). While Rafael pled guilty and was sentenced for violations of the Lacey Act, he has not been… Continue Reading
10.24.17
Ahead of Sage-Grouse Hearing Even Republicans Don’t Want, Grijalva Highlights Lack of Military or Local Demand for “Reform”
Washington, D.C. - Ahead of Wednesday's hearing on the Republican effort to tear up the multi-state conservation plan for greater sage-grouse habitat - a negotiated product meant to forestall the bird's listing through the Endangered Species Act - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) questioned in whose interests Republicans are acting, given the lack of demand from the military branches they claim to be helping or from Western states that support the conservation plan. John Tubbs, … Continue Reading
10.24.17
Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on Whitefish Contract and Reconstruction Efforts in Puerto Rico
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement today on the widely reported reconstruction contract awarded to Whitefish Energy Holdings, a small company based in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's home town of Whitefish, Mont. "Congress needs to understand why the Whitefish contract was awarded and whether other, more cost-effective options were available. We also need to know why the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Army Corp of Engin… Continue Reading
10.24.17
Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on Committee Democrats’ Meeting With Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement today on Committee Democrats' meeting this afternoon with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. "It's not clear to me why this meeting needed to be shrouded in secrecy. The Interior Department under this administration has been characterized by a troubling lack of transparency and a strange tendency to treat the Interior Department like it's the Pentagon. Democrats wanted to talk about things like Secr… Continue Reading
10.24.17
Grijalva Condemns Trump Administration Plan to Hike Entrance Fees at 17 National Parks After Proposing Massive Cuts to NPS Budget
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) criticized today's National Park Service announcement regarding increased entrance fees at seventeen highly-visited parks. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke claims the fee hikes are necessary to address the deferred maintenance backlog, but Grijalva points out that the Trump administration's FY2018 budget proposed a 12.9% cut to NPS funding. If the Trump administration is serious about updating park… Continue Reading
10.24.17
Countering Administration Silence, Lowenthal-Grijalva Bill Mandates Disclosure on Industry Hoarding of Unused Permits to Drill
Washington, D.C. - In response to the recent announcement that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will no longer publish its longstanding annual report on the number of approved but unused oil and gas drilling permits on public land - a key indicator that contradicts industry claims of being unable to get permits in a timely manner - Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) introduced a bill today requiring the Interior Secretary to continue submitting unused permit data to Congress each year and to limi… Continue Reading
10.19.17
Gulf of Mexico: Ranking Member Grijalva Asks GAO to Investigate Trump Administration’s Latest Taxpayer Rip-off
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today requested a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation of how much public revenue may have been lost due to changes in the way the Interior Department (DOI) leases parcels for oil extraction in the Gulf of Mexico. The request comes shortly after DOI increased the size and frequency of its lease sales as part of the 2017-2022 oil and gas leasing program. GAO found in 1985 that DOI's move from a parcel nomination … Continue Reading