Press Releases

06.01.17

Grijalva on Paris Withdrawal: Leaders of True Stature Don’t Sacrifice Lives, People’s Health to Prove How Smart and Tough They Are

Washington, D.C. - Following the Trump administration's announcement that the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement - making it one of only three nations on Earth, alongside Syria and Nicaragua, not to honor the groundbreaking deal - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said the Trump administration and its allies have put countless human lives at risk to please a small circle of climate deniers with no credibility and little public support. "The Trump administr… Continue Reading


05.25.17

Grijalva to Zinke: Who Removed Reference to Climate Change Science in U.S. Geological Survey Press Release?

Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke today requesting information on the administration's censoring of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) press release put out after three USGS scientists and three outside colleagues published new climate change research in the journal Nature Scientific Reports. The administration, as the Washington Post reported, removed a reference in the press release to the relationship between climat… Continue Reading


05.25.17

86 Democrats to Zinke: Congress, Not Trump, Controls the Future of Existing National Monuments

Washington, D.C. - In light of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's ongoing review of 27 national monuments across the country, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter along with 85 House Democratic colleagues to Zinke today highlighting Congress' long-established legal authority over national monuments and other federally protected sites. The letter points to the executive branch's lack of authority to rescind or substantially reduce the size of any national monument - the ost… Continue Reading


05.23.17

Hearing on Native American Land Settlements Will Focus on Dem Push for Tribal Equity, GOP Push to Buy Less Valuable Property

Washington, D.C. - This afternoon's hearing of the Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs Subcommittee on the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations - a central feature of the federal government's attempt to correct its historical mismanagement of Native American land - will focus on the split between the Democratic push to fund the program beyond its 2022 expiration date and the Republican effort to spend existing program funds as quickly as possible, often to buy tribes pieces of property… Continue Reading


05.23.17

Grijalva: This Budget is What Republicans Signed Up For When They Supported Trump – and It Would Destroy Our Environment

Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today highlighted four environmental policy areas the Trump administration's proposed budget would hit especially hard, calling on Republicans to reject it out of hand or explain why they continue to support an administration that has lost all credibility. "This budget is the reality of the Republican vision for the country, and Republicans in Congress need to admit it," Grijalva said today. "It treats our environment as a spee… Continue Reading


05.22.17

Democrats Release First in a Series of Features on National Monuments Threatened by Trump’s Interior Department Executive Order

Washington, D.C. - Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee today released a fact sheet on Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, the first in a weekly series on the national monuments threatened by the Trump administration's ongoing "review" stemming from an April 26 Executive Order. Democrats will release a new fact sheet each Monday throughout the review period, which is expected to end with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recommending weakened protections for, or even full revoca… Continue Reading


05.18.17

Ahead of Endangered Species Day, Grijalva Calls on Zinke to Scrap Grizzly Delisting Proposal, Consult with Tribes

Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke today opposing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposal to remove endangered species protections for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) grizzly bears. Last year, Grijalva sent a letter to former Service Director Dan Ashe voicing his concerns about the proposed delisting. Many scientists, including renowned conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall, don't support del… Continue Reading


05.16.17

As GOP Pushes Deregulation, Taxpayers Potentially on the Hook for Billions in Decommissioned Oil Rig Cleanups, GAO Will Testify

Washington, D.C. - A Government Accountability Office (GAO) witness at tomorrow's House Natural Resources Committee hearing on the fate of decommissioned offshore oil rigs will testify that taxpayers could be required to pay billions of dollars to meet cleanup requirements ignored or abandoned by oil companies. The hearing comes as Republicans argue for less stringent federal oversight of efforts like the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement's Rigs-to-Reefs Program, which converts deco… Continue Reading


05.16.17

Democrats, Wildfire Expert Will Press for Forest Service Funding, GOP Climate Change Acknowledgment at Tomorrow’s Forest Hearing

Washington, D.C. - Democrats at tomorrow's Federal Lands Subcommittee hearing on federal forest management will stress the need to address climate change-related wildfire risks and reject Republican demands to weaken bedrock environmental laws in order to increase commercial logging on public lands. Climate change is leading to longer and more severe wildfire seasons characterized by more - and more intense - wildfires that the U.S. Forest Service is not being given adequate funding to combat. … Continue Reading


05.12.17

Grijalva on EPA Legal Settlement in Alaska: Protect Bristol Bay Instead of Giving it Away to an Unwelcome Mining Company

Washington, D.C. - With the announcement of a legal settlement between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Northern Dynasty Minerals - the company proposing to build the environmentally destructive Pebble Mine in Alaska's Bristol Bay region - that could remove EPA's proposed protections for Bristol Bay's incredible wild salmon resource, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said today that the Trump administration should listen to the more than 65 percent of Alaskans, 80 per… Continue Reading


