Press Releases
Ranking Member Grijalva Calls for Accounting of Unallocated Research Money, Explanation of Canceled Coal Study in Letter to Zinke
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today called on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to explain the fate of approximately $400,000 in funding for a recently canceled study on the public health impacts of mountaintop removal mining, a destructive coal extraction process known to harm residents of Appalachian states. Grijalva points out in today's letter, available at http://bit.ly/2gMuZ1C, that Trump administration officials have repeatedly refused to answer his and h… Continue Reading
10.13.17
Grijalva, McEachin: Fixing National Park Service Sexual Harassment Means Changing the Culture – and Congress Needs to Step Up
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Donald McEachin - the ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee who requested a congressional hearing on sexual harassment at the National Park Service (NPS) in June - released the following statement on today's NPS survey in which 38 percent of employees report experiencing some form of sexual harassment. "Dumping this news on a Friday afternoon, without any clear next steps, suggests this admini… Continue Reading
10.12.17
Six Dem Ranking Members to GOP Leaders: Allow Our Committees to Consider Border Wall Bill, Don’t Jam it Through the House
Washington, D.C. - The ranking members of six House committees today sent a letter to their Republican counterparts and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan urging them to allow H.R. 3548 - the Republican bill authorizing the costly, destructive expansion of the border wall - to be considered for amendment in each of their respective committees before the bill goes to the full House for consideration. Moving the bill through each committee with jurisdiction, the authors note, would be the only way to … Continue Reading
10.11.17
Democrats Force Committee Markup on Secretary Zinke’s Secret National Monument Review Process
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and 30 House Democrats have set the agenda for today's 4:00 p.m. ET markup by forcing Committee Republicans to consider Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's "review" of our national monuments. Secretary Zinke's lack of transparency in the monument review process moved Democrats to introduce a House resolution (H.Res. 555) last week - a tactic used by the Minority to demand information from the Trump administration - to obtain the fin… Continue Reading
10.11.17
Grijalva: Secretary Zinke Shouldn’t Pass Off His Support for Confederate Monuments as Deference to Native American Public Opinion
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's recent comment that he supports keeping up statues to prominent Confederate political and military figures because taking them down would upset "native Indians." "If Secretary Zinke thinks monuments to slave-owning Confederate generals are important to Native American culture, he's just as out of touch as the president. Books, museums and oral histories educate… Continue Reading
10.10.17
Grijalva: Deepwater Horizon Showed Why We Need Strong Offshore Drilling Enforcement – GOP Shouldn’t Weaken It Now
Washington, D.C. - Ahead of tomorrow's 2:00 p.m. Eastern hearing on a Republican proposal to study recombining the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), among other measures, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) highlighted the long track record of mishaps, ethical lapses, and lack of enforcement that led to the agencies' split in 2010 and the continued need for an agency dedicated to a clear safety mission. Recombining BO… Continue Reading
10.04.17
Ranking Member Grijalva and 25 House Democrats Demand Details on Secretary Zinke’s Monument Review Process
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and 25 House Democratic cosponsors are using a House resolution (H.Res. 555) to force the Trump administration to be more transparent about its review of national monuments. The Democrats introduced the resolution of inquiry (ROI) today, a House resolution that requires the administration to provide Congress a final version of the secret monuments report and all supporting documents related to the executive order President Trump… Continue Reading
10.03.17
Grijalva, Conservation Leaders Call on GOP to Drop “Obsessive” Attacks on Endangered Species Act Ahead of Wednesday Markup
Washington, D.C. - Ahead of a Wednesday markup at 10:00 a.m. featuring five bad bills weakening the Endangered Species Act (ESA), among other measures under consideration, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and national conservation leaders called on Republicans to drop their constant attacks on the law and attend to more pressing business, including the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Puerto Rico and the need to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Despite now having… Continue Reading
10.03.17
Ranking Member Grijalva Introduces a Bill that Permanently Protects the Grizzly Bear & Honors Tribal Sovereignty Agreements
Washington, D.C. - To respond to the Department of the Interior's controversial decision to remove endangered species protections for grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) introduced the Tribal Heritage and Grizzly Bear Protection Act (H.R. 3894) at a press conference today surrounded by Tribal leaders and environmentalists. This bill would ensure that grizzly bears are permanently protected for their ecological and cultural value an… Continue Reading
09.29.17
Grijalva: Zinke Proves This Administration Preaches Service Cuts for Taxpayers While They Blow Your Money on Easy Living
Washington, D.C. - In response to the recent Washington Post story revealing that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and his staff chartered a flight from Las Vegas to Zinke's home state of Montana on a private plane owned by oil and gas executives, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) pointed out that the Trump administration preaches service cuts to the American people while it blows hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money on high-end travel.… Continue Reading
09.29.17
Natural Resources Committee Dems Ask for an Oversight Hearing on the Trump Administration’s Puerto Rico & USVI Relief Efforts
Washington, D.C. - To help ensure our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) are receiving urgent hurricane recovery and relief support, House Natural Resources Committee Democrats sent a letter to Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) late yesterday requesting an oversight hearing on the Trump administration's efforts to address this growing crisis. The letter, led by Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs Subcommittee Ranking Member Norma Torres (D-Calif.) and Ranking Me… Continue Reading
09.27.17
Grijalva: Republican Demands to Waive Environmental Standards in Puerto Rico as Response to Hurricane Lack Any Credibility
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on today's news that Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) quickly urged waiving the National Environmental Policy Act as a response to the hurricane damage and humanitarian needs in Puerto Rico. As E&E News reported this morning, Bishop is pushing to waive the law to "speed up the recovery" on the island. "Our response to human suffering has to be about food, shelter and water first, not deregulatio… Continue Reading
09.26.17
Democrats Reject Bishop’s Imminent Attempt to Politicize Tribal Recognition Process, Point to Effort’s Unpopularity With Tribes
Washington, D.C. - At today's 2:00 p.m. hearing in the Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs Subcommittee, Natural Resources Committee Democrats will reject Chairman Rob Bishop's (R-Utah) latest legislative attempt to politicize the federal process for recognizing Native American tribes and underscore the effort's long-term failure to gain traction in the tribal community. Bishop's H.R. 3744, the "Tribal Recognition Act of 2017," is an intentionally mislabeled bill that would make Congress t… Continue Reading
09.26.17
Grijalva Responds to Secretary Zinke’s Claims that 30 Percent of DOI Employees are “Not Loyal to the Flag”
Washington, D.C. - The Associated Press reported late yesterday that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke spoke to an oil industry group and stated that nearly one-third of employees at his department are not loyal to him and President Donald Trump. He continued by stating that he "got 30 percent of the crew that's not loyal to the flag." Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) responded to Secretary Zinke's comments this morning: "Secretary Zinke should clarify his comments and apologize to … Continue Reading
09.26.17
Grijalva & Huffman Ask for Bipartisan Cooperation to Reauthorize Critical Fisheries Management Law
Washington, D.C. - At today's 10:00 a.m. fisheries management hearing on the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) - a bipartisan law that aims to foster long-term biological and economic sustainability of our nation's marine fisheries - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Water, Power and Oceans Subcommittee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) highlight the need for bipartisan cooperation to reauthorize the law and make updates to improve fisheries … Continue Reading
09.21.17
Grijalva: Trump Administration Has Just Days to Ensure Justice for New England Fishermen in Historic Illegal Fishing Case
Washington, D.C. - Just ahead of a closely watched sentencing hearing for Carlos Rafael, the leader of a notorious illegal fishing operation that has badly damaged the New England fishing economy, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent two letters today - one to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and the other to Department of Commerce Inspector General Peggy Gustafson - urging renewed attention to his case and an investigation of whether federal … Continue Reading
09.15.17
Interior Department Units Impacted by Hurricane Irma
PUERTO RICO/VIRGIN ISLANDS Agency Unit Cost FWS Green Cay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) FWS Sandy Point NWR FWS Vieques NWR (PR) FWS Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative FWS Caribbean (Boqueron) ES Field Office FWS Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program (Rio Grande) ES Field Office FWS Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program (Maricao) ES Field Office FWS Culebra NWR NPS San Juan National … Continue Reading
09.13.17
Democrats Speak Out Against Sham Markup of Gun Deregulation Measure Disguised as “Sportsmen’s Bill”
Note: The quotes attributed to Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) were added online after the initial version of this release was publicized. Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Democratic members of the House Natural Resources Committee joined in condemnation of today's just-concluded markup of a bill that weakens public safety, unnecessarily deregulates gun silencers and makes it harder for federal authorities to regulate arm… Continue Reading
09.12.17
Ranking Member Grijalva: This Week’s Bills Are a Sign That Republicans Will Sacrifice Sportsmen to the National Rifle Association
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today said that the slate of Republican bills set to receive votes on Wednesday are a sign that Republicans will do any amount of damage to public safety, to sportsmen and to the outdoors to keep the National Rifle Association (NRA) happy. Today's hearing on the notorious SHARE Act - nominally a bill to advance sportsmen's outdoor policy priorities that has become a laundry list of NRA demands - is the first of the week's many … Continue Reading
09.06.17
Ranking Member Grijalva, Rep. Lowenthal Blast Unbalanced Royalty Committee Membership Dominated by Fossil Fuel Interests
Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Alan S. Lowenthal (D-Calif.) today sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke decrying his appointment of a partisan, industry-dominated Royalty Policy Committee (RPC) to make recommendations on federal oil and gas royalty policy. No states with Democratic governors were given primary representation on the new panel, and no … Continue Reading