05.11.17

Grijalva on Congress Overturning Obama-era Rules: “Republicans Have Put the Health & Well Being of Everyday Americans in Jeopardy”

Washington, D.C. - As of today, Congress can no longer use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn Obama-era rules. The Republican-controlled Congress successfully voted to overturn thirteen rules issued under the Obama administration and President Trump signed them into law. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) points out that nearly a quarter of the rules were blatant attacks on our environment. "On our very first day in Congress, House Rep… Continue Reading


05.04.17

Grijalva Presses Zinke to Explain Potentially Illegal Delay of Oil, Gas and Coal Valuation Rule That Has Already Sparked Lawsuits

Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today sent a second letter, available at http://bit.ly/2pdiyhH, to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke pressing for information on the potentially illegal delay of an Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) rule on how to value oil, natural gas, and coal for royalty purposes. While the rule became effective on Jan. 1, the Trump administration put it on hold in February, letting oil, gas, and coal companies avoid compliance. As E&a… Continue Reading


05.04.17

Grijalva Invites Trump on Tour of NPS Civil War Sites to Explore History, Legacy of American Slavery

Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today invited President Trump on a tour of Civil War sites protected by the National Park Service (NPS), offering Trump a chance to learn more about a defining moment in American history. "While excellent programming relating to the War Between the States is available on cable television," Grijalva writes, "visiting sites that conserve and interpret Civil War history could provide a more informative and lasting experience." The… Continue Reading


05.02.17

Ranking Member Grijalva, Rep. McEachin Press Sec. Zinke to Clarify Regulatory “Task Force,” Deputy’s Regulatory Role

Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Ranking Member Donald McEachin (D-Va.) sent a pair of letters to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke today pressing him for clarification on a recently announced Department of the Interior (DOI) "task force" charged with abolishing DOI regulations (available online at http://bit.ly/2p60QN6) and on the role of Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior James Cason in the awarding of grants … Continue Reading


05.02.17

Tomorrow’s Water, Power & Oceans Hearing Will Feature GOP Arguing Against Tribal, Environmental Protections for Hydro Permitting

Washington, D.C. - Democrats at tomorrow's Water, Power and Oceans Subcommittee hearing on hydropower development will reject Republican demands to weaken protections for tribes and the environment in the hydropower licensing process. Given the length of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) hydropower licenses - which are typically valid for 50 years - many hydropower projects coming up for relicensing are operating on permits granted prior to the passage of modern environmental laws. As… Continue Reading


04.28.17

Trump’s Offshore Drilling & Marine Sanctuaries Executive Order Puts Coastal Communities at Risk

Washington, D.C. - Ahead of President Trump's signing of an executive order that will try to open up more of our oceans to offshore drilling, weaken safety regulations, and launch a review of all national marine sanctuaries designated in the last decade, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) released the following statement condemning the administration's actions. "Opening up our oceans to more of… Continue Reading


04.27.17

In Sign of a Growing Trend, Republicans Again Using Infrastructure as Cover for Standard Deregulation Agenda at Today’s Markup

Washington, D.C. - Today's Natural Resources Committee markup features multiple environmental deregulation bills disguised as infrastructure planning - a continuation of a trend that became clear earlier this month. Committee Republicans spent the month of March holding ostensibly "infrastructure-related" hearings that consistently repeated decades-old talking points about laws they have sought to weaken, including the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and othe… Continue Reading


04.26.17

Grijalva: If Trump Order on Monuments is About Public Engagement, When Does Secretary Zinke’s Nationwide Listening Tour Begin?

Washington, D.C. ­- After reading the fine print on President Trump's new executive order mandating an ill-defined Interior Department "review" of certain national monuments, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today questioned whether Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has enough time to hold a series of public meetings - which are typically held between federal officials and local stakeholders before a national monument is designated - at each of the more than 20 national monuments… Continue Reading


04.26.17

Grijalva on Antiquities Act Order: “Reviewing Natl. Monuments Will Show What We Already Know – They’re Popular and Beneficial”

Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today released the following statement on the newly announced executive order directing the Department of the Interior to review the establishment history and current status of national monuments created since 1996 under the Antiquities Act. The order comes as Republicans in Congress, including Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah), urge Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the Trump administration unilaterally to wipe out or shrink Utah's … Continue Reading


04.20.17

Top Committee Democrats Request Documents from Interior Department on Policy Shifts

Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) along with the Ranking Members of all five Natural Resources Subcommittees - Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.), Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-Hawaii), and Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) - sent a letter today to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke asking him to provide the first set of reports outlined in the March 29, 2017, Secretarial Order on "American Energy Independence"… Continue Reading

